[MDOsprey] [BIRDHAWK] Backyard Hawk Watch
Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Fri, 15 Oct 1999 22:12:15 -0400
Backyard Hawk Watch (est. 1992), Fall 1999
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 on top of the ridge. My hawkwatch site is about 150
yards west of 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 (Oct. 15th - 9am-3pm & 3:30pm-6pm)
(site manned, it depends on the weather, 8am-6:00pm (Oct.), except
Mon.-Thurs. 8am-2pm)
SPECIES 10/15 SEASON 1998 1997
TV+ 37 117 525 362
BV 0 9 49 13
GE 0 0 1 3
BE (7 ad. & 15 imm.) 0 22 22 9
NH 2 22 48 25
SS+ 5 206 260 106
CH 1 132 153 82
NG (male) 0 1 1 2
RS 9 68 108 51
BW+ 0 12,062* 11,782 4,324
RT 10 65 526 339
RL 0 0 7 14
OS+ 2 83* 48 20
AK+ 1 124* 64 23
ML 1 33* 15 7
PG 0 2 4 2
SW - - 1 n/a
UA 0 1 3 4
UB 0 3 3 3
UF 0 2 1 n/a
UR 0 1 n/a n/a
68 13,133 13,621 5,338
Non-Raptor 10/15 SEASON 1998
Common Loon 0 2 21
Double-cr. Cormorant 0 90 141
Great Blue Heron 0 11* 4
Canada Goose 31 1,857 2,934
Snow Goose 0 50 230
Am. Black Duck 0 2 n/a
Northern Pintail 0 4 n/a
Short-billed Dowitcher 0 9 n/a
Common Snipe 0 1 n/a
Laughing Gull 0 1 n/a
Ring-billed Gull 23 60 467 (8 - 10/14)
Common Nighthawk 0 63 188
Chimney Swift+ 15 2,082 4,486
Ruby-th. Hummingbird 0 7* 1
Belted Kingfisher 0 1 (male) n/a
Downy Woodpecker 0 1 2
Northern Flicker 0 13* 5
Eastern Phoebe 0 3 ?
Least Flycatcher 0 1 n/a
Eastern Kingbird 0 3 n/a
Purple Martin 0 5 n/a
Barn Swallow 0 175* 3
Tree Swallow 1 126* 5
N. Rough-winged Swallow 0 35 n/a
Red-breasted Nuthatch 0 5 n/a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 16* 11
Golden-crowned Kinglet 0 3 7
Gray Catbird 0 8 ?
N. Mockingbird 2 2 n/a
Am. Robin+ 37 200 866
Blue Jay+ 24 2,847* 576
Cedar Waxwing 0 53* 30
Red-eyed Vireo 0 1 n/a
Nashville Warbler 0 1 n/a
Yellow Warbler 0 1 (imm.) 1
Black-th. Blue Warbler 0 1 (female) n/a
Black-and-white Warbler 0 2 n/a
Am. Redstart 0 4 n/a
Bobolink 0 3 n/a
Chipping Sparrow 0 4 ?
Song Sparrow 0 15 ?
White-throated Sparrow 0 12 63
Swamp Sparrow 0 1 n/a
"Slate-colored" Junco 2 2 51
Unid. sparrow sp. 4 144 ?
Common Grackle 0 53 n/a
Am. Goldfinch+ 3 64* 50
Scarlet Tanager+ 0 1 (female) n/a
Unid. non-raptor sp. 15 385 4,283 (including sparrow)
161 8,424 14,539 (33 species)
Butterfly 10/15 SEASON 1998
Monarch+ 4 6,584 7,399
American Lady 0 4 n/a
4 6,588 7,399
+ reported by other observers
Weather: am= S pm= S :Temp in the lower to mid 60's. Wind from
the SE all day.
Raptor Migration Highlight: Nice day for Turkey Vultures. A pair of N.
Harrier seen at 12:48pm headed SWW. Kind of late for Osprey, with 1st
seen at 10:31am headed W and 2nd seen at 3:44pm headed W. Buteos are
picking up well today. In the next few days, TV and RT will arrive in
good numbers.
Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: Am. Robins finally arrive in good
numbers, but are low for this month. Season first juncos flyby, but
never stop by in the yard. A pair of N. Mockingbird seen flyby very high
in the sky, this is the first time that I seen any mockingbirds that
high.
Butterfly Migration Highlight: n/a
Standard hawk species identifier codes used: TV= Turkey Vulture, BV=
Black Vulture, GE= Golden Eagle, BE= Bald Eagle, NH= N. Harrier, SS=
Sharp-shinned Hawk, CH= Cooper's Hawk, NG= N. Goshawk, RS=
Red-shouldered Hawk, BW= Broad-winged Hawk, RT= Red-tailed Hawk, RL=
Rough-legged Hawk, OS= Osprey, AK= Am. Kestrel, ML= Merlin, PG=
Peregrine Falcon, SW= Swainson's Hawk, UA= Unidentified Accipiter, UB=
Unidentified Buteo, UF= Unidentified Falcon, UR= Unidentified Raptor.
Sky codes: S= Sunny, PC= Partly Cloudy, MC= Mostly Cloudy, R= Rain
Questions or comment on this report to Kevin Graff at
ggraff@erols.com
Kevin Graff
Baltimore, MD
ggraff@erols.com