2010 continues to be a remarkable year at the CVP HawkWatch.  On Sunday morning we arrived at 8:30 AM and  already Sharpies, Osprey and a N. Harrier were up and moving.  The sky was clear early on, with clouds slowly appearing from the ENE throughout the morning until a nice mix of sun and clouds provided us with a near perfect background for picking out high flying raptors. With winds out of  the NE, there was a steady if somewhat slow movement of hawks, and by 10:00 AM they were very high and hard to spot.  The number of observers we had at one time was five, but most of the time there were only three or four of us.  By noon most of the hawks were only visible through binoculars, and careful scanning of the clouds rewarded us with record numbers of accipiters , as well as aching necks!  Between 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM the flight was almost non-stop.   A term coined the day before, ACCIPIDOTS, proved to be an accurate description of what we were seeing.  Even at low altitudes the question of Coopers vs. Sharp-shinned is often debated, and at these heights we took a consensus of each sighting for identification.  Hawk watching and counting is not an exact science I've been told!!  The ratio we came up with, as well as comparing what other watch-sites in the area have seen, assures some degree of accuracy.  Each year I am amazed at how high Sharpies fly, particularly without the utilization of thermals as on windy, cloudy days like Sunday.  Accipdots indeed!  Our ace photographer, Greg Futral, summed it up nicely: " Each migrating hawk is like a gift!"

Thanks to everyone who helped out.

Cromwell Valley Park HawkWatch  - Sunday, 10/3/10  -  8:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Broadwings - 68
Sharpies - 168  -  our old record was 144
Coopers - 16 - ""  ""  "" 13
N. Harrier - 14
Osprey - 5
Kestrel - 31
Merlin - 1
B. Eagle - 4
Unidentified - 8

Jim Meyers
Parkville MD