Derby Hill Bird Observatory
Mexico, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 02, 2025
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 2
Turkey Vulture 198 676 15853
Osprey 2 3 36
Bald Eagle 2 6 177
Northern Harrier 3 4 197
Sharp-shinned Hawk 15 18 451
Cooper's Hawk 2 3 233
American Goshawk 0 0 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 3 721
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 10 24 1139
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 49
Golden Eagle 1 1 51
American Kestrel 3 3 113
Merlin 1 1 17
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 5
Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 239 742 19045
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: David Brown
Observers: Andy Saunders, Dan Baldassarre, Dave Wheeler, Don Metzger,
Kim Steininger, Pete Davidson
Visitors:
12
Weather:
Overcast with light to moderate ESE winds. Brighter sky between 10-12 EST
got the flight going. Felt cold! Count ended early due to wintry mix.
Raptor Observations:
Slow for the first few hours. Finally two hours of brighter sky brought the
bulk of the flight. Nearly 200 Turkey Vultures. Fifteen sharpies with many
giving close looks. A few harriers including a male that came through low
and close. Ten red-tails and two red-shoulders. A dark-winged subadult
Golden Eagle came through high and lingered overhead giving plenty of time
to study it. A Merlin zipped along the lake shore and ate the bird of the
day.
Derby Hill 2025 Daily Summary Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb44fA7Uio0ifcrbLjT2-GE7
Non-raptor Observations:
North Lookout: Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye,
Pied-billed Grebe, 5 Common Loons, Great Blue Heron, 2 Belted Kingfishers,
3 Common Ravens, 50 Tree Swallows, CLIFF SWALLOW (caught by passing
Merlin), 3 Eastern Meadowlarks.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S222539672
South Lookout after count: 2 Vesper Sparrows, Savannah Sparrow.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S222529860
New species for season: Cliff Swallow, Vesper Sparrow
Predictions:
TOMORROW: Rain ending early. Mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. High
64F. Winds S shifting W at 15-25mph. A warm front in the morning will be
followed by a cold front in the afternoon. Good winds most of the day. It
will likely be a good day. Strong winds may push the flight line over the
lake at times and make observing difficult. Expect moderate to good
migration.
FRIDAY: Partly cloudy. High 44F. Winds WNW at 10-15mph. South lookout.
Expect a steady Turkey Vulture flight and a light to moderate flight of
other species.
SATURDAY: Windy with rain likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 49F.
Winds SE at 20-30mph. Good winds but rain may prevent a raptor flight.
========================================================================
Report submitted by David Brown ([email protected] )
Derby Hill Bird Observatory information may be found at:
http://onondagaaudubon.com/derby-hill-bird-observatory/
More site information at hawkcount.org:
https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=358
--
New postings to the entire list: [email protected]
Subscription configuration instructions:
https://it.cornell.edu/lyris/basic-e-list-member-tasks
Listowner contact: [email protected]
Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
