Maryland Birders please forgive this birds-in-Virginia notice - hope you can come visit us across the mighty Potomac (we're really very close).


Snickers Gap Hawkwatch season begins officially Monday 1 September 2008 (some eager counters may arrive the previous
weekend).? Many days are currently not covered with a counter. Accepting volunteers with experience and those who are willing to learn. If you're interested to join
us up on the ridge weekends and Tuesdays are your best bet? for now.
Others days will be grabbed up quickly so by mid-September you'll have
company.





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Contact Joan Boudreau/Bob Abrams at 703/734-1238 if interested or just come
on up. We're about 45 minutes west of the Tyson's Corner area - especially if
you take the Greenway/Dulles Toll Road
(Rt. 267). The Snickers Gap hawkwatch is
located where Virginia State Route 7 crosses the Loudoun-Clarke County line and the Appalachian
 Trail at the summit of the gap
near Bluemount, Va (formerly Snickersville,
 Va).? The watch is adjacent to the highway (take a left
at the top of the ridge on Rt. 601 and an immediate right into the parking lot)
and is conducted from the parking lot serving both commuters and AT hikers.

****Oh! and of course don't forget the famous pie-making establishment Hill High just 4 miles east of Snickers.****











See the following website for further information: http://mysite.verizon.net/rest39yt/virginiaareahawkwatchsites/index.html












Snickers Gap Hawkwatch was established in 1990 by Jesse Fulton of Falls Church, VA, and Kerrie Kirkpatrick currently of Hereford, AZ. In the succeeding years, many observers
have joined in the effort to document the fall migration of raptors passing
over the site. Most are from Northern Virginia near the Washington, DC, area about 50132 miles to the east. While
others come from nearer counties, such as, Fauquier, Loudoun and Clarke.





Snickers is manned solely by volunteers and is one of several
official watch sites in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. It is affiliated with the Hawk Migration
Association of North America (HMANA) which compiles the migration data of over
200 such sites located in the United States, Canada and Mexico.





Typically, about 12,000 birds are counted each season. The highest
seasonal count was over 23,000 in 1998. The birds are generally observed
traveling in a southwesterly direction either directly over the ridge line, or
just off to either side, at varying heights and distances usually depending on
weather conditions. They can be seen with the naked eye, but often require
binoculars or a spotting scope for identification, and when possible, aging and
sex determination.





Snickers Gap is located where VA Rte. 7 crosses the Loudoun-Clarke County line and the Appalachian Trail at the summit of the gap near Bluemont
(formerly Snickersville), VA.? The watch is adjacent to the highway and is
conducted from a parking lot serving both commuters and users of the trail. The
site offers a 180-degree view facing north as the migrating birds make their
approach along the ridge line.







At 1070 ft., the gap is some 300-600 feet below the adjacent ridge
line and 400-500 feet above the surrounding countryside. The Shenandoah Valley is to the west of the gap and the
Virginia Piedmont is to the east. The Shenandoah River runs along the west side of the ridge
only 2-4 mi. away while the Potomac River is situated 10 mi. to the north.




Snickers Gap provides access to a mix of hardwood and non-hardwood
tree habitats that support a variety of plant and animal life. Migratory and
non-migratory birds such as geese, ducks, vultures, cormorants, gulls, loons,
swans, woodpeckers, waxwings, swifts, swallows, crows, ravens, starlings,
hummingbirds, jays, robins, finches, warblers, etc., are often seen and
reported flying overhead. Even occasional ruffed grouse and wild turkeys can be
seen or heard in the forest edge behind the site. The abundant wildflowers
around the parking area attract a number of butterflies including cabbage
whites, monarchs, common buckeyes, spice bushes, black swallowtails, great
spangles, eastern tiger swallowtails, commas, red-spotted purples, orange
sulphurs, shachems, pearl crescents, and silver-spotted skippers.