[BIRDHAWK] Backyard Hawk Watch
Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Wed, 11 Nov 1998 18:51:20 -0500
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
between 3-5 acres op 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 alond 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)
Counters: Kevin Graff (9am-1pm, 1:30pm-3:30pm & 4:30pm-5pm), & Bob
Ringler (11am-1pm)
(site manned, it depends on the weather, 9am-5pm through Dec. 15th)
SPECIES 11/11 SEASON 1997
Turkey Vulture 1 471* 362
Black Vulture 0 46* 13
Golden Eagle 0 1 3
Bald Eagle 0 22* (9 ad. & 13 imm.) 9
N. Harrier 1 48* 25
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 231* 106
Cooper's Hawk 0 130* 82
N. Goshawk 0 1 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 100* 51
Broad-winged Hawk 0 11,782* 4,324
Red-tailed Hawk 1 365* 339
Rough-legged Hawk 0 7 13
Osprey 0 48* 20
Am. Kestrel 0 63* 23
Merlin 0 14* 7
Peregrine Falcon 1 4* 2
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 (imm. light phase - 9/16) n/a
Unidentified Accipiter 0 3 4
Unidentified Buteo 0 3 3
Unidentified Falcon 0 1 0
Unidentified Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 8 13,341* 5,338
Weather: A very strong moving cloud cover from the SW remain all morning
until around 12:30pm, became clear sky with very bright sunshine for
rest of afternoon. Shortly after 3pm, about 25% cloud cover from the SW.
Raptor Migration Highliught: A very slow day, not much is flying due to
high wind all day. Hope for better movement tomorrow.
Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: Only 6 Am. Robin flyby early in the
morning.
Note: Bob Ringler came to watch some hawks today, but we had only three
so far, still we enjoy indentify butterflies in my backyard, including
Comma, Cabbage Butterfly, and some unidentified sulfur. Next year during
the hawkwatching, I will try to indentify butterflies in the yard, I'm
still learning now, thanks to Bob Ringler for helping me indentify some
today.
Questions or comment on this report to Kevin Graff at
ggraff@erols.com
Kevin Graff
Baltimore, MD
ggraff@erols.com