CLOSING DAY - NOV 30TH **** FINAL #3028 RAPTORS******

Bill has decided to call the season. And with the next week having some pretty cold temps, I don't blame him. Although, he has no fear of the cold, (I know this because we have been out all day with him on counts a couple of times when the mornings started at 18 degrees), being in it every day for several days in a row isn't wise, when you are exposed and in place with no gettting into and out of a sheltered like a car. So...all that aside- this post is of the last day he was up there. He sent a cool closing set of pictures which I will post exactly as he asked. And I wish to say that, Jimmy and I hoped to get up there far more often, and it didn't happen for us. In fact, I was never able to go up this season. So we live vicariously through Bill as you do. This was a great season, though difficult for him. We cannot say enough about the support he received from friends and fellow hawk lovers. Hope every one has a very HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!!! Here's the last report of 2022:

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28th and 29th Reports Near the End of the Month Totals

Winds have been pretty high these last days of the month. Hard to stay on the watch in this stuff. I am posting 2 reports today. And will post our last post for the season Tomorrow morning.

Here are the Monday and Tuesday numbers:

ONE LONE RED-TAILED HAWK

Sunday's report is a single bird. Wonder how far it has come? Here's the report.

Beautiful Weather For Late November

Saturday's report had a minor correction, so I believe I have it properly corrected. And can put it up. After Thanksgiving, I am still washing the leftovers dishes from the fridge as we slowly finish up the goodies. Very little left of it, but I certainly have enjoyed the feast, even if my blood sugar has not. Starting to make Christmas presents in the mean time and I spent 5 hours figuring out why my sewing machine suddenly quit sewing. So late last night I was playing catch up. Which is what I will have to do with Sunday's report, and get it up later today or this evening. Bill says only a few more days. Migration has slowed, but today scattered clouds and warm weather may make a few birds easy to see at least. So wishing him luck. Fall leaves have almost all fallen from many trees, while oaks hang on as ours always do. So we hang on just a bit longer.

Here is Saturdays report:

Ooops ...Every Bird Counts!!! THANKSGIVING DAY

Bill sent a little note to say he DID go up to the watch on Thanksgiving. So he checked and his report was saved as a draft. I have done the same thing once or twice or more. LOL And he said: EVERY BIRD COUNTS at this point. So true, and he has sent his report and I am glad to get it up because he put in the effort ON THANKSGIVING! So here it is with photos.

WINDING DOWN NOVEMBER

Hope everyone had a wonderfull Thanksgiving! I know I am Thankful, Grateful and Blessed. I try to be anchored in things like the hawk count each year, to remember our God has things under control. And my family is very special. Enjoy every moment with them. Bill did not slip off to the watch as he sometimes does on Thanksgiving. So glad he is now able to take some breaks. It is noteworthy that his count has now crossed 3000 migrants. Not a bad year. But a lot of work to get there. Here is Friday's count:

Day Before Thanksgiving '22 - 105 Birds!

A large kettle of vultures graced the day. 88 to be exact. The count for the season has officially crossed the 3000 raptor mark! Here's a pic or two for Wednesday's report:

Very Slow First Hours on Monday and Sandhills Steal the Show, Tuesday Report Below

Wishing you a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING on this upcoming Thursday! May it be a Blessed day for all our families. I know in our family, several people may have to work, so we will be missing them this year. And there are many who are far away. But we can be thankful anywhere. ---- This past weekend, Bill was away at an insulator show. So there are no weekend reports. But he was back at it on Monday. We often say that too much wind deters some hawk fights, but the exact opposite will deter Vulture movement. No winds mean a difficult flight with a lot of wing work for all the raptors, but the Vultures love the wind, and will come out of nowhere on a windy day. On Monday they definitely were a no show until a little wind arose around 1100 hrs. Sandhills Steal the show all day:

This month has flown by for me. Suddenly in 2 days we are facing the Holidays just before the start of a new year. And it is also the final couple of weeks before Bill expectes to call the watch. For now, the Sandhills are beginning to rule the skies up near Birchwood and are stealing the show at the watch as well. Bald Eagles are arriving to their winter nesting areas, as huge snows lock the north in record breaking depths in some areas. Will we see some large pushes of Sandhills trying to escape? Sandhills make a second showing on Tuesday, and Vulture numbers keep pushing up:

Kinglets Decorate the Trees

There have been some beautiful days lately, but chilly. It's a lovely report to also have seen Kinglets close to the rim. Here's Friday's report:

Thursday Verification and Correction

We did a verification and correction on Thursday's report, to be sure Bill was aware we were changing stuff. So we are ready to post now. We have had some beautiful skies and comfortable days, but a lot of haze in the valley.Typical Fall for the TN Valley. Hope it isn't affecting Bill too much up there. Here is Thursday's report.

BTW, I had to do three typo updates on my own short paragraph. It happens. LOL

Wednesday, November 16th...Already?

Tuesday and Wednesday_ Yep it's the week before Thanksgiving, already. Cold nights ahead, with chilly days as well. Cranes continue to rack up numbers, and TVs dribble through. All is well in hawk migration land. Here's Tuesday's update, and Wednesday's report:

22 Raptors, A Common Loon and Sandhill Cranes

Jimmy and I were traveling on Tuesday in the rain, but I was unable to post from the car. This is Monday's report. Thanks to Rick Williams for coming to keep Bill company! He has come a few times this year. The Sandhills are gradually making a showing. Those numbers should continue until well into February, but by then will be going in both directions. LOL For now, they are also headed south. Being near the river, I am often surprised we don't see more Loons, pelicans and ducks etc. But they stay in the valley for the most part. It is always a treat to pick up the odd bird. Here's Bill and Ricks' report:

Jacob Wessels Mans the Morning Watch

Jacob came early, and manned the watch until Bill got up from church. He was successful in capturing a few. Thanks so much for the coverage. Here's Sunday's report:

First Skunk In A While - And For Good Reason!

Bill went up in spite of the not so stellar weather, and like I always love to say: "All Data Is Good Data!" Here is Saturday's Report. No report on Friday due to all that rain!!!

Expecting a Friday Rain from Hurricane Nicole's Remnants

Thursday's report has been delayed because Jimmy wanted me to wait until we could get verification of a typo on Thursday's report. It was indeed a typo not misssed hawks, so we just corrected the totals, and reposted. I will need to correct it on facebook as well today. The numbers should read 63 for totals on Wednesday. But as for Thursday, it proceded hefty rains from Nicole, and Friday was a wash. Bill said if it opened up Saturday, he would try to be up. Here's Thursday's report:

Vultures Continue To Be On The Move

We accidentally missed two pictures Bill sent of Vultures in a kettle Tuesday, so I am including them today. Very appropriate because we want to note that Turkey Vultures continue to be on the move, showing up in small kettles during the day. It is a great time to keep looking up for migrants, because those kettles are a little easier to spot than some other raptors. So it becomes a good exercise in spotting and counting a kettle. A little slow motion compared to Broadwings. LOL But we never discount the possibility that another smaller hawk is among them, or near them. Because for other birds, that kettle sometimes becomes a light house of sorts for other raptors, of where a thermal is which will provide lift, the rising air that will make for easier flight throughout the day. Here are Bill's Tuesday pictures and his Wednesday Report. This weekend the COLD weather actually makes a long debut. So any time spent on the watch needs layers and warm drinks or food. Friday will bring in the rains from Hurricane Nicole, this lady being the first one in fourty years this late in the year. Some say the only one ever to make Landfall on this date. So as she brings in the rain, and the northern snow front brings in the cold, might we have a bit of spitting snow a few mornings? For certain, any remaining raptors will feel the need to push south. Here's the report: (note, a typo has been corrected.)

MONDAY AND TUESDAY REPORTS

I have had a tiny bit of difficulty getting Monday's report up, until now so I am posting it with Tuesday's to get them both up. These will be November 7th and 8th. In the early morning hours, the full moon went into eclipse. I woke early enough to catch glimpses of the narrowing 1/3 of the moon become a sliver, then disappear behind total cloud cover. It then got too low in the sky for me to see as it opened again into it's full blood moon glory. From that last glimpse on, my day was full, right up until I opened the computer to post Monday's report. This is when my computer shut down, because my battery no longer charges, because the cord had come slightly away from the side of the keyboard. Well, getting this thing back up...no easy matter.... but, no great loss. because I can now post two in one of these super good reports. Look at these numbers! Excellent reports:

Before the Rains Come In

On Wednesday, Bill had a few raptors, but for the next few days no reports - Rain and prior commitments. Jimmy noticed when rains broke, a mixed group of Raptors was kettling over the house. But we had something we also had to take care of, so we couldn't go up impromptu even for a few minutes. But there may have been a small push when the skies opened. Rain again this morning, might keep them down for a while. Perhaps Bill can get up for a while today. But by Friday, the freezing cold nights come in. Cold nights don't mean there will be no hawks, but the cold weather birds make their last push. Here's the last report:

Visitors from Loudon Tn

People with Binocuars help scan those 360 skies. And Bill had the blessing of 3 visitors on Tuesday. A big welcome to the Watch for Kristen, Suz and Glennie coming in from Loudon, TN. Sorry you didn't benefit with a nice big hawk run. Hope you can come again.

As November Begins -

Years ago, Bill made a brochure for the Hawkwatch which included a graph, showing what we could expect to see each month of the Fall season. Let's look at that chart again to see what expectations are for November-

The raptors expected in November are Buteos, Eagles and Vultures, with a larger concentration of Northern Harriers than earlier, and maybe more accipters coming in late on their time frame. We no longer expect to see migrating Kestrals, Falcons, or Ospreys. And we definitely don't expect to see Broad-wings which ended their push in early October. Let's see how the first day of November stacked up. Here's the report:

ARE NUMBERS IMPORTANT?

Numbers are important for knowing the health of bird populations. It's been proven in the 1900's age of near extinction of birds succombing to overhunting and environmental irregularities. Believing the populations were declining, because of all the things identified, was only a theory, until making changes to those things actually helped the populations (numbers) return. Not to their former glory, but to numbers which proved something was helping. Now more than ever we have the numbers which were not available a half century ago. Why do I say that? Only because the public access of the data from hundreds of locations, incredible hours of data, and crossing borders of nations, was not available in the bygone years as one unit of info. I have noticed that we cannot draw conclusions of the health of a certain bird, based soley upon our own Soddy Mtn. data. Purhaps from the data of Texas sites??? Certainly more so from the areas where the birds funnel through the Central Americas. But never one site. Because even in the Central Americas,it is necessary to take the data from both East and West counts to know how many birds are passing through. But even then, we have recently discovered that far more birds, including raptors make passage off shore than was ever suspected. So why bother? Because the combined effort of many sites does provide a fluctuating picture. There are exceptions, especially in birds whose primary habitat is the only place they might regularly be counted, or even apply. Kirkland's warblers for instance. But even then, if they are seen in migration in any odd location, those birds are significant. 1 or 2 of those, in only 15 various locations and times, are an encouragement that they are migrating along a broader front. Missing them on a traditional route alone would send up flags. Soooo- even when Soddy can't report numbers that may have been counted in a past year of boom, looking East or West of us may supply the missing birds. If not, are they showing up SW of us, or funneling past the Texas border? This year, there are reports of significant increases in some populations in other areas. Did they pass near us? Entirely possible!!! The weather being hot, dry and frought with blue blue skies, meant that thousands of birds could have passed directly over our site, so high as to not be seen. Frustratingly low numbers do NOT mean there were any fewer birds! Not at all. Bill should not fret for any reason other than, that he didn't get to see them. :( ____Sunday it rained all day. Much needed, and Bill deserved a rest as well. Monday it was still raining or socked in half of the day, but when it cleared, he did go up, and here's the report: Halloween Day , Monday Oct, 31 '22(click on the post to make it bigger)

Expecting Big Numbers on Turkey Vultures

Jimmy and I have seen large groups of Turkey Vultures gather in numbers above 800 on spots along the river in the past, (not from the hawk watch.) It would be a lovely sight to have one of those large groups rise from the trees somewhere within count range of the Soddy Mtn. watch this fall. But large groups of 50+ are not out of the question. As you drive west toward Nashville this time of year, it never fails that we see that size kettle of Vultures over and over again when they are on the move. It is just a matter of how many of those kettles cross near the count visibility of Bill's site. As I put up this report it is Sunday morning, and raining. So Bill does not go up on a completely rained out day. Tomorrow the rain is forecast to end early in the day. So Monday may be a day when hawks waiting out the rain instead of using valuable energy, will do a morning hunt, and get underway. Maybe a few backed up will make for a great count. Hoping for skies without significant haze or fog so they can be seen. Here's Saturday's report:

Merlins And an Uptick in Vultures

Watching the wind directions change on Bill's report is interesting today. We often focus on the numbers of the birds, but the data for weather is alway interesting too. A NE Wind became an ESE wind, then calmed but ended out the Day coming straight out of the East. The interesting thing, about Vultures, is they love wind. Turkey Vultures especially are well suited to the wind. And sometimes in Easterly winds, we have seen them moving E to W in the hazy mists North of the Watch all day, and could never count them in spite of their size, because they were just fantom shapes appearing and vanishing in the haze. Friday, about lunch time- well here's the report:

Moderate Southerly Winds

The Turkey Vulture numbers should begin to pick up. And they have. 27 is our Grandson's lucky number. On this the 27th day of October, Bill had a nice end of the day push of vultures on the move. Here's the report:

It's Wednesday, And October is Quickly Winding Down

The leaves are quickly falling from the trees. The fall color is winding down, and it is beginning to look a lot like winter is on it's way. Bill sent a short post, so I will keep it short. Here's the report:

A Day to Remember!

On Tuesday, a fire was raging west of the hawkwatch along Hwy 8, on the west side of the Savage Gulf area. Jimmy and I were traveling to Murfreesboro for a doctor's appointment, and had not heard of the fire, but were alerted by the amount of emergency activity there was in the area. I texted family wondering what could be going on, and my daughter quickly responded with a link to the fire info. The further west we went, the more we could smell the smoke, but flames were not visible from the road. I wondered then, would it have any bearing on the hawk watch, which we had only a few minutes earlier passed and blown the horn as we often do, when we know someone is on the watch. Whether a fire so large would actually hold hawks into a pattern which would more or less force them to go over the watch and head further south before heading into a westerly flight, I cannot say for certain. But since a very good day co incided with Bill's very good day, I have to wonder. Here's the story, and his report - he says it will be a memorable day! Tuesday 10 25 22: click on the post to view it in larger print.

Sharpies Overhead

As day breaks, I am taking a moment to get Bill's report up for today. A steady flow of infrequent birds adds up.Welcome Mitch, who visited Monday! Here's the report:

A slightly more varied count on Sunday afternoon. Some of you may desire to know that Bill comes up on Sundays after Church. Should have been a lovely fall afternoon for a count. The winds have calmed, but maybe a little too much, because it causes the migrants to have to work at moving SW these days. But for people, a great day to look into those mountain leaves and try to pick out a South bound raptor. Hello to the Keels. Thanks for joining Bill to search these blue skies. Here's the report:

" I had a good visit with Ry and Katie Keel. They came equipped with chairs, camera and binoculars. I didn't get to show her a Sharp-shinned Hawk, so I guess she'll have to come back and try again. Bill"

Warmer Weekend Weather and New Watch Warriors

As I post this, the weekend is almost over and Bill has had a number of weekend warriors come up to cheer him on. He is having great fun, sharing the hawk watch with so many visitors. It is such a blessing that you come up to support his vigil and to brighten his day. Plus we always say...MORE EYES TO THE SKIES!!! So in this post I will put up Saturdays results. Here's the report:

5 Bald Eagle Day and Lots of Visitors

Exciting to continue to have so many visitors come to the watch. Welcome to all and we hope you can come again. I am not sure if we have ever had visitors all the way from the Netherlands before. What a blessing. Here's Friday's report:

Thomas and Katie with Bill.

Click on the report to view it better. Just a note, Bill is producing almost all of the photos this year, unless otherwise posted.