Hawk Watch Sunday September 25, 2011

After many, many days of cruddy skies and Southerly winds, we finally had a decent hawk flight today...surprisingly. Even though there were overcast skies, dense fog, and essentially no wind, the raptors were on the move today! In the span from 10 to 2, we had 479 migrants. Even though most birds were quite high (sometimes disappearing in the fog/clouds), we had some good looks at Osprey, Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, and all three falcon species. With the winds picking up from the Southeast in the afternoon, activity died down considerably but most visitors to the platform were able to (finally) see some fall migration.


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 25, 2011
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 9 9
Turkey Vulture 0 11 11
Osprey 89 976 976
Bald Eagle 5 107 107
Northern Harrier 14 135 135
Sharp-shinned Hawk 303 1978 1978
Cooper's Hawk 45 290 290
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 7 7
Broad-winged Hawk 2 34 34
Red-tailed Hawk 2 41 41
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 141 1039 1039
Merlin 39 438 438
Peregrine Falcon 21 146 146
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 0 1 1

Total: 662 5212 5212
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Observation start time: 05:45:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10.25 hours

Official Counter: Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
The day began with very light Northeast winds but most of the morning
consisted of practically nonexistent winds. Finally around noon, an
actually East wind developed that eventually turned to the Southeast for
the last hour. There was poor visibility for almost the entire day with
overcast skies and a moderate fog that encircled the platform for much of
the count.

Raptor Observations:
Finally a good day of movement dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks, American
Kestrels, and Osprey.

Non-raptor Observations:

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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/

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