Cape May Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 09, 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 109 307 307 Bald Eagle 21 26 26 Northern Harrier 34 63 63 Sharp-shinned Hawk 17 25 25 Cooper's Hawk 10 17 17 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 6 7 7 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 268 427 427 Merlin 30 72 72 Peregrine Falcon 5 18 18 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 Total: 500 962 962 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 05:30:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 10.5 hours Official Counter: Tom Reed Observers: Weather: Mostly cloudy at dawn, becoming progressively less cloudy throughout the day as the front pulled away. Winds light out of the NE/N to start, becoming stronger and shifting to NW by early-afternoon. Raptor Observations: A slow start was replaced mid-morning by a very high and dispersed flight against a deep blue sky. The flight came down from outer space in the afternoon as the winds shifted and increased. A little push of Kestrels during the last few hours was a nice way to end the day. Non-raptor Observations: Bay-breasted Warbler (1), Cape May Warbler (4), Dickcissel (1), Gull-billed Tern (1), Black Tern (1), Common Nighthawk (5+), Blue-winged Teal (18) Predictions: More north winds tomorrow should bring a good flight.