In the past, Jimmy and I have always set aside time in September to do our hawk-watching, after he retired. At least as an event style, of watch where we could invite all of our readers to come join us, with dates and times, and they could expect someone should be there. Traditionally, we have had field trips etc. scheduled during what was most likely the time when we expected Broad-wings to come in larger numbers, in hopes that new hawk-watchers, or seasoned birders who just never saw a kettle of BW's, might have a chance to come and experience it. There have been some who have come regularly and failed to see the big numbers, due to the randomness of our actually seeing those big numbers. But we tried. We tried to find indicators for the possibility of having birds fly near us, and to discover why we didn't see them when we expected them. But it still remains, that hawks don't fly according to our calendar, on a set date each year.
When October arrived, generally, the bulk of the BW's had passed. Although we would post September totals, while continuing to add any late BWs into October totals, often until about the 5th when numbers seemed to vanish for that one species. But this year the weather patterns and things like wind and open skies have altered that to not be the norm. So there has been a hope that "late" flights would occur. Bigger better numbers might dribble over into early October, more than traditionally would. We have manned the watch when possible for 5 or 6 days into October trying to pull every last BW we could to bring a good number to the records in the past. But this year, is more likely to have a few...maybe more than a few.
But what happens when you focus on the Broadies, some times a number of things are misrepresented a tad. For example: BW's don't necessarily stop flying or kettling because it's the last day of September. Sorry if we misled you. We might have had to stop going up to see them, but they may have been flying through in good numbers, often in blue skies too high to see them.
Another thing that is lost sometimes is the variety of hawks that might not come in kettle size numbers. We might leave people thinking, that BWs are the only hawks that migrate. Most of our watchers know there are quite a few others on the eastern flyway... but if you are a visitor or an occasional follower of BW season, it could be misleading when we emphasize them so much.
Bill has always been an advocate of the entire season mindset, way up into November. And we have joined him on some pretty windy or cold, and sometimes rainy days for wonderful hawk watch experiences. His message to all persons with hawk interests is that, there is a migration count, after Sept 30. And his report is a good example:
His Oct. 1 Surprise ~
"Soddy Mountain hawk totals
Monday
Oct. 1, 2018
Coverage (all times EST): 1415-1600
Counter : Bill Haley
Stop the Presses: Broad-wing Season Continues!
Two things I've learned in 26 years at Soddy Mountain. (1). You never know what you might see on the lookout. (2). If you don't visit the lookout, you are sure to see (count) ZERO HAWKS.
Today we were short a late person at work, so I volunteered to work late. This gave me an opportunity to flex some time and make a late afternoon trip to the hawk lookout. I didn't arrive until 1415, and really wasn't sure I would see any hawks at all, but I was committed to scanning the sky, which had about 85% cloud cover. No shortage of good hawk clouds today!
At 1448 I spied a group of 64 BW'S streaming across the clouds at medium altitude. All right! I was very pleased with this group, but continued scanning. About 30 minutes later, here comes another stream of 68 and 4 minutes after that, another 25. Both these groups were very low and easily visible without binoculars. They formed a large kettle directly overhead. I put my binoculars down, and with a big smile on my face, I enjoyed the spectacle of Broad-wings spread all over the sky above me. It was truly one of the best sights of a year that has already furnished a lot of great memories. I'll admit to being selfish and feeling glad I was the only one to witness it. I'd kept the faith, put in the time and earned that special moment.
The last Broad-wing of the day came up from low in the valley at 1551, flapping, gliding and struggling to make it through Jones Gap.
I didn't see a single hawk of another species while I was there.
Weather: Clouds 85%, wind S 5-10, temp. 81 F, Barometric pressure 30.26 - 30.25. Visibility 55K.
10/01/18
Hawks (by the hour):
1400: 0
1500: BW 160
______________
Total hawks 160
Who says you can't see Broad-wings in October?
Reporting : William G. Haley, Jr."
There have been a multitude of hawk migration reports in various locations across the state, this week of BW kettles, and many are being reported because they are later than expected. 100+ kettles seen sometimes without the aid of binoculars. Surprising or delighting many birders. Weather this year has played a major part in hawk migration, and either the hawks are not at great heights, allowing people to just outright notice them, or for some reason they are "get your attention" noticeable, in many places other than just the heights along ridgelines. (Flying lower, especially low enough to not need to be on the ridges to notice them) A little unusual, or more people are looking up???... At any rate, they are still making their way south, be it BWs or SSs or Coopers or Falcons, or Harriers, or Bald Eagles, or Osprey or....any other species of raptor, you can't see them if you don't -
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!
Bring on the October Raptors!!!On the Species Key page of this blog is a chart about halfway down the page, which shows what data showed at one time to be the best dates for viewing certain migrations of raptor species in our area. As the line widens, of course more hawks of that variety are seen, and as it narrows of course, fewer might be seen. Actual count years might vary slightly, but Bill's chart is a good guide. ck it out by clicking on Bring on the October Raptors link here or above.
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