8618 TOTAL RAPTORS FOR FALL 2015

Bill says he sent pictures of his first day, and now sending pictures of his last day. And he IS the last day crowd. LOL

__________________________________________________________
At this point we are calling the season, although a few numbers might trickle in.  In general, some birds are beginning to return from lower climes, and the migrations of many species make for a fun mix of birds of all species both coming and going.  Bald Eagles for instance, may be well underway making nests. Or at the very least, gathering at roosts.  So, it's time to gather the data and double ck it.

I want to note here, that Jimmy does a lot of double checks through-out the season, so there are points in his records where he has made an entry at which point he hangs future data upon, because he has done enough checking to be content with those totals.  We base our final figures off of his returning to those batch figures and checking the grand totals against them.  What happens is  - my side panel totals may be off a little bit.  The reason for this is - I might miss several days updating, or have made minor errors, or just missed posting a day's totals on the blog. I deliberately don't try to make it a perfect record until the very end. We periodically try to update to Jimmy's batch figures, and I update from there.  In so doing, the running totals are flexible, the finals, as of Jan. 1, become final.

 I always try to make it clear that this is a BLOG, the intention of which is to reach out to readers and give them a sense of what hawk-watching is about, and to have a place to display some records, so that there is an open accounting of Birding the Watch.  We want this to be readily available in something nearer to real time, more than past opportunities afforded.  In other words, to make it a little more public and a little more frequent.  It was never intended to be constantly perfect. Although, Jimmy would prefer the latter.  And I keep saying:" IT'S A BLOG!"

Yet at some point, when the records are final, I try to update it across the board to a point of accuracy with which we all can be content to hang our hat.  So today, as I added the last of the report data, I found there was an error on the RT hawks listed on the sidebar, but that due to recent sightings not updated. Otherwise, our running list was a sound double ck for our data records.  They matched.  And I am glad that the system of cks and double cks is working, adding additional assurance that the records are as good as we can humanly get them.  I was thankful to have not been off, just for the sake of infrequent guests having access to recent totals. Thanks so much to our regular readers for staying up with us.  ( according to blog and Facebook notices, we have a regular readership of about 117 and a maximum reach of about 1000 people depending on the news and numbers during the season.) To follow regular notices see our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Soddy-Mountain-Hawk-Watch

Although, the Season is closed, I hope to occasionally tackle  a new bit of info for future reference, and for those learning the craft of Hawk-watching. Otherwise, the posts will be less frequent until Spring and Fall counts.  Maybe, I will get out and capture a few pics, and post them just to keep the wall fresh.  But for now: the Fall Season is closed.  If a few numbers trickle in, we will add them, so the official total will not become official until Jan. 1, 2016. 

Here are the total stats:

TOTALS AS OF COUNT ON 12/3/2015
    4    Black Vultures
162    Turkey Vultures
  16    Osprey
  27    Bald Eagle Adults
    9    Bald Eagle Immatures    Total Eagles  36
    1    Golden Eagle Adult
  16    Northern Harriers
130    Sharp-shinned
  36    Coopers Hawks
  12    Red-shouldered
  38    Red-tailed
8135  Broad-winged Hawks
  10    American Kestrel
    3    Merlin
  16    Peregrine Falcons
    1    Unidentified Buteo (UB)
    2    Unidentified Raptors (UR)
________________________________

8618   TOTAL RAPTORS


38 days
177.00 Hours  (131.75 J&C et. al) (45.25 Bill)

------------------------------------------------
Notable birds:
   4      Double Crested Cormorants
   1      Common Raven
  91     Sandhill Cranes
155     Snow Geese
229     Blue Jays  (All that were counted... definitely more)

Mr. Cooper



Last Red-tail

Adult Bald's

Pictures are all Bill's today.

           
Through-out the season, we keep a running bird list as well.  So I will try to get it up this week, if Jimmy feels like making a tally.  And in upcoming weeks I like to make a few comparisons to past years, and begin updating the records pages.  They need to be finalized. 

It's been a great year!   We are hoping your families have wonderful Holiday experiences and can get together. May you all find the love and joy that was intended for renewal this time of year.  Blessings to all, especially all those volunteers who stood along side us this year.  You are amazing friends and we love you. May your birding be a continued joy.  Looking forward to seeing some at the upcoming bird-counts.

Whereas most people say to "stop and smell the roses" - I always hope you will take just a few minutes each day to:

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!!!

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson


 
  

Golden Eagle and Last Count Day

Bill Haley who was called in for Jury Duty, reports his last 3 days, with an overlap from his last post as well.  The high-light is-  remember  the Golden Eagle we saw earlier in the season, going North?....Well, It came south. LOL We think it might be the same.  But so glad he saw one, same or not!!! We would have been disappointed for sure to not have counted it, uh, one. Just having a bit of fun pretending it's the same.

As Bill says, we may have closed out the season with this report. But if there are a few pretty days, we will be happy to do and addendum.  I will post the updated final report tomorrow. Here's Bill's report:

"Here are the totals from my last three days on the lookout. I’m pretty sure I sent you the Nov. 20 totals, but let me know if you didn’t get them. That was a pretty good day! Nov. 27 is probably the end of the season. However, if I can get away on a nice day with good flight conditions, there might be more to come. 

 11/22/15: Arrive 1:15, left 2:45. Total = 1.5 hr. 

1:15: wind N 10-15MPH, clouds 5%, visib. 85K, temp. 43F, hum. 33%, baro. 30.15

2:00: temp. 46F, hum. 38%, baro. 30.14 

Red-tail – 1

 

Sandhill cranes – 59

_________________________

 

11/26/15: Arrive 9:45, left 11:15. Arrive 3:00, left 3:45. Total = 2.25 hr. 

9:45: Wind SE 2-5, clouds 60%, visib. 50K, temp. 44F, hum. 79%, baro. 30.64. (Barometric pressure extremely high!)

10:00: temp. 53F, hum. 59%, baro. 30.64

3:00: Wind SE 2-5, temp. 70F, hum. 45%, baro. 30.50 

Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 

Sandhill cranes – 9

_______________________

 

11/27/15: Arrive 11:15, left 4:15. Total = 5.0 hrs. 

11:15: Wind ESE 2-5, clouds 60%, visib. 50K (very hazy), temp. 63F, hum. 65%, baro. 30.48

12:00: Clouds 75%, temp. 67F, hum. 57%, baro. 30.46

1:00: Wind E 2-5, Clouds 90%, temp. 69F, hum. 52%, baro. 30.42

2:00: Clouds 65%, temp. 70F, hum. 49%, baro. 30.39

3:00: Clouds 75%, temp. 70F, hum. 49%, baro. 30.35

No 4:00 weather recorded 

Turkey Vulture – 38

Bald Eagle – 5 (4 ad., 1 imm.)

Golden Eagle – 1 (ad.)*

Cooper’s Hawk – 1

Red-tailed Hawk – 3 

* An adult Golden Eagle was seen on the lookout in mid-September, but it was heading north, so could not be counted. The one I saw today is the only countable GE of the 2015 fall season.

The adult Golden Eagle was first seen about 12:05 high over the north ridge. It was being harassed by a local adult Red-tail, which circled very close to the eagle and dove on it at least 4 times. This gave a good size comparison and it was quite easy to see how much larger the eagle was. I noted that it had no white on the underside, not even in the middle of the wings, as immature GE’s do. The complete lack of any white underneath ruled out immature BE. It was completely dark underneath. Occasionally as it circled I could catch a glimpse of some white at the base of the tail with a wide dark band at the tip of the tail. Finally the eagle tired of the Red-tail’s maneuvers and set its wings to glide south, passing directly overhead, but pretty high up. Compared to the head and beak of a BE, which appear quite large on a gliding bird, the head appeared noticeably smaller on this bird, which helped confirm my identification. 

Bill Haley"

 

I for one, am so glad Bill was on the Flat Top and able to - 

 

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!!

 

Cynthia and Jimmy Wilkerson

NOVEMBER 2015 UPDATES

Bill Haley sent the following e-mail, including sightings from the Lookout, many of which are not hawks, but give a sense of what all can  be seen there.  Even in cold weather.  He braved a cold day or two to be sure the time he was able to cover the watch, was profitable.  Because, as he always has told us, a zero hawk count is still data.  So even if he was seeing nothing, we knew that on that day, there was nothing to be seen in those conditions.

Bill is choosing his time there, based on when he can go.  Whereas, Jimmy and I cover the Broad-wing season based on covering the most logical days for seeing them.  And we sometimes don't brave the bad weather. (except the heat) This is in part due to how it affects our health, but also because we must be there many days in a row, for long hours, so we choose for content.  Although covering the watch in October and November would benefit from an approach of greater coverage, it's brutal some days.  So any day Bill decides to spend any time up there, is to be applauded.  Let me not paint a picture, however, that says he chooses the times he goes only by co-incidence or work schedule.  I am sure he often goes up hoping to see hawks on a certain day, because he might have past data that says for 10 of our seasons, that day was profitable. Or conditions would otherwise be perfect.

We all know the days that we sat in crowds, because the conditions were perfect and didn't see the hawks. At the end of those days we always come away trying to make an explanation. Most often the explanation is that the hawks were too high to see in blue sky, or they were flying another path.  Both legitimate reasons.  And those elements apply in the colder months as well.

Bill gives us another perspective, unique to cold weather, to consider. How does Snow in areas around us affect the flights of migrants? Ice or freezing weather might be obvious---or is it? We know how migrants fly before and after fronts in September. What do we know about these very cold fronts, and how they affect migrants? Notice his speculations on the day he could visually see the snow.

But, there is something to be said about covering only when you can "work in" a few hours. 
       1. It's coverage, but
        2. It's random.
 And that can also be valuable, because there is no element of calculated evaluation.  It's what you see, when you see it.  And that is a valuable element to keeping our predetermination in check.  To help us remember, that nature is nature.  And birds have wings. 

Ken Dubke often has told us, that birds experience that freedom of choosing when and where to fly - and we sometimes forget that.  Even to the extreme of setting our expectations of what could be seen too low. We have also learned as birders, that storms and winds from other parts of the country can affect greatly the kinds of unusual species that come to be seen.

Here's Bill's report:

"11/16/15: Arrive 10:00, left 1:15. Total 3.25 hr. 

10:00 Wind NE 1-2, clouds 90%, visib. 30K, temp. 49F, humidity 68%, baro. 30.35

11:00 clouds 80%, visib. 45K, temp. 51F, hum. 65%, baro. 30.34

12:00 clouds 75%, temp. 56F, hum. 42%, baro. 30.32

No reading taken 1:00 hr. 

Sharp-shinned – 1

Red-shouldered – 1 (ad.)

Red-tailed – 4

 

Sandhill cranes 19

_____________________________

 

11/19/15: Arrive 9:45, left 2:45. Total –  5.0 hr.

9:45: wind WNW 1-3, clouds 15%, visib. 85K, temp. 55F, hum. 83%, baro. 30.11

10:00: wind NE 1-3, clouds 30%, temp. 56F, hum. 84%, baro. 30.15

11:00: clouds 15%, visib. 100K, temp. 59F, hum. 67%, baro. 30.16

12:00: clear, wind NNW 2-8

1:00: temp. 64F, hum. 49%, baro. 30.13

2:00: temp. 65F, hum. 48%, baro. 30.11

 

Northern Harrier – 1

Bald Eagle – 3 (2 ad., 1 imm.)

Sharp-shinned – 2

Red-tailed – 6

 

Snow goose: (55) 12:50 (2 V’s flying close together), (20) 12:56, (35) 1:14, (45) 1:22. Total 155, all heading S/SE 

Butterflies: Gulf Fritillary, Question Mark, Cloudless Sulphur

Dragonfly: Autumn Meadowhawk 

Thousands of ladybugs swarming. Spent a lot of time just brushing them off me and my clothes. If I’d been doing a ladybug count it would have been several thousand!

________________________________

  

11/20/15: Arrive 9:45, left 3:30. Total – 5.75 hr.

9:45: wind NE 10-15, clear, visib. 90K, temp. 49F, hum. 46%, baro. 30.31

10:00: wind NE 5-10, temp. 52F, hum. 38%, baro. 30.31

11:00: wind ENE 2-8, 54F, hum. 31%, baro. 30.31

12:00: clouds 20% - (all behind me), temp. 56F, hum. 26%, baro. 30.29

1:00: wind NE 5-10, clouds 25%, temp. 58F, hum. 22%, baro. 30.25

2:00: clouds 30%, temp. 60F, hum. 26%, baro. 30.22

3:00: clouds 35%, temp. 59F, 24%, baro. 30.18

 

Turkey Vulture – 15

Northern Harrier – 2 (first bird of the day was a beautiful female which flew low right overhead – a rarity.)

Bald Eagle – 3 (all adults)

Cooper’s Hawk – 2

Red-shouldered – 8 (Most that were close enough to see well were adults. This might be a new daily record for RS.)

Red-tailed – 15

_____________________________

 

11/22/15: Arrive 1:15, left 2:45. Total – 1.5 hr.

1:15: wind N 10-15, clouds 5%, visib. 85K, temp. 45F, hum. 33%, baro. 30.15

2:00: temp. 46F, hum. 38%, baro. 30.14 

What I can tell you is:

1). This was the coldest day so far this fall.

2). When the wind was blowing, it was colder than a certain part of a witch’s anatomy in a brass brassiere.

3). On the higher mountains to the east (all Cherokee Natl. Forest), including Big Frog and several other tall ones, there was snow up top

4). I was very hopeful - reports of 11+ inches of snow in Chicago and snow in New York state gave me hope that the hawks would be coming south in numbers.

5). I was wrong about the hawks. Looks like they had enough sense to get south on Friday.

 

Red-tailed – 1

Sandhill Crane – 59 (all going SE)

 

Reporting: Bill Haley"

 

____________________________________

 Two notes:

1. Bill saw 3 Bald Eagles on two days.  It is important therefore, to report the ages of those birds, at least estimated ages, so that we can say with some confidence that we were not seeing the same 3 birds.  Even on a larger number of Eagles at once, it becomes invaluable to know so we can conclude, we didn't just see this bird the day before. It isn't absolute, but becomes highly probable, as we have examined the numbers, ages and pictures of these birds for years, that we are seeing mostly different Eagles when we are able to count them as migrants. I personally like to examine our migrants for specific features, like the pinkish hue in their white feathers, which indicates a 4th year bird whose white feathers still maintain some pigment.  It's subtle, but may allow that I can tell this Eagle from the next one which flies through with clean dense white head and tail feathers, and know it's an older bird, and therefore different.  I often hear our counters, call out, "It's missing a wing feather on that right wing" regarding a migrant single bird.  It lets us know not to count it again, or that the next seemingly identical bird, actually is not.  It's a little thing, I guess. But I'll bet dozens of raptors have been added to our counts when we make these notes, mental or written, and we can be sure of those counts.

 

and

2. On any given day, you never know what new and wonderful sighting might be flying through our airspace. (Evidenced by the 155 Snow Geese Bill was able to count!)  Therefore, we have learned the importance of someone being there to see it and to -

 

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!!!

 

 Hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving,

 and may you have safe and joyful upcoming holidays!

 

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson

Catching Up On October

Bill has been manning the hawk watch way more than we knew. But he has had A LOT going on, so we are so proud he was able to find some time to write it up and we are happy to share his stats with you.  Perhaps he will have some more from November before it's over. And since he is the only one able to get up there...what a blessing to have these numbers.  I am going to wait on Jimmy to update the stats on the side bar. He will double check our totals by comparing them to his book and give me correct feedback.  Best to do it once.

Here's his email:  (thank you Bill!)

Oct. 13, 2015: Arrive 2:45, Left 4:25 = 2.0 hrs.

2:00 clouds 3%, visib. 75K, wind SW 2-10, with gusts up to 25MPH, temp. 78F, hum. 29%, baro. 29.83

3:00 clouds 2%, wind W 5-15, temp. 78F, hum. 35%, baro. 29.81

4:00 temp. 78F, hum. 32%, baro. 29.81, clear

Sharp-shinned hawk – 3

            *****

Monarch butterfly 27

(5) swallows @3:59, probably Barn

__________________________

 

Oct. 14, 2015: Arrive 12:15, left 2:15 = 2.0 hrs.

12:15: clear, wind NE 3-12, visib. 70K, temp. 68F, hum. 46%, baro. 30.04

1:00: temp. 71f, hum. 39%, baro. 30.04

2:00: temp. 73F, wind NNW 2-10, hum. 36%, baro. 30.02

 
Sharp-shinned hawk – 2

Coopers hawk – 1

Merlin – 1

The Merlin came in over the top of Fred, and continued low over the valley, traveling very fast and heading south. It dove on a Turkey Vulture that was unlucky to be in the vicinity as the Merlin zoomed down the valley. This bird was in a huge hurry. (Best bird of the day by far!)

     *****

Monarch butterfly - 3

2 swallows, probably Barn
_________________________

 

Oct. 15, 2015: Arrive 2:45, left 5:30 = 2.75 hrs.

2:45: clear, wind SE 2-5, visib. 55K, temp. 74F, hum. 35%, baro. 30.14

3:00 temp. 76F, hum. 33%, baro. 30.12

4:00: wind S 1-5, temp. 77F, hum. 32%, baro. 30.10

5:00: temp. 77f, hum. 30%, baro. 30.09, wind calm

 

Bald Eagle – 1 (Ad.)

Sharp-shinned hawk – 7
 

     *****

 Got great looks at a House Wren near Jimmy and Cynthia’s “deluxe” restroom. I heard movement in the bushes neaby, pished softly a couple of times and the House Wren popped up in to the dead pine to my right and proceeded to jump from one limb to another, coming within 2 feet of me a couple of times. Possibly my best look ever at a House Wren!

After sitting in the hospital all day long with my mother, who fell and broke her hip the evening before, my sister came down to give me a break and I immediately headed up to the hawk lookout. I’d hoped to spend the whole day up there, but was happy to at least get in 2 ¾ hours.

__________________________ 

 

Oct. 16, 2015: Arrive 9:00, left 10:30 = 1.5 hrs.

9:00: Clouds 80%, wind N 5-10, visib. 50K, temp. 58F, hum. 90%, baro. 30.14

10:00: wind NNW 5-15, clouds 75%, temp. 64%, hum. 60%, baro. 30.21

 Sharp-shinned hawk – 9

Cooper’s Hawk – 1
 

     ******

 Blue Jay – 116 (flocks of 29, 47, 24, 5 and 11.) All but last flock seen in the 9:00 hour. It seems like Blue Jay migration is largely an early morning affair in October. Migrant Blue Jays never make any sounds and they are all heading south.

_____________________________

 

 

Oct. 17, 2015: Arrive 8:30, left 10:00 = 1.5 hrs.

8:30: clear, wind N 10-15, visib. 65K, temp. 42F, hum. 89%, baro. 30.31

9:00: temp. 48F, hum. 76%, baro. 30.32

0 hawks! Possibly high barometric pressure?

      *****

Monarch – 3

Blue Jay – 19

Immature Red-shouldered Hawk on lower black phone cable @ 9:57, 5 E. Bluebirds on wires above it. Saw House Wren in bushes in front of me.

_______________________________

 

Oct. 23, 2015: Arrive 12:15, left 1:15 = 1.0 hr.

12:15: clouds 25%, wind NE 1-5, visib. 35K, temp. 66F, hum. 65%, baro. 30.24 

Sharp-shinned hawk – 4

 ___________________________

 

Oct. 24, 2015: Arrive 9:30, left 12:30 = 2.0 hrs.

9:30: clouds 95%, wind calm, visib. 30K, temp. 61F, hum. 93%, baro. 30.16

10:00: clouds 100%, wind NE 1-3, temp. 64F, hum. 87%, baro. 30.18

11:00: clouds 100%, wind calm, temp. 66F, hum. 81%, baro. 30.20

12:00: clouds 100%, wind S 1-3, temp. 68F, hum. 73%, baro. 30.21

 

0 hawks! I had the day off and looked forward to some good hawkwatching, but skies were 100% overcast and the hawks weren’t flying. I didn’t even see a single vulture in the sky the whole time I was there. The bad weather was a disappointment
     ******

Bird List: Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1^st of the fall), Solitary Vireo, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, White-br. Nuthatch, N. Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Carolina Chickadee, E. Phoebe, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, E. Towhee, E. Bluebird (16 on the wires at same time), Com. Grackle, Am Crow, Blue Jay, N. Mockingbird.

______________________________

 

Oct. 30, 2015: Arrive 1:15, left 2:30 = 1.5 hrs.

1:15: clear, wind ENE 1-3, visib. 80K, temp. 61F, hum. 39%, baro. 30.13

2:00: temp. 61F, hum. 37%, baro. 30.12

 

Bald Eagle – 1 (Ad.)

Red-tail – 2 (1 Ad., 1 Imm.)

Red-shouldered Hawk 1

     ******

 

Monarch butterfly 2
______________________________

 

Nov. 10, 2015: Arrive 10:45, left 3:45 = 5.0 hrs.

10:45: clouds 50%, wind NE 3-8, visib. 80K, temp. 59F, hum. 70%, baro. 30.15

11:00 clouds 35%, temp. 60F, hum. 66%, baro. 30.16

12:00: clouds 10%, wind W 2-5, temp. 62F, hum. 60%, baro. 30.14

1:00: clear, temp. 64F, hum. 56%, baro. 30.12

2:00: clear, wind NNW 1-4, temp. 66F, hum. 50%, baro. 30.08

3:00: temp. 69f, hum. 41%, baro. 30.07

 

Turkey Vulture – 104   Groups of (6) 11:12, (4) 12:55, (48) 3:07, (19) 3:10, (11) 3:14, (12) 3:31, (5) 3:34. The 48 was the first sizeable TV kettle of the fall.

Bald Eagle – 2 (1 imm., 3^rd yr., 1 ad.)

Sharp-shinned hawk – 4

Cooper’s hawk – 2

Red-tail – 4

Red-shoulder – 1 (ad.)

     *****

 

Palm warbler

Sandhill Crane – 4 (first of the fall)

 

Ladybugs starting to swarm!

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

Jimmy will have oral surgery this week, so we know he won't get up for a bit for sure. The colder weather has us minding our greenhouse and me trying to get two large raised beds underway before the hard freezes keep us from getting some plants in the ground.

 

We look forward to Any reports that come in.  I posted on Facebook, that Charles Murray called to say he'd seen Migrant Turkey Vultures near Hiwassee, in response to a request I made to report them on days he was counting in his area.  Since he is seeing them NE of us, chances are good migrants could come our way.  Seeing them on the move there, means we should see them on the move here. And you can see that Bill certainly did.

 

Even from the house we find that we

 

Keep Looking Up!!!

 

'Til next report,

Cynthia  and Jimmy Wikerson

Thousands of Hawks Fly Through Texas To Panama

Panama reported over 28,000 hawks yesterday, and Corpus Christi, TX has reported 489946 total raptors for the month, Cape May had 711 Sharp-Shins most of which will probably run down the coast.

What do these numbers indicate?  Most Broad-wings are near Panama or further south. Some people in Texas counted nearly a half million raptors this month, and there are still plenty of Sharp-shinned Hawks heading South. 

People only miss these spectacles of nature if they don't -

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson

Rockfish Gap Hawkwatch in VA

Well, did you get out your Atlas or Google  Rockfish Gap, VA?  It is just west of Charlottesville, and up HWY81 from Roanoke, VA, due NE along a similar line we have already been zigzag drawing. It sits on Hwy64, W of where *SR 250 intersects and E of where SR 350 intersects.  *(state roads)

These are the Quick Facts given on the Google maps page, referenced to Wikipedia:

"Quick facts

Rockfish Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains between Charlottesville and Waynesboro, Virginia, United States, through Afton Mountain, which is frequently used to refer to the gap.

Wikipedia

• Elevation:
  • 1,903'
• Range:
  • Blue Ridge Mountains"

Comparing that to us, at 1400 feet, they are about 500' higher, but we are also located on a Gap. 

The map so far has taken us up 59 to 75 to 81, and if you look closely that is up the mountain range, and almost at a perfect NE or slightly E or N of that line all the way. 

Looking at bigger cities along the way,  the Hawkwatch sites are near: Birmingham, Chattanooga, Roanoke, and Charlottesville. - IN case the map, on which you are making dots, doesn't show the smaller towns or rural sites where the watches actually are. If you haven't already, find a Eastern US map and print one large enough to see the large cities, and start marking out the hawk sites. 

If you already see where we are going with this, and have looked at www.Hawkcount.org  then you might see if you can find some watches along our flyway too.  Who knows you might discover one we have not noticed, or a new one as the interest and expertise in counting hawks grows.
 

*****************************

 Although the skies have been wonderful, and the fronts probably opened up to some fabulous opportunities to see migrants, no one from our group had been able to make it up.  So we apologize for no numbers, even though there may have been some good flight days.

We are proud to see that hawks are flying through in great numbers still, all along the flight paths.  I am not sure if we will map out the Blue Ridge sites, or get to the coastal sites, but as we begin to see the paths, maybe you or someone you know may find a ridge or field where you can spend a little time watching them fly through, and maybe just begin a little notebook of your own. 

Because we always want you to -

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson

Count Day Scheduled 10/15/15

Bill is scheduling dates to be on the lookout. Here's his E-mail which designates Oct 15/ Thursday, as a definite, if you would like to join him:

 "Jimmy and Harold,
At our United Way get-together yesterday, I won a free vacation day. Probably will wait until early November to cash it in, but I’ve already marked a couple of possible days on my calendar that I don’t currently have programs scheduled. Will keep a close eye on the weather reports and hopefully one of those days will be a good one to do some hawkwatching.

This weekend ... I sure wish I could be up there when the front moves through and there is some clearing! Weather channel was saying winds will be from the north at 10-15 MPH after the front passes. That should blow some accipiters and other hawks south.

I’m definitely planning on being up there next Thursday, Oct. 15, all day if possible, so let folks know if you talk to anyone who might want to come up. (Can't go Friday) I’ll be back on the lookout all day on Saturday and probably Sunday afternoon after church, weather permitting. (It’ll kill me if Friday is the best day of the bunch for hawkwatching!!!!)

I’ll send reports as I’m able to get up there. There will be more highlights to come in 2015!
Bill Haley"

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And here is our Hawkwatch site of the day. Rockfish Gap, Va. (<click here for the link)  I won't be able to post one each day, but you now have 4 dots for a map. I'll let you do a little research to find out if they are North of Harvey's Knob or South of it.  Check them out on Hawkcount.org:

They had:
4 Osprey
8 Bald Eagles
1 Northern Harrier
77 Sharp-shins
31 Coopers
1 Red-Shouldered
2 Broadies
1 Red-tail
2 Golden Eagles
18 Kestrels
6 Merlins
1 un ID
for a total of 152 Raptors.

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For those who haven't discovered it yet, here's out Facebook link:


https://www.facebook.com/Soddy-Mountain-Hawk-Watch-1608121316117914/timeline/


Maybe you can drop by and help Bill -

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson

PS - An edit to report the record numbers of Peregrine Falcons seen in Florida.  Thanks, Jim Eager for the report!!

 "Many of you know about the legendary Peregrine Falcon counts at the Florida Keys Hawkwatch. (<click here and on the side bar for daily updates) They hold the single day and seasonal world records. 638 counted on Oct. 11, 2008, 651 on Oct. 10, 2012 and 4,219 for the 2014 season. Well my fellow hawk watchers the record was obliterated yesterday Oct. 10, 2015. They counted 1,506 Peregrine Falcons. Big congratulations to Rafael Galvez, Ted Keyel and the rest of the Florida Keys Hawkwatch volunteers. I was a counter there for nearly 3 seasons so it is near and dear to my heart. Rafael used to call me militant when I referred to the peregrines. Indeed I am"

Harvey's Knob Hates the Stink Bugs

One of the things I don't do well is tell the stories of what goes on between counting the hawks.  But at Harvey's Knob, they reported a funny anecdote about the Stink Bugs they were dealing with.  They are begging for Praying Mantis...and offering a free T-shirt. LOL

We had our days with the stink bugs too.  They crawled into everything. But what I hated was the little black crawlies  that were akin to the size of "no see ums."  They got behind my glasses and into my eyes more than once.  Does anyone know what is their preditor?  I will gladly give a T-shirt for that as well. But I will have to have one made. LOL

Where, exactly is Harvey's Knob?  - Roanoke, Va.-  Yesterday they had 12 Sharp-shins, 3 Red-tails, and 2 American Kestrels.  On September 20th they had 2867 BW's.  And on the 18th, 1499.  Like us they've had their days with only a few over 100, or 300 or 500.  They sit there like we do hoping for the 2800 days.  Theirs often show a few days before ours.  Along with a few other sites North of us, we use their totals to determine if we should be expecting hawks in numbers at our site.  We never go or don't go, based on what they see north of us, but it doesn 't hurt to know about how far south Broad-wings are being seen.  Sometimes it lights a little fire under us.

If you are keeping up with us this month, you might want to round up a map and begin marking these sites with a little red dot or something.  As we share them with you, there will be a pattern emerging on the map.  Play along, and see what happens.

In the mean time>

Keep Looking UP!!!

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson

(click on the map to see it clearly)  Note how you can draw a line from one corner of the map at Roanoke through Soddy Daisy(Chattanooga) down to Birmingham.   In case you are wondering, this is a good indication why we expect hawks to run in a SWesterly direction.  ???



At the extreme left lower point on this map is Birmingham...near where Jackie and Carrol
 count hawks at Mill Creek Rd Hawk Watch.  At a point NE along the mountain ridge, is
 Chattanooga/Soddy Daisy, where we watch hawks migrate through.  In the extreme Right upper
 corner of this map is Roanoke, VA, where Harvey's Knob is located.  Can you already see
 hawk watching dotted along the Mountain Ridges?  I will work on getting a map
 with marks on it as we add more hawk watches between us and Roanoke.

Sharpie's Breakfast Break

Bill Haley sent today's Report -

 

"Jimmy;

 

I spent from 8:30 to 11:00 on the lookout this morning, 10/9/15. Figured maybe some hawks would be trying to get through before the front and the predicted rain arrived. I began with 40% cloud cover. Clouds had increased to 60% by 10:00 and with a large black bank of clouds approaching from the NW, cloud cover had reached 85% when I left at 11:00.

 

First hawk of the day was a Sharp-shin that flew along the top of the north ridge at 9:15. A little to the left of the dip it did a maneuver and caught a small bird, landing in the top of a pine to eat its meal. I had it in sight there until around 9:50. I have to wonder if it became my 9:52 bird, because I looked for it after that bird flew on south and it wasn’t there anymore.

 

8:30: wind calm, visib. 35K, clouds 40%, temp. 65 F, humidity 87%, baro. 30.12 and rising

9:00: wind SSW 1-2, visib. 30K, clouds 45%, temp. 67 F, hum. 84%, baro. 30.14 and rising

10:00 wind SE 1-5, visib. 40K, clouds 60%, temp. 68 F, hum. 87%, baro. 30.15 and rising

11:00 wind SE 2-8, clouds 85%, no other weather readings taken

 

Sharp-shinned Hawk: (1) 9:23, (1) 9:52, (1) 9:59, (1) 10:27, (1) 10:42, (1) 10:47   - Total  6 SS.

 

Monarch butterfly 4

Blue Jay 6

N. Flicker 2

 

There were a lot of Chimney Swifts - between 25 and 30 over the north ridge on a couple of occasions. Guess they will be gone south in a couple of weeks.

 

Got some great looks at a male Pine Warbler and a Palm Warbler playing in some of the small pine trees around the lookout.

 

Bill Haley"

 

Bill keeps up with all the birds he sees or hears.  Which most birders will do.  I do most of my birding by ear,  while Hawking. In other words, I call off to Jimmy, who is our recorder, what I hear.  I seldom change the focus on my binocs to look at birds, because it means you have to refocus on the hawk range. If you are seeing birds way out at a certain focus, it may be hard to find that focal length again, thus you miss hawks.  But we have learned to focus on a specific point out beyond the ridge, sometimes as far out as the furthest cell tower, and we do it often during the day.  It's important to have an extreme distance into focus, especially in blue skies.  It is one of the things we explain to visitors when they come.  A part of our mini-education we try to give everyone. LOL

 

A second note today, is that Jimmy contacted a hawk watch in Alabama, Millcreek Hawk Watch.  Here is an excerpt from the email that tells us a little about them. Hope to stay in contact with them for years to come.  Might visit them next year.

 

Jimmy sent them this note:

 

"Sent: Mon, 5 Oct 2015 02:23:53 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Mill Creek Rd Hawk Watch

Hi Jackie & Carrol;

It was so nice to find your hawk watch site on hawkcount.org. I am Jimmy
Wilkerson. My wife and 3 or 4 friends have been counting hawks for going
on 23 years at Soddy Mountain Hawk Watch near Chattanooga, TN. We thought
we were the most southern hawk watch in the east until I found your site.
We're glad your there!!! And such impressive numbers you have this season.

We used to report to HMANA back a few years ago when we had to make daily
paper records and mail them in at the end of ever season. The new site seems
so much more easier. I'm thinking about joining hawkcount.org so we can have
a place to report out numbers to. It seems a waste of out time and records
not to do so.

Thanks for hearing me out! Hawk watching is such a specialized form of bird
watching. There aren't many of us out there who have the time to count these
hawks. Thanks for your commitment.

Jimmy"

 

 

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They responded:

"Thank you for contacting us. A pleasure to hear from other hawk lovers like us. We have been watching for about 12 years now but not reporting that long. We used to go to Blue Ridge Parkway in September to sit and watch for a few days each year. then one year we could not make it up in Sept and that is the year things changed for us. We realized we were seeing lots and lots of hawks passing right over our house and hayfield. The next year we took a chance at watching at home again and counted several thousand in a two week period. And that was the end of the September trek to the BRP.  We feel so blessed to be in their flight path and look forward to this each year. we now call it our stay-cation. Everything is put on the idle and we watch the sky all day. We LOVE this time of year.

It is so nice to meet fellow hawkers. We have been in Chattanooga (last yr) at this watch time and watched hawks and 2 eagles from our sidewalk downtown. Folks thought we were crazy for being so excited about seeing some hawks. That is because they have never seen a kettle of the swirling magnificent birds. We have wondered why no-one in your area was reporting and wondering how the birds track from the Appalachian range down to us. We are in the foothills a bit nnw of Birmingham."

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We have put them onto our Blog and Facebook pages. 

Isn't it wonderful that they can watch from a hayfield.  We have always known that some of the kettles of BWs, which we see from the watch, are forming into rising thermals over either the road way, or over the fields and farmlands near us.  It's where the sun warms air most quickly.  Check out their counts on Hawkcount.org,  Mill Creek Rd Hawk Watch.  Not all watches will have reports every day. 

Thank you, Bill for your report today, and thanks to fellow hawk-watchers, Jackie and Carrol, in Alabama.  Always nice to get to know our hawk watching friends.

 

I may not get to report daily for about a week, sooooo, don't give up on us. LOL

 

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!

 

Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson