Picking Up Some Back Data

Jimmy found an opportunity to look back at Sunday, Oct 30th, when he helped Bill cover the watch, to get his data together so we could post it.  Here is his e-mail:

" I arrived at 9:30 to many calls (fhebee, fhebee) produced by an Eastern Phoebe.  It was the beginnings of what looked promising as another beautiful day for Fall hawk watching from the Soddy Mountain Lookout.  Although the leaf coloration was much past its prime; the temperature made up for any short comings.  Gone are the oppressing hot days of late September.  At 56 degrees F., there was a minimal chill to the air but still acceptable for the short sleeved shirt I was wearing.  The one thing lacking was a dampened greenness around my feet, primarily due to one hundred plus days of dry rainless weather.  The grass and other foliage has withered away to dry stubs, and the ground has become powdery particles blown around in swirls by the wind.

  The first hawk of the day was a chunky female Red-shouldered Hawk.  She flew in fairly close to the lookout and just above eye level.  It was 10:34AM.  It wasn't until 11:25 that I saw another raptor, a distant Sharp-shinned Hawk, which  flew a constant line of flap flap glide as it migrated north to south.

  Only three minutes later, at 11:28, an extremely high, lone, Red-tailed Hawk flew south, unchallenged by any of the "locals."  At 12:20 another Sharp-shinned Hawk flew south.  Bill Haley had arrived at 12:15.  I did the unthinkable for the hawk watch, I took my binoculars off the bird, thinking I could give Bill a location to search for the sharpie.  That was the last either of us saw the bird, although we both diligently searched the skies.  The last hawk of the day was another Red-tailed Hawk flying by at 1:43 as Bill was getting into his car heading to a church committee meeting.

  Our total time on the lookout was 9:30-5:30, another 8 hour day.  Jimmy was there from 9:30-4:30, Bill was there 12:15-1:45 and again from 4:30-5:30.  Temps. ranged from a cool 56 degrees to a hot 85 degrees F. Humidity dropped from 84% down to 27%.  Winds blew from calm alternating to gusts as high as 21+ MPH and ranged from variable points on the compass, one minute from the SSE and only seconds later from NW.  The barometric pressure dropped from 30.19 to 30.07.  Visibility started at 10 K (kilometers) and moved up to 55 K.  A spectacular 85% cloud cover diminished all the way down to 5% at close of the day.  At 2:00 the cloud cover was down to 15% dropping down to 10% at 3:00, which probably accounted for the lack of hawks seen later in the day.

Totals:
2  Sharp-shinned Hawks
1  Red-shouldered Hawk
2  Red-tailed Hawks

Other sightings:
C. Sulphur  9
Gulf Fritillary  5
Monarch  2

American Robins (22) @ 9:52; (17) @ 10:30

I tallied 18 species of dickie birds although I never tried to write down all the species seen and or heard.

Obvious birds, that I should have seen, but were lacking from my count were Black Vulture and American Bald Eagle.

Jimmy"

__________________________________________

Join us tomorrow morning, if you are able at 9am on the lookout. 

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!