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 od 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 and northeast-east. Reports: Kevin Graff (ggraff@erols.com) Counter: Kevin Graff (site manned, it depends on the weather, 9am-6pm) SPECIES 10/19 SEASON 1997 Turkey Vulture 12 122 362 Black Vulture 0 15* 13 Golden Eagle 0 1 (imm. - 10/12) 3 Bald Eagle 1 16* (7 ad. & 9 imm.) 9 N. Harrier 4 43* 25 Sharp-shinned Hawk 10 163* 106 Cooper's Hawk 9 90* new record* 82 N. Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 27 51 Broad-winged Hawk 0 11,779* 4,324 Red-tailed Hawk 3 52 339 Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 13 Osprey 1 48* 20 Am. Kestrel 6 61* 23 Merlin 1 10* 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 2 3 Unidentified Falcon 0 1 0 Unidentified Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 51 12,438* 5,338 Weather: Alot of clouds all morning with wind from SW to SWW and to W. Cloud breaking up after 4pm. Raptor Migration Highlight: A nice morning for hawk flights with a good view of imm. 1st winter Bald Eagle. Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: Two Great Blue Herons, several Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a 2 Monarch Butterflies flyby. Note: Juncos are back! 15 "Slate-colored" Junco and 3 Am. Tree Sparrow feeding on new grass seeds on formally swimming pool area. Questions or comments on this report to Kevin Graff at ggraff@erols.com Kevin Graff Baltimore, MD ggraff@erols.com