A Nice Turn Out!

"Picked up my notebook tally sheet yesterday and
was very surprised that this large Chinese Mantid
 had crawled under the page I was working on, Bill"

Thanks to all the visitors today!

Posts show 10s of thousands of birds coming through at the NE watches, Jimmy said up around New York.  That's big numbers for this late in September.  The way storms are situated to the Mid-west, and the front line of really high lofty thunder storms moving east all along the middle migration route, and the rain encasing us all around, there is a point somewhere that those thousands of hawks must move west.  Will they pass near Soddy, it's impossible to say. But I personally thought today would have been a great day to stay late if I had been there, because the temps in my greenhouse got to over 100.  That means cooling skies would happen late in the day.  All I am trying to say, is everything is set up for good numbers.  IF there are people there to see them.  Many sites are admitting to using scopes to get their numbers, so if the hawks can get lift they will be high. 

Still hopeful for good flights.

Here's the report from today:

"Soddy Mountain, TN hawk totals

 Saturday
 Sept. 23, 2018

Hours of coverage:

0815-1630 = 8.25 hrs. 

Counters: Jim Rowell,  Harold Birch, Jim Wilkerson, Bill Haley. Tammy King

Guests: Lenny Kafka, couple from Oak Ridge, TN.

No big numbers like yesterday,  but we had Broad-wings in small numbers throughout the day.

Weather:

0800: Clouds 65%, wind W 1-2, temp. 71 F, visib. 15K.

0900: Clouds 60%, wind WSW 1-2, temp.  72 F, hum. 82%.

1000: Clouds 30%, wind S 2-3, temp. 74 F, hum. 90%.

1100: Clouds 10%, wind S 4-5,  temp. 76 F, baro. 30.07, hum. 73%.

1200: Clouds 10%, wind S 1-2, temp. 80 F, hum. 65%.

1300: Clouds 10%, wind S 4-5, temp. 82 F, hum. 60%.

1400: Clouds 45%, wind S 2-6, temp. 84 F, visib.  20K, baro. 30.08, hum. 56%.

1500: Clouds 35%, wind S 1-4, temp.  86 F, visib. 35 K,.

1600: Clouds 35%, wind S 2-8, temp.  86 F, visib. 40K

HAWKS:

Osprey: (1) 1:43

Bald Eagle (1) 2:48 (imm.), (1) 4:20 (ad)

Broad-wing (by the hour):

0800 - 0

0900 - 4

1000 - 15

1100 - 65 (kettle of 49)

1200 - 39 ( kettles of 9, 11)

1300 - 5

1400 - 9

1500 -  2

1600 - 0

Total - 139

Peregrine Falcon;  (1) 3:32

9/22/18 

OS 1

BE 2,

BW 139

PG 1.

_______________

Raptor Totals - 143.

Reporting: William G. Haley, Jr "

 

The variety of raptors is definitely missing this year.  But we are proud for every bird sighted.  Lack of records are also always records.  And to get the record, you know what I'ld say...you have to

 

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!

 

Great Job Everyone.!