[MDOsprey] [BIRDHAWK] Backyard Hawk Watch
Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Wed, 22 Sep 1999 23:02:52 -0400
Backyard Hawk Watch (est. 1992), Fall 1999
Site: 3812 White Ave., between Belair Rd. and Walther Ave. - northeast
Baltimore City in the Gardenville section
Topography of the Site: The prominent peak in the area is a steep ridge
about 180-200' above Belair Rd. and about 260' above sea level. It runs
northeast to southwest and is the first ridge west of the Chesapeake
Bay. It is about 12 miles from the bay, and is about 5 miles northwest
of the head of Back River, an arm of the bay, and about 6 miles north of
Baltimore's Inner Harbor. There is a long narrow old-growth of woods
between 3-5 acres on top of the ridge. My hawkwatch site is about 150
yards west of the ridge. The only road that runs along side of ridge is
Fairwood Ave., that connects from White Ave. to Parkmount Ave.
The hawkwatch is located in my backyard. Most of the hawk flights
arrive from the northeast and a few from the north and northeast-east.
Reports: Kevin Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Counter: Kevin Graff (Sept. 22nd - 9am-2pm)
(site manned, it depends on the weather, 8am-7pm (Sept.), except
Mon.-Thurs. 8am-2pm)
SPECIES 9/22 SEASON 1998 1997
TV 1 25 525 362
BV 0 3 49 13
GE 0 0 1 3
BE (3 ad. & 9 imm.) 0 12 22 9
NH 1 7 48 25
SS 2 39 260 106
CH 1 17 153 82
NG 0 0 1 2
RS 2 8 108 51
BW 251 9,969 11,782 4,324
RT 0 10 526 339
RL 0 0 7 14
OS 2 34 48 20
AK 12* 44 64 23
ML 1 7 15 7
PF 0 0 4 2
SH 0 0 1 n/a
UA 0 0 3 4
UB 0 1 3 3
UF 0 0 1 n/a
UR 0 1 n/a n/a
273 10,358 13,621 5,338
Non-Raptor 9/22 SEASON 1998
Great Blue Heron 0 1 4
Canada Goose 133 183 2,934
Short-billed Dowitcher 0 9 n/a
Ring-billed Gull 1 15 467
Common Nighthawk 0 51 188
Chimney Swift 55 343 4,486
Ruby-th. Hummingbird 0 7* 1
Belted Kingfisher 0 1 (male) n/a
Eastern Phoebe 0 2 ?
Least Flycatcher 0 1 n/a
Eastern Kingbird 0 3 n/a
Purple Martin 0 5 n/a
Barn Swallow 0 170* 3
Tree Swallow 0 92* 5
N. Rough-winged Swallow 0 34 n/a
Red-breasted Nuthatch 0 2 n/a
Am. Robin 18 32 866
Blue Jay 15 21 576
Cedar Waxwing 0 53* 30
Yellow Warbler 0 1 (imm.) 1
Black-th. Blue Warbler 0 1 (female) n/a
Black-and-white Warbler 0 2 n/a
Am. Redstart 0 4 n/a
Bobolink 0 3 n/a
Chipping Sparrow 0 4 ?
Song Sparrow 8 8 ?
Swamp Sparrow 0 1 n/a
Unid. sparrow sp. 7 77 ?
Common Grackle 4 45 n/a
Am. Goldfinch 0 9 50
Unid. non-raptor sp. 25 94 4,283 (including sparrow)
266 1,274 14,539 (33 species)
Butterfly 9/22 SEASON 1998
Monarch 49 3,887 7,399
Weather: am=PC pm=PC :Temp inthe lower 70's. Chilly wind from
the NW and SW and later shifted to NNW and S.
Raptor Migration Highlight: Broadwings are picking up from the N and NNW
wind, but a little low. A nice kettle of 164 at 1:19pm headed SW. Am.
Kestrel tie the single day record with 12, previous record was on Oct.
10, 1998. Need at least 1,814 BW's to break a season record.
Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: Geese are picking up today with several
flocks. 20 birds at 10:07am headed SE, 34 at 10:09am headed SE, 18 at
11:21am headed E, 33 at 11:52am headed S, 18 at 12:58pm headed SE, and
10 at 1:00pm headed SE. The first 2 weeks in Oct is the best time to see
Canada Geese with possible Snow Geese over my hawkwatch and maybe loons
and ducks. Still, geese migration can be seen through rest of Oct. Robin
and Blue Jays starting to move now and next month will bring good
numbers of these two birds. Major dropout of 4 Song Sparrows seen at the
scrub from the N and 4 other flyby headed S.
Butterfly Migration Highlight: Steady movement of Monarch around noon.
Standard hawk species identifier codes used: TV= Turkey Vulture, BV=
Black Vulture, GE= Golden Eagle, BE= Bald Eagle, NH= N. Harrier, SS=
Sharp-shinned Hawk, CH= Cooper's Hawk, NG= N. Goshawk, RS=
Red-shouldered Hawk, BW= Broad-winged Hawk, RT= Red-tailed Hawk, RL=
Rough-legged Hawk, OS= Osprey, AK= Am. Kestrel, ML= Merlin, PF=
Peregrine Falcon, SH= Swainson's Hawk, UA= Unidentified Accipiter, UB=
Unidentified Buteo, UF= Unidentified Falcon, UR= Unidentified Raptor.
Sky codes: S= Sunny, PC= Partly Cloudy, MC= Mostly Cloudy, R= Rain
Questions or comments on this report to Kevin Graff at
ggraff@erols.com
Kevin Graff
Baltimore, MD
ggraff@erols.com