Another strong flight, and with the heads up from Tucker Lutter in Bronson, we know that we have Red-tails on the way finally. The next four days should be a). good b). see the last big push of Turkey Vultures out and the first big push of Red-tails in c). we'll get some Swainson's in the mix but not many (there were 9 yesterday, but the season's total will be abysmal. d) I'm hoping for a rarity or twio as well. Should be a good time to pay Hitchcock a visit-- particuarly today and Sunday. P.S. Check out the season Peregrine Falcon total-- a new record and NOT a typo!
Hitchcock Nature Center Honey Creek, Iowa, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 222 2965 3878 Osprey 6 27 100 Bald Eagle 8 78 191 Northern Harrier 9 19 67 Sharp-shinned Hawk 30 316 496 Cooper's Hawk 9 67 221 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 1 Broad-winged Hawk 36 111 805 Red-tailed Hawk 18 150 346 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 9 51 94 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 10 69 Merlin 9 19 47 Peregrine Falcon 13 80 108 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 Gyrfalcon 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 6 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 3 Unknown Buteo 0 0 5 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 5 Total: 374 3897 6444 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Ryan Evans Observers: Ryan Evans, Veronica Mecko Visitors: Judy Kading Mary Kramer Candace Havely Weather: Raptor Observations: Bald Eagle: 8 immature Peregrine: 4 immature, 5 adult Merlin: 4 columbarius Non-raptor Observations: Double-crested Cormorant: 3400 Franklin's Gull: 4000 Red-headed Woodpecker: 7 Blue Jay: 500 ======================================================================== Report submitted by Mark Orsag ([email protected]) Hitchcock Nature Center Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.pottcoconservation.com/html/hitchcock.html Site Description: Hitchcock Nature Center is located in the Loess Hills of western Iowa. The small town of Crescent is immediately southeast of Hitchcock. The watch overlooks the Missouri River Valley, and the skyline of downtown Omaha, Nebraska is easily visible (on clear days) to the southwest. The hawkwatch at Hitchcock Nature Center is now a full-time operation that logs approximately 600-800 hours of coverage and counts an average of 13,000 migrating raptors every fall. Besides recording a diverse raptor/vulture flight of 20 annual or semi-annual species dominated by Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks, Hitchcock's observers track large numbers of other abundant avian migrants ranging from Blue Jays and Red-headed Woodpeckers to Snow Geese and American White Pelicans. Our fall season runs from 15 August to 20 December with the peak period for raptor migration running from approximately 20 September to 20 October. Counts are now conducted daily from the 56-foot hawktower attached to the HNC Lodge between 1 September and 20 December. Counting in August is part-time. Directions to site: >From Omaha NE, take I-680 north to the Crescent Exit. Take Iowa 988 into Crescent. At the "T" junction with Old Lincoln Hwy. (formerly Iowa 183), take a left north and drive for approximately five minutes until you see the Hitchcock Nature Center sign. Take a left at the sign, and drive up the hill. At the top of the hill, take a right. Enter the nature center and follow the signs to the Lodge. >From Council Bluffs IA, take I-29 north and take the Crescent exit. The rest of the directions are as above... BIRDHAWK is sponsored by HMANA. Info, list guidelines: http://www.hmana.org/ List archives,subscription options: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdhawk.html To contact a list owner, email to: [email protected] ============= --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/membership.asp. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
