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Subject:

Fort Smallwood Park (27 Apr 2009) 390 Raptors - Mississippi Kite

From:

Sue Ricciardi

Reply-To:

Date:

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:26:09 +0000

Fort Smallwood Park
Pasadena, Maryland, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 27, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               13             97            247
Turkey Vulture             301           1893           6026
Osprey                      14            285            460
Bald Eagle                   6             23             71
Northern Harrier             1             50             87
Sharp-shinned Hawk          14           1019           1120
Cooper's Hawk               10            196            395
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          1             27            245
Broad-winged Hawk           23           1376           1376
Red-tailed Hawk              5            106            274
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel             0            165            301
Merlin                       0             56             58
Peregrine Falcon             0              1              3
Unknown Accipiter            0              8             17
Unknown Buteo                1             12             22
Unknown Falcon               0              6              7
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0             13             19
Mississippi Kite             1              1              1

Total:                     390           5335          10730
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:15:00 
Observation end   time: 15:00:00 EST
Total observation time: 7.75 hours

Official Counter:        Sue Ricciardi

Observers:        Brad Cernohorsky, Marty Miller, Ralph Geuder

Weather:
Mostly sunny; 68-90 degrees; fair visibility with some haze; winds
southwesterly 3-10 mph

Raptor Observations:
Adult Mississippi Kite at 12:20 pm (EDT), seen well for several minutes,
the white secondaries gleaming in the sun.  This is the second earliest
ever sighting of Mississippi Kite.  The large number of Turkey Vultures may
represent a subadult surge. 

Non-raptor Observations:
A bird very suggestive of an Anhinga was seen about 3:30 pm (EDT), but the
observers did not get a definitive view.  It was last seen heading north
and very high.  Almost 900 Blue Jays.  New Arrivals: Rose-breasted
Grosbeak, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Northern Parula, Black-and-white
Warbler, American Redstart
 =======================================================================
Report submitted by Sue Ricciardi ()
Fort Smallwood Park information may be found at:
http://www.mdbirds.org/sites/mdsites/hawks/hawkwatch.html

Site Description:
Fort Smallwood Park is located on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay at
the mouth of the Patapsco River, 11 miles south of Baltimore, MD. Best
winds are from the southwest. The Park is closed to visitors on Wednesdays.