[BIRDHAWK] Backyard Hawk Watch
Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Tue, 20 Oct 1998 19:46:51 -0400
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 and northeast-east.
Reports: Kevin Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Counter: Kevin Graff
(site manned, it depends on the weather, 9am-6pm)
SPECIES 10/20 SEASON 1997
Turkey Vulture 1 123 362
Black Vulture 4 19* 13
Golden Eagle 0 1 (imm. - 10/12) 3
Bald Eagle 0 16* (7 ad. & 9 imm.) 9
N. Harrier 0 43* 25
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 163* 106
Cooper's Hawk 1 91* 82
N. Goshawk 0 0 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 27 51
Broad-winged Hawk 0 11,779* 4,324
Red-tailed Hawk 1 53 339
Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 13
Osprey 0 48* 20
Am. Kestrel 0 61* 23
Merlin 0 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: 7 12,445* 5,338
Weather: A beautiful clear weather. No cloud all day. Wind mostly from
the NWW.
Raptor Migration Highlight: A slow day, although Black Vultures is
interesting to watch.
Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: Only 6 Blue Jay flyby.
Note: Spent only 3 hrs. of watching, because of college from 11-12:20pm
and a lab almost all afternoon. While walking the dogs up at the ridge
hoping to find some birds, a while later a Brown Thrasher and a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet was spotted deep in the woods.
Questions or comments on this report to Kevin Graff at
ggraff@erols.com
Kevin Graff
Baltimore, MD
ggraff@erols.com