A Few zero hours

A little break in the day, was on a good day to take it. Here's the report:

A New Peregrine to Report

Thursday's Report will be short and sweet. Thank you Rick for your help on Thursday! Always a treat to add a Peregrine Falcon. Here's the Report:

Bald Eagles and Broad-wings, Never a Bad Pairing

Welcome Hawk Help - Jennifer Martin and Tom and Fran Moreley. A Hawk site up near Pigeon Forge, TN, called Sherwood Forest Hawk watch, kept some long hours and did some scope birding this week. They were able over the last 10 days to find over 5000 migrants, most of them being BWs. Their perspective was that the birds they saw got way higher as the day progressed, but then began to lower altitudes as the evening cooled a bit. They saw hawks up until 7pm a day or two. A second notable watch was at Hazel Bazemore Park, in Corpus Christie, TX where counters who have counted there for years, had one of their top 5 counts on Wednesday. Seeing over a quarter million BW's and hig numbers of American Kestrals as well. Both can be seen on Hawkcount.org . This is the site where we also report our meager but rewarding findings.I featured both counts on our Facebook page. Now - Here's the report:

Onesies, Twosies

Welcome John Dever to the hawk watch. Thanks for coming!! Tuesday was a day of hunting. Large sky, infrequent hawks. Adding Eagles to the totals is fun. Here's the report:

The End of HMANA Celebration Week

Hawk Migration Association of North America ended its celebration week with a note from Julie that the reports showed the greatest numbers from early in the week. It was true for or watch as well. I hope to, at the end of the month, show a few of the reports from watches across the migration lookouts. To view these numbers visit Hawkcount.org. I had a minute before we leave today to put up Monday's report:

The 1300 Hour put us over 1000 BWs

Thank you Tim, Barb, Alice, Thomas and Tami! Welcome visitors to the watch; hope you enjoyed your day. And thanks again to Tami for covering the watch while Bill was at church. You are a blessing. More clear weather and a lot of heat put hawks high in the sky if they move past the watch many times. Little by little some are beeing seen. Our watch group put us over 1000 BWs for this season today in spite of it being a tad slow. 1300 WAS THE MAGIC HOUR. LOL! Great job to all!

HERE'S THE REPORT:

We Are Now Over 1000 for Hawks Seen This Season

Bill and Tami hit the 1000 hawks target on Saturday. They only needed one. But 27 will be needed to hit that same mark for BWs. Thank you Tami, for the help. Tami is another counter who has filled out reports for HMANA over the years. She's a veteran and a welcome team member any time she can come. Bill goes to church on Sunday mornings, so he probably won't be on the watch early on Sunday, but Tami sometimes covers a bit when she's able. There isn't a front bringing rain predicted until Wednesday, so no hawks backed up immediately above us. So the question today, is will the Tropical Storm Ophelia, going up the coast, push some birds from the coastal flyway further our way onto the mountain migration path. Because the storm came in on NC coast and remains inland in Virginia, there might be birds making that turn that will bring them across from a more easterly to s-westerly path. Hope it is so! Here's the report:

Blue Sky with Friends

There are days, as we have said before in years past, which should be days to see thousands of hawks, but the skies are blue. Even with lots of great help, either the hawks are too high to see, or don't stand out against the blue, or the weather just has them tracking elsewhere. Friday was that day. I am so sorry to the 4 precious people who came to help. We thank you so much for coming. Bill was hoping to cross the 1000 bird mark for Broad-wings, but the 1000 bird total would have been nice too. But with only 8 hawks seen, he is at 999 total hawks. But while I am on numbers, we crossed over into 76,304 BWs for all time, and 104,594 hawks of all species for an all time total. In this our 30th year, 105,000 is a very real possibility this year. Bill would say I just jinxed him. But one good BW or TV flight could get him there before season's end. BTW, we have had crowds a day or two in the past and zero hawks for the day. But the company is always good. Click on the reports to view them.

Here's Friday's report:

Day 6 of INTERNATIONAL HAWK MIGRATION WEEK

Thank you Susan Schott and Rick Williams for the help!!! This has been International Hawk Migration Week for a reason. The largest numbers for Hawk Migration from North to South are known to come in during or near this week. Broad-winged Hawks are the generator of big numbers in our area, but in Texas for example, many different raptors push through on migration, and all have been triggered to move by the cooling temps up North. Thursday was day six of the celebration week and after today's hawk stats, Bill and Crew are 51 BWs from 1000 Broad-winged Hawks for the count this year! Yay. Good luck today. Here's the Report:

First Timer Luck!

Our Bald Eagle numbers are really on the rise. Our largest season total was a whopping 41, with the second being 36. We have several years with 35, and many with numbers over 20. As of this report we now have 21. I remember a single day once when we had 15. This is a great year so far for Bald Eagles, since there has been at least 1 every day except 2. Let's keep an eye on that number and maybe hope for a record breaking BE year. Bill had a great day. Not exhausting numbers yet, but exciting constant evidence of hawks on the move. But the plus was that a new visitor to the watch for the first time, had excellent beginners luck. Here's the report: (note an error occurs in the hour 1300 - 1400. 13 = 5 should read only 135)

Tuesday With Visitors

Welcome to our Visitors today! Bill sent along an email story and pictures, so I will just let him take the floor today. Here's his report:

International Hawk Migration Week Continues

This is the week we often expect good numbers of Broad-wings, because over the years there often have been great flights. We report to Hawkcount.org, a records division of Hawk Migration Association Of North America. Bill reported for years a paper report, but Jimmy now does it by computer. He has attempted to get some of our older records up for the interem years by using our online records from the blog. We are delighted to celebrate their Hawk Migration Week for the notable service they provide to also make reccords available to the public. We are therefore able to look at other sites and see how their day has gone. It is remarkable to see the great numbers of hawks which eventually funnel through Texas and the Yucatan, but also each of the smaller sites where the birds originate. We have been the most southern site along the flyway which goes through Tennesee, until we found a couple who reported from their farm, SW of us. Of course there are the the coastal sites which go as far as the Keys. But there is a large gap where no one reports the southern birds from here to the Mississippi. So we feel our data is valuable, although we cannot capture all the hawks coming through the enormous amount of acerage in Tennessee where 10s of thousands of hawks pass every migration, we can account for many of those who pass directly over our site low enough to be seen, if there is someone looking. Thank you Bill for your continued dedication to the love of it!! Here's Monday's report:

HAWKCOUNT.ORG

Kettles, Kettles, Kettles

Right on schedule this year. Hawk Migration Week begins with a back up rain and the kettles were forming on Sunday! So exciting. And Miss Tami King was able to join for a great count day. Here's the Sunday Reort:

RAIN OUT!!!

We have hit a new milemarker for the Blog! We now have more than 500 posts on the site. Although we haven't been posting for 29 years, this will make our 30th year of info, and for more than 500 times we have made one or more of the daily reports available to the public. On Saturday, Bill went up for Opening Day of Hawk Migration Association Of North America's INTERNATIONAL HAWK MIGRATION WEEK, but was rained out. Sunday would be a better day. Here's the report:

The Day that Almost Didn't Happen

Well, of course the day itself happened, but the watch was almost closed out by rain...until it opened up. Over here in Hixson, where Jimmy and I are, we can never really know if there is watching weather on the mountain. This morning, Saturday, when I am posting Friday's report, I would have believed today was a rain out. But as I work, I think I see bits of sunshine. So it is a good thing Bill is close: Here's his report:

BW Numbers Are Picking Up!!!

Today I started the Accuracy notebook. It's where I keep the numbers in check. In a few days I will post an update to Hawk Migration Association website. I just made a logo, to be a space marker. So there are little strides being made on some things I need to get going. But I am not the only thing that is getting going. The Broad-wings are upping their numbers coming over the Soddy site. Yay!!! Here's the report:

Morning Weather not so hot

Weather may have been the reason Bill couldn't see hawks on this Wednesday morning. Winds will make tomorrow a tough day, just trying to catch the wind lovers dashing through. No kettles yet, but just know they are coming! Here's the report:

Early Red-Shouldered Hawk!!

Bill and Rick on the first day:

Photos are Bill Haley's unless otherwise noted.

Bill is attempting to be there almost everyday through September. At this time we try to note that Rain and High Winds will keep him off the watch. Birds can rise above the clouds this time of year, so they cannot be seen from our vantage on a completely rainy day. On days when the cumulous clouds rise to thousands of feet high, they can provide an excellent backddrop for the dark silouettes of the hawks passing under and between them. But if they are producing lightening, being on top of a mountain out in the open is not advisable. So rain is a deterent to watchers more than the migrants. And Bill has a pretty firm rule to not go up on a day when rain is forcast for the full day. He is close enough to go up if the rain breaks, on the spur of the moment if he desires, but the scheduled watch will be cancelled for the day. Just so you Know... ....................COMFY CHAIR LOOKING NORTH............

.....Here is Tuesday's interesting report with an anomaly:

Great Day to See a Merlin

I remember another 9-11 when Jimmy, Harold Birch and I had a very large plane flew over when there were supposed to be zero planes in the air. I am so glad the only thing special to report today was a little dark Merlin! Great afternoon, Bill.

Hawk Watch Opening Day KIte

Bill Haley and Rick Williams had an awesome opening day!!! September 10 might mark our earliest sighting of Mississippi Kite on the watch. I need to check. Kites are sometimes an ID process of elimination. I recently went through this exact process one day from home when I had 2 Mississippi Kites over the house. Because you don't first think of Kite, your brain is ruling out what it might be. And then it dawns on you. You have a cool bird for our area. Well, Here's the report: Congrats to Bill and Rick!!! (click on the report to enlarge it for reading.)

Opening Day Is Upon Us

At Soddy Mtn. Hawk Watch, we begin in September to record migrating raptors of all kinds. Although Kites and Eagles often begin to move earlier, the oppressive heat keeps us off the mountain for the long hours expected to capture Maybe birds. Maybe we could see a k:te, maybe not. And most of the Eagles would be moving north on most days. Soooooo, around the middle of September we begin to keep our eyes out for the less maybe birds. Starting with Broadwings. There have been being records of Broad-wings hawks arriving to areas far north of us by virtue of banded birds returning. But they are isolated and probably too high to see many passing our way just yet. Therefore, we set a date to start looking, and Bill has decided to open the watch, Sunday afternoon, Sept 10 2023. He will arrive after church near 1:00 pm. If you come to join him please come prepared with a chair, binoculars if you have some, liquids, and snacks , appropriate clothing layers, hats, sunscreen!!!, and a knowlege that there are no toilette facilities provided at this time. Come sit a spell, or stay only a bit. Bill is superb company and a great teacher. The numbers recorded, along with it's appropriate data are recorded here, on our Facebook page, and on Hawkcount.org. Here is you invitation and an introduction to the bird sillouettes you will learn to see.

Beginning Stats fall 2023 Grand Totals BW's 75,346 All Raptors 103,590