[MDOsprey] [BIRDHAWK] Backyard Hawk Watch
Geoff Graff (ggraff@erols.com)
Wed, 03 Nov 1999 23:50:39 -0500
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 (Nov. 3rd - 9am-2pm)
(site manned, it depends on the weather, 8am-5pm (Nov.), except
Mon.-Thurs. 8am-2pm)
SPECIES 11/03 SEASON 1998 1997
TV+ 39 406 525 362
BV+ 0 16 49 13
GE 0 0 1 3
BE (8 ad. & 19 imm.) 0 27* 22 9
NH+ 0 33 48 25
SS+ 9 319* 260 106
CH+ 1 194* 153 82
NG (2 ad. males & 1 imm.) 0 3* 1 2
RS+ 1 120* 108 51
BW+ 0 12,113* 11,782 4,324
RT+ 40 241 526 339
RL 1 1 7 14
OS+ 0 84* 48 20
AK+ 2 135* 64 23
ML 1 36* 15 7
PG 0 5* 4 2
SW - - 1 n/a
UA+ 0 2 3 4
UB 0 6 3 3
UF 0 2 1 n/a
UR 0 2 n/a n/a
94 13,745* 13,621 5,338
Non-Raptor 11/03 SEASON 1998
Common Loon 4 6 21
Red-throated Loon 0 2 2
Double-cr. Cormorant 0 92 141
Great Blue Heron 0 11* 4
Canada Goose 0 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 0 111 467
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+ 16 149* 5
N. Rough-winged Swallow 0 35 n/a
Red-breasted Nuthatch 0 6 n/a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 51* 11
Golden-crowned Kinglet 7 29* 7
Gray Catbird 0 8 ?
N. Mockingbird 0 2 n/a
Hermit Thrush 1 3 4
Am. Robin+ 9 440 866
Blue Jay+ 0 2,914* 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 11 47 63
Swamp Sparrow 0 1 n/a
"Slate-colored" Junco 14 42 51
Unid. sparrow sp. 6 195 ?
Common Grackle+ 0 69 n/a
Pine Siskin 0 3 n/a
Am. Goldfinch+ 5 92* 50
Scarlet Tanager+ 0 1 (female) n/a
House Finch+ 0 26 n/a
Purple Finch 0 3 3
Unid. non-raptor sp.+ 18 792 4,283 (including sparrow)
93 9,627 14,539 (33 species)
Butterfly 11/03 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= MC :Temp in the mid 40's all day. Wind from
the W. Strong and gusty wind for almost most of the day.
Raptor Migration Highlight: Both Redtails and Turkey Vultures braves the
stong wind. Some of the Redtails are very high to avoid high wind.
Season first Rough-legged Hawk at 9:43am headed W. Nice kettles of 14
Turkey Vultures, 4 Red-tailed Hawks, and 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks at 1:10pm
and another kettle of 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 2 Am. Kestrels at
1:11pm, all headed SWW, except for kestrels headed SW. A total of 32
hawks between 1:10pm and 1:12pm. Merlin seen zip by real fast by strong
wind at 12:37pm headed SWW. Forgot to add Red-tailed Hawk from Mon. at
1:54pm just before I left for work. Need 255 hawks to reach 14,000.
Non-Raptor Migration Highlight: Yesterday rainout had only 10 robins
flyby. Late migrants swallows with 6 Tree Swallows together left real
quick for SW and 6 with a kettle of 3 Sharpies and 2 kestrels at 1:11pm,
a second later, 4 more Tree Swallows follows. White-throated Sparrows
and juncos are picking up well. A flock of 4 Common Loons seen very high
at 1:57pm headed SE. Need 4,912 non-raptors to reach 14,539, but may not
get that far.
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