Dec. 11, 2016 report:
Perhaps it is fitting that a fall migration season that started on September 11 ends on December 11, exactly 3 months to the day. Once again Soddy Mountain hawkwatchers have monitored an entire fall migration season, something that has not been done anywhere else in Tennessee.
I arrived at 12:30. There was a strong wind from the south of 5-10 MPH, clouds were 40%, visibility of 40K, temperature was 47 F and the pressure was 30.35. By 1:00 conditions were worsening. Clouds had increased to 75% and the wind had strengthened to 8-15, with some gusts of 20+. At 2:00 cloud cover was approaching 90%. The clouds were moving faster than I've seen all fall, telling me the upper level winds were even stronger than at ground level.
The only two hawks I saw were a local accipiter and local Red-tail. They both had trouble dealing with the winds and neither stayed aloft long. I briefly thought the "tail" might move through and save me from getting skunked, but it was not to be. No migrant raptors today at all.
(Today's total raptors: 0)
The only other soaring birds I saw were 5 Sandhill Cranes and a couple of Black Vultures that seemed to be enjoying playing in the wind. Why? Because they could. And they were a welcome sight with almost 100% cloud cover after 2:00 and not much hope of seeing any migrants.
So ends fall 2016. I won't have another chance to get up there and more rain, and maybe some snow is predicted this week.
I re-dedictated myself to get to the hawk lookout at every opportunity this year after several years of poor coverage on my part. Looking back over my records, here is my effort:
39 days, 200.25 hours.
Sept. 11 days, 77.25 hrs.
Oct. 14 days, 77.75 hrs.
Nov. 9 days, 31.25 hrs.
Dec. 4 days, 14.0 hrs.
Jimmy and Cynthia, "ironman" and "ironwoman" September hawkwatchers will also have some hours to add because they were there on days when I was working. And they were very tough, hot hours this year. Stay tuned for the "official" final totals of both hours and migrants counted.
November will go down as the month of the forest fires. Smoke hampered and limited my coverage during what is normally my favorite part of the migration.
Jimmy, Cynthia and I will remember this as the strangest fall of the 24 we've spent at Soddy Mountain due to the extended hot weather, no rain, which produced an extreme drought, rampant local wildfires that produced terrible smoke, and a complete lack of strong fronts for almost the entire three months. These conditions produced a disappointing flight in terms of numbers.
Will this become the new paradigm in this age of climate change and global warming? Every season is different and next year will tell.
We'll all hopefully be there to document another migration in 2017. Could you be there to help us? We are in sore need of reinforcements, and would love to train new, dedicated hawkwatchers to continue the legacy of the premier hawk lookout in Tennessee, Soddy Mountain.
Reporting: Bill Haley
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Today as we traveled back from Nashville, stream after stream of Turkey Vultures flew over the treetops, and appeared in the distant N as if dropping through the clouds. They coursed low over the treetops seeking roosting spots as the evening drew dim and the rain renewed as a light foggy mist. The more we saw of them, the more they seemed to be Migrants, because a few miles nearer Cagle, we saw lots of Black Vultures seeking roosts, but were coming in from all directions. That's generally how we tell migrants from locals on most days anyway. I did a quick count through them by 10's as an estimate and saw over 120 the first round and over 60 the second round. Then we saw a dozen more stragglers. This is not the first time I have seen migrant vultures moving SW over the fields between Murfreesboro and Cagle. It's a little north of where birds we would see from Soddy Mtn. Lookout would cross, but most likely where birds which have crossed from Rhea County would be traveling. I was very impressed that they were on the move in that kind of weather. And very curious if they truly had dropped through the cloud cover from higher elevations. They wouldn't have had to be too high as low as these clouds today(12/13) were. For me, it indicated a possibility Vultures are still moving. But Red-Tails certainly weren't. We saw many as we traveled, perched on line poles and tree tops, the whole way. Until the fog closed in so much we could no longer see the road well. Alas..the last raptors of the year have been counted f rom Soddy Mtn. But even on a day like today, when we saw not only the vultures, but many large groups of Black birds of some kind, and several flocks of smaller species, moving low across the skies, there will be opportunities to -
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!
ps Jimmy and I have a couple more blogs we are going to post, hopefully between now and January first, before we close the Year out and await the Spring counts of 2017...if we are lucky enough to have a few records. Hope you will stayed tuned for the blogs to end this year. May you Holidays be warm and full of blessings!!
C
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