[MDOsprey] [BIRDHAWK] Backyard Hawk Watch
Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Thu, 30 Sep 1999 22:47:24 -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.
Note: This is a Wed. report.
Reports: Kevin Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Counters: Kevin Graff (Sept. 29th - 9:30am-2pm)
Charlie Muise (Sept. 29th - 1pm-4pm)
(site manned, it depends on the weather, 8am-7pm (Sept.), except
Mon.-Thurs. 8am-2pm)
SPECIES 9/29 SEASON 1998 1997
TV+ 1 26 525 362
BV 0 3 49 13
GE 0 0 1 3
BE (4 ad. & 9 imm.) 0 13 22 9
NH 0 8 48 25
SS+ 3 57 260 106
CH 0 25 153 82
NG (male) 0 1 1 2
RS 0 9 108 51
BW+ 1 11,786* 11,782 4,324
RT 0 10 526 339
RL 0 0 7 14
OS+ 6 42 48 20
AK+ 2 51 64 23
ML 0 8 15 7
PG 0 0 4 2
SW 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
13 12,221 13,621 5,338
Non-Raptor 9/29 SEASON 1998
Double-cr. Cormorant 0 1 141
Great Blue Heron 0 1 4
Canada Goose 0 183 2,934
Short-billed Dowitcher 0 9 n/a
Ring-billed Gull 0 15 467
Common Nighthawk 0 54 188
Chimney Swift+ 55 556 4,486
Ruby-th. Hummingbird 0 7* 1
Belted Kingfisher 0 1 (male) n/a
Northern Flicker 0 9* 5
Eastern Phoebe 0 2 ?
Least Flycatcher 0 1 n/a
Eastern Kingbird 0 3 n/a
Purple Martin 0 5 n/a
Barn Swallow 0 175* 3
Tree Swallow 0 94* 5
N. Rough-winged Swallow 0 35 n/a
Red-breasted Nuthatch 0 2 n/a
Gray Catbird 0 8 ?
Am. Robin+ 4 52 866
Blue Jay+ 116 723* 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 0 8 ?
Swamp Sparrow 0 1 n/a
Unid. sparrow sp. 3 100 ?
Common Grackle 0 53 n/a
Am. Goldfinch+ 9 22 50
Scarlet Tanager+ 1 1 (female) n/a (new yardlist)
Unid. non-raptor sp. 7 228 4,283 (including sparrow)
195 2,411 14,539 (33 species)
Butterfly 9/29 SEASON 1998
Monarch+ 332 5,136 7,399
+ reported by other observers
Weather: am=MC pm=MC/R :Temp in the lower 70's. Wind mostly from
the S all day. Charlie Muise reported some rain at 4pm.
Raptor Migration Highlight: Slow day but Charlie had 11 hawks while I'm
at work. The interesting birds he had was 5 Osprey between 2pm and 3pm.
Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: More big flocks of Blue Jay with 25, 1,
17, 71 and Charlie had 2 in pm. He also reported seen 2 Am. Robin, 32
Chimney Swift, and a Goldfinch. We both saw a Scarlet Tanager, probably
a female, was a new yardlist for me.
Butterfly Migration Highlight: Another good day for Monarch with 322 in
am and Charlies had 10 in pm.
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, PG=
Peregrine Falcon, SW= 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
P.S. A special thanks to Charlie Muise for helping out cover the
afternoon for me while I'm at work.