11:30 am to 12:30 pm, nice hawk flight over my house in Darnestown, Mont Co:
2 - OSPREY
4 - SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS (1 playing tag with a Red-Shoulder)
2- RED-SHOULDERED
1- AMERICAN KESTREL
1- COOPERS HAWK
5- BROADWINGED HAWK
55 - VULTURE (TURKEY AND BLACK). The best flights here seem to come when wind is from southwest. Today's flight followed its usual pattern at my house. Nothing until 10:30 am. then if a south or west wind comes up, with clouds appearing to the north, the flight begins 20 - 30
minutes later. After 12:30, the flight either tapers off or the birds are too high to see, or both. The larger Buteos and vultures initially appear far to the northeast and kettle up, possibly using thermals from the grocery and church parking lots in Darnestown. They generally stream off to the east of my place, paralleling the ridgeline of Seneca Road. The accipiters tend more to pass to the west, and lower altitude, traversing ridges, and following the treeline of the little creek (Hookers Branch) that parallels Seneca Creek. If anyone has observed a concentration crossing point for raptors between Pennyfield Lock and Riley's Lock I would be very interested to hear about it.
Don Simonson, Darnestown MD |