[MDOsprey] [BIRDHAWK] Backyard Hawk Watch
Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Thu, 28 Oct 1999 22:56:06 -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))
Counters: Kevin Graff (Oct. 28st - 9:30am-2pm)
Joe Platek (Oct. 28th - 11:45am-2pm)
(site manned, it depends on the weather, 8am-5:30pm (Oct.), except
Mon.-Thurs. 8am-2pm)
SPECIES 10/28 SEASON 1998 1997
TV+ 24 332 525 362
BV+ 0 16 49 13
GE 0 0 1 3
BE (7 ad. & 18 imm.) 2 25* 22 9
NH+ 1 33 48 25
SS+ 7 294* 260 106
CH+ 3 184* 153 82
NG (2 ad. males & 1 imm.) 0 3* 1 2
RS+ 4 115* 108 51
BW+ 0 12,112* 11,782 4,324
RT+ 21 160 526 339
RL 0 0 7 14
OS+ 0 84* 48 20
AK+ 1 131* 64 23
ML 0 34* 15 7
PG 1 3 4 2
SW - - 1 n/a
UA+ 0 2 3 4
UB 1 6 3 3
UF 0 2 1 n/a
UR 1 2 n/a n/a
66 13,538 13,621 5,338
Non-Raptor 10/28 SEASON 1998
Common Loon 0 2 21
Red-throated Loon 0 2 2
Double-cr. Cormorant 0 92 141
Great Blue Heron 0 11* 4
Canada Goose 24 1,969 2,934
Snow Goose 0 68 230
Am. Black Duck 0 2 n/a
Northern Pintail 0 4 n/a
Short-billed Dowitcher 0 9 n/a
Common Snipe 0 1 n/a
Laughing Gull 0 1 n/a
Ring-billed Gull 6 111 467
Common Nighthawk 0 63 188
Chimney Swift+ 0 2,082 4,486
Ruby-th. Hummingbird 0 7* 1
Belted Kingfisher 0 1 (male) n/a
Downy Woodpecker 0 1 2
Northern Flicker+ 0 15* 5
Eastern Phoebe 0 3 ?
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+ 0 133* 5
N. Rough-winged Swallow 0 35 n/a
Red-breasted Nuthatch 0 5 n/a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 40* 11
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 16* 7
Gray Catbird 0 8 ?
N. Mockingbird 0 2 n/a
Hermit Thrush 0 2 4
Am. Robin+ 1 311 866
Blue Jay+ 4 2,909* 576
Cedar Waxwing 0 53* 30
Red-eyed Vireo 0 1 n/a
Nashville Warbler 0 1 n/a
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 17 ?
White-throated Sparrow 4 35 63
Swamp Sparrow 0 1 n/a
"Slate-colored" Junco 3 28 51
Unid. sparrow sp. 3 177 ?
Common Grackle+ 3 61 n/a
Pine Siskin 0 1 n/a
Am. Goldfinch+ 5 81* 50
Scarlet Tanager+ 0 1 (female) n/a
House Finch+ 0 26 n/a
Purple Finch 0 3 3
Unid. non-raptor sp.+ 23 571 4,283 (including sparrow)
80 9,119 14,539 (33 species)
Butterfly 10/28 SEASON 1998
Monarch+ 0 6,595 7,399
Question Mark 0 1 n/a
Mourning Cloak 0 5 n/a
Red Admiral 0 4 n/a
American Lady 0 11 n/a
0 6,616 7,399
+ reported by other observers
Weather: am= S/PC pm= S/PC :Temp in the mid 40's in early am to
early 60's around noon. Wind from the NE/NW in am then changed to SW
around 12:30pm for rest of the day.
Raptor Migration Highlight: An 2nd winter Bald Eagle at 1:30pm headed
SES and 1st winter Bald Eagle at 1:34pm with a kettle of 1 Peregrine
Falcon, 1 Am. Kestrel, 1 N. Harrier, 3 Sharpies, and 1 Cooper's Hawk. At
1:30pm, before join the rest kettles at 1:34pm, an kestrel was dive-bomb
at the Peregrine for a while. 4 minutes later back to the kettle, the
Peregrine took a turn by dive-bomb at a kestrel. All 8 hawks in a kettle
headed SW. More Turkey Vultures and Redtails are on the move.
Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: A flock of 24 Canada Geese at 12:20pm,
then split to a flock of 11 and 13 headed SE. More kinglets and sparrows
flyby and some others seen in yard. The flock of 6 Ring-billed Gulls was
in a V-form headed SE at 11am.
Butterfly Migration Highlight: n/a
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 comment on this report to Kevin Graff at
ggraff@erols.com
Kevin Graff
Baltimore, MD
ggraff@erols.com