Today was the first day we conducted a HawkWatch at Havre De Grace to see if large 
numbers of Broad-winged Hawks follow the coastline of the Chesapeake Bay as they 
migrate south. Between 8:30 am and noon only seven BWs were seen. By the 2 o'clock 
hour we began to see kettles of over 100 birds, and just after 3:00 pm 570 BWs were 
counted in several loosely connected kettles!! At 5:03 pm a kettle of 110 hawks were 
seen as we ended our day.

We observed all this from the Lockhouse Museum located just south of the Rt 40 bridge 
along the shore of the Susquehanna River. Most of the Broad-wings were crossing over 
the river where the Susqehanna meets the Chesapeake Bay. A strong NW wind with gusts 
up to 27 mph affected the flight greatly. Almost all the birds were so high that we would 
not have seen them if large, scattered clouds were not present.

There were so many local Bald Eagles and Osprey that we only counted the ones that 
were flying with the BWs as migrants.

We will be at the HawkWatch on Sunday the 16th to conduct our second days count.

TOTALS  -  HAVRE DE GRACE HAWKWATCH  -  9/15/2007
Broad-wings - 1,430
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 12
Osprey - 16
Bald Eagle - 9
Kestral - 5
Coopers Hawk - 1
Merlin - 1

Jim Meyers