Backyard Hawk Watch (est. 1992), Fall 1998 Site: 3812 White Ave., between Belair Rd. and Walther Ave. - northeast Baltimore City in the Gardenville section. Topography of the Site: The prominent peak in the area is a steep ridge about 180-200' above Belair Rd. and about 260' above sea level. It runs northeast to southwest and is the first ridge west of the Chesapeake Bay. It is about 12 miles from the bay, and is about 5 miles northwest of the head of Back River, an arm of the bay, and about 6 miles north of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. There is a long narrow old-growth of woods about 3+ acres on top of the ridge. My hawkwatch site is about 150 yards west of the ridge. From the west side of the ridge, going west past my site, the topography continues to rise for about 6/10 mile to a height even higher than the ridge. The only road that runs along side of ridge is Fairwood Ave., that connects from White Ave. to Parkmount Ave. The hawkwatch is located in my backyard. Most of the hawk flights arrive from the northeast and a few from the north. Reports: Kevin Graff (ggraff@erols.com) Counter: Kevin Graff (site manned, it depends on the weather, 9am-6pm - early to mid. Oct.) SPECIES 10/08 SEASON 1997 Turkey Vulture 0 31 362 Black Vulture 0 6 13 Golden Eagle 0 0 3 Bald Eagle 0 10* (5 ad. & 5 imm.) 9 N. Harrier 0 28* 25 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 62 106 Cooper's Hawk 0 30 82 N. Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 12 51 Broad-winged Hawk 0 11,773* 4,324 Red-tailed Hawk 0 30 339 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 13 Osprey 0 41* 20 Am. Kestrel 0 37* 23 Merlin 0 8* 7 Peregrine Falcon 0 3* 2 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 (imm. light phrase - 9/16) n/a Unidentified Accipiter 0 2 4 Unidentified Buteo 0 0 3 Unidentified Falcon 0 0 0 Unidentified Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 1 12,075* 5,338 Weather: Lousy day with rain all day until it clear out about 5 minutes before 5pm. A clear sky show up with 50% cloud cover. Raptor Migration Highlight: A single Sharp-shinned Hawk soar just above the tree line at 5pm. Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: Only 10 Blue Jay for the day. Questions or comments on this report to Kevin Graff at ggraff@erols.com Kevin Graff Baltimore, MD ggraff@erols.com