Derby Hill Bird Observatory
Mexico, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 03, 2025
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 1 1 3
Turkey Vulture 3411 4087 19264
Osprey 9 12 45
Bald Eagle 9 15 186
Northern Harrier 35 39 232
Sharp-shinned Hawk 170 188 621
Cooper's Hawk 19 22 252
American Goshawk 0 0 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 13 16 734
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 103 127 1242
Rough-legged Hawk 1 1 50
Golden Eagle 0 1 51
American Kestrel 22 25 135
Merlin 2 3 19
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: 3795 4537 22840
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 18:00:00
Total observation time: 11 hours
Official Counter: David Brown
Observers: Bill Purcell, Dave Wheeler, Kim Steininger, Matt Brown,
Pete Davidson
Visitors:
15
Weather:
Overnight thunderstorms and rain ended just after 6am EST. Overcast with
moderate SSE winds. A brief shower paused the flight. Afterwards the winds
shifted southwesterly and the sun came out for the last few hours as the
winds became strong and gusty from the west. Warm day.
Raptor Observations:
A great day of hawk watching with a long flight period and distinct periods
of different weather. For the morning the flight was a variety of low
raptors, especially ones that don't mind flying without strong thermals.
When it cleared up after the rain in the afternoon it launched a huge
Turkey Vulture flight with good numbers of other species mixed in, but
higher.
Over 3,400 Turkey Vultures, plus the season's third BLACK VULTURE. Nine
each of Osprey and Bald Eagle. This was the biggest harrier flight of the
season with 35. A strong Accip flight with 170 sharpies and 19 Coops,
mostly adults. For Buteos we had 13 red-shoulders, just over a hundred
red-tails, and a juvenile light-morph rough-leg. The falcons were 22
kestrels and 2 Merlins.
Derby Hill 2025 Daily Summary Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb44fA7Uio0ifcrbLjT2-GE7
Non-raptor Observations:
2 American Wigeons, 2 Sandhill Cranes, 16 Killdeer, LITTLE GULL, 60
Bonaparte's Gulls, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 8 Common Loons, 12 Great
Blue Herons, 9 Belted Kingfishers, 5 Eastern Phoebes, 4 Common Ravens, 200
Tree Swallows, Barn Swallow, 1,500 American Robins, 7 Purple Finches, 3
Eastern Meadowlarks, 85 Rusty Blackbirds, 4,000 Common Grackles.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S222761049
New species for season: Little Gull
Predictions:
TOMORROW: Sunny. High 44F. Winds WNW at 10-15mph. South Lookout. Should be
a good cleanup flight of Turkey Vultures plus light to moderate migration
of other species. Spotting may be difficult with the blue skies.
SATURDAY: Rain likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. High around 50F. Winds
SE at 15-25mph. Good winds but rain may prevent a flight (though the hourly
percentages are dropping). Check again tomorrow.
SUNDAY: Cloudy. High 41F. Winds W at 10-20mph. Probably South Lookout.
Expect light to moderate migration.
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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
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