Hawk Watch Friday September 16, 2011

Well, instead of t-shirts and shorts, most people were bundled up in jeans and hoodies today due to the much cooler temperatures that the cold front brought last night. That cold front also brought much appreciated North/Northwest winds ALL day which means migrating raptors for Cape May. There were good numbers of hawks flying low for the first few hours of the count, but by late morning, they were already gliding and kettling VERY high overhead so detecting migrants became quite the challenge.

Highlights today included our first Red-shouldered Hawks of the season, multiple instances of Bald Eagles chases, and a Swainson's Hawk (!) late in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the Swainson's Hawk did not stick around long and glided quickly out of sight over the bay. We'll just have to find a more cooperative one later.

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 16, 2011
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Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                9              9              9
Turkey Vulture               0              8              8
Osprey                     102            743            743
Bald Eagle                  17             82             82
Northern Harrier            18             86             86
Sharp-shinned Hawk         265            965            965
Cooper's Hawk               52            162            162
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          4              4              4
Broad-winged Hawk            7             23             23
Red-tailed Hawk             10             22             22
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            84            770            770
Merlin                      24            270            270
Peregrine Falcon             7             84             84
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              0
Swainson's Hawk              1              1              1

Total:                     600           3229           3229
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Observation start time: 05:15:00 
Observation end   time: 16:00:00 
Total observation time: 10.75 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:        

Weather:
Much cooler today with moderate to gusty North winds for the first half of
the day becoming lighter Northwest winds for the second half.  Clear skies
were present for most of the day gradually becoming mostly cloudy for the
last 3 hours.  Birds were low for the first few hours but became very high
by late morning and continued that flight path for the remainder of the
day.

Raptor Observations:
Another good day with 600 birds tallied with Sharp-shinned Hawks and Osprey
making up the bulk of the migrants.  Highlights included the first
Red-Shouldered Hawks of the season and a SWAINSON'S HAWK late in the
afternoon.  

Non-raptor Observations:
2 Common Nighthawks, 14 Red Bats coming in off the water, 1 bat sp. (not a
Red Bat) coming off the water, 1 Baltimore Oriole
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Report submitted by Melissa Roach (roach.mc1@gmail.com)
Cape May Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.njaudubon.org/Centers/CMBO/