Fort Smallwood Park
Pasadena, Maryland, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 30, 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 3 135 325
Turkey Vulture 64 1697 4869
Osprey 8 256 375
Bald Eagle 3 40 63
Northern Harrier 0 62 65
Sharp-shinned Hawk 23 1526 1575
Cooper's Hawk 3 277 381
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 139 293
Broad-winged Hawk 1 234 234
Red-tailed Hawk 5 234 294
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 1
American Kestrel 0 148 193
Merlin 0 25 27
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 2
Unknown Accipiter 0 5 8
Unknown Buteo 0 6 9
Unknown Falcon 0 1 2
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 5 6
Mississippi Kite 1 1 1
Swallow-tailed Kite 0 1 1
Total: 111 4795 8725
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Bob Rineer, Sue Ricciardi
Observers: Andy Smith, Bob Rineer, Hal Wierenga, Ralph Geuder
Visitors:
Allen, Andy and Judy Higgs and their bearded collie, Willow.
Weather:
Variable skies ranging from sunny to partly cloudy; 50-67 degrees; good to
excellent visibility; winds northwesterly to start turning to the north in
the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
A rather slow day was made very exciting by the appearance of an adult
Mississippi Kite at 1:42 pm Eastern Daylight Time. The kite came in from
the southwest, leisurely circled a couple of times and then exited west.
It did not seem to be hunting for prey. Noted were the falcon-like
appearance, the white head, white secondary patches, and an all-dark tail.
This is the fourth sighting of a Mississippi Kite in April, the others
dates being April 19, 2002; April 27, 2009; and April 28, 1990. Since
Mississippi Kites are now nesting in New England, perhaps that is where
this individual was headed.
Non-raptor Observations:
Barn Swallows (maybe a couple of hundred) and Chimney Swifts were notable
today. Seaside Sparrow, Marsh Wren, Forster's Tern 7, Baltimore Oriole. A
butterfly, Henry's Elfin (photographed). Neglected to mention 7 Solitary
Sandpipers yesterday. Two Fish Crows were seen breaking off numerous twigs
from the dead portions of a small tree. Eventually they must have found
ones that they liked as they flew off together each with about a one-foot
long twig in its mouth.
=======================================================================
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.
############################
To unsubscribe from the MDOSPREY list:
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
or click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MDOSPREY&A=1 |