Derby Hill Bird Observatory Mexico, New York, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 31, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 2 2 Turkey Vulture 4136 15177 15177 Osprey 13 33 33 Bald Eagle 6 171 171 Northern Harrier 31 193 193 Sharp-shinned Hawk 58 433 433 Cooper's Hawk 8 230 230 American Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 5 718 718 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 41 1115 1115 Rough-legged Hawk 2 49 49 Golden Eagle 0 50 50 American Kestrel 37 110 110 Merlin 2 16 16 Peregrine Falcon 0 5 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: 4339 18303 18303 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 10.5 hours Official Counter: David Brown Observers: Dave Fitch, Dave Wheeler, Drew Weber Visitors: 10 Weather: A day of changing weather! The day started warm with southerly winds and drizzle that lasted a few hours. By mid-morning the rain had stopped and the sky became mostly sunny for an hour or so. It clouded over again as the winds shifted southwesterly. At 11:45am EST the cold front hit hard, plunging the temperature instantly with a shift to strong WNW winds. At 12pm EST we moved the count to the south lookout where it continued to be overcast and cold with moderate northwesterly winds. Raptor Observations: In spite of the morning drizzle there were ospreys, harriers, and kestrels migrating beginning just after sunrise. When it cleared mid-morning it launched a big flight of Turkey Vultures with a mix of other expected raptor species mixed in. The 10am EST hour was the biggest with over 2,100 Turkey Vultures. When it clouded over again the flight slowed until just ahead of the cold front when a moderate line of a few hundred vultures developed high directly overhead. A minute or two after the cold front hit and the wind shifted northwest there was a huge flight line that developed inland, probably over the south lookout. This was the highest concentration of the day with another 1,300 vultures going by in a few minutes. Once those cleared the sky was empty. We moved to the south lookout and had a few hundred more vultures trickle through throughout the afternoon. Two Rough-legged Hawks (one dark, one light) were the other highlights of the afternoon. A great day for many species. Actual volumes of most species were probably higher than counted due to the flight being high and spread out, including some large groups out over the lake. Highlights included 13 Ospreys, 31 Northern Harriers, and 37 American Kestrels. This was a record March for Derby Hill with 18,303 migrating raptors counted! It was a record-high March for Turkey Vulture and Osprey. It was the best March for harriers since 1998. It was the best March for Sharp-shinned Hawks and Red-shouldered Hawks since 2004. It was the best March for Cooper's Hawks since 2012. Derby Hill 2025 Daily Summary Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb44fA7Uio0ifcrbLjT2-GE7 Non-raptor Observations: North Lookout: Sandhill Crane, 5 Killdeer, GREAT EGRET, 4 Belted Kingfishers, 8 Eastern Phoebes, 500 Tree Swallows, 4 Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pine Siskin, 2 Eastern Meadowlarks. https://ebird.org/checklist/S222161082 South Lookout: 4 Killdeer, 3 Common Loons, 40 Double-crested Cormorants, 75 Horned Larks, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, Savannah Sparrow. https://ebird.org/checklist/S222159819 New species for season: Great Egret, Lapland Longspur Predictions: TOMORROW: Mostly cloudy then sunny. Temps in the mid 30s. Winds NW at 10-20mph. Perhaps a moderate cleanup flight of Turkey Vultures, but probably light migration otherwise. South lookout. WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with occasional afternoon rain. High 44F. Winds ESE at 10-20mph. Looking good, but will check again tomorrow. Expect moderate to good migration. THURSDAY: Rain ending early then cloudy. High 63F. Winds SSW at 10-20mph. Probably another big day, but check again as we get closer to make sure rain timing doesn't change. ======================================================================== 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
