Derby Hill Bird Observatory Mexico, New York, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 1 3 Turkey Vulture 371 14614 29791 Osprey 10 139 172 Bald Eagle 38 210 381 Northern Harrier 23 409 602 Sharp-shinned Hawk 120 2004 2437 Cooper's Hawk 3 82 312 American Goshawk 0 3 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 65 783 Broad-winged Hawk 7475 29762 29762 Red-tailed Hawk 32 857 1972 Rough-legged Hawk 1 11 60 Golden Eagle 1 25 75 American Kestrel 8 257 367 Merlin 2 37 53 Peregrine Falcon 0 7 12 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 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Total: 8086 48484 66787 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 11 hours Official Counter: David Brown Observers: Dave Wheeler, John Heidecker, Kim Steininger, Liz Lackey Visitors: 15 Weather: Thick overcast skies to start the day with a strong westerly wind that had just a bit of south in it at times. Moved to the south lookout at 10:30am EST (11:30am clock time) where the winds became a moderate WNW and the sky became nearly completely sunny. Felt chilly with the wind. Raptor Observations: A slow trickle of migrants in the first few hours when conditions didn't seem very promising. We kept anticipating a move to the south lookout but the flight seemed to be staying at the north lookout. In the mid-morning as it began to brighten and Broad-winged Hawks were getting up the main flight line for them was down over the south lookout so we made the switch. As the sun came out we had a huge flight of broad-wings high overhead at the south lookout, sometimes with multiple flight lines. After a few hours the flight slowed considerably as the skies went cloudless and we were left to count a small flow of Turkey Vultures along with occasional other hawks. Broad-winged Hawks were the star of the day with nearly 7,500. Turkey Vultures were strong with 371. It was the biggest Bald Eagle day so far this season with 38. A good Accip flight with 120 sharpies, but only three Coops. A light-morph Rough-legged Hawks migrated along the lake shore in the morning and a Golden Eagle migrated over the South Lookout. A small number of falcons with 8 kestrels and 2 Merlins. Derby Hill 2025 Daily Summary Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb44fA7Uio0ifcrbLjT2-GE7 Non-raptor Observations: North Lookout: 6 Lesser Scaup, Sandhill Crane, 3 Caspian Terns, 25 Common Terns, Great Egret, 8 Common Ravens. https://ebird.org/checklist/S228327206 South Lookout: 3 Sandhill Cranes, 2 Caspian Terns. https://ebird.org/checklist/S228325525 New species for season: Common Tern Predictions: TOMORROW: Mainly sunny. High 56F. Winds WNW at 5-10mph. South Lookout. Should be a pleasant day. Raptors may be high and tough to spot against the blue skies. Not sure how much supply will be left after today's big day, but maybe we'll be surprised. Expect moderate migration. THURSDAY: Partly cloudy. High around 70F. Winds SSW shifting NW at 5-10mph. A favorable wind direction, but light. Lake breeze may send us to the south lookout in the afternoon. Expect moderate to good migration. FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. High 69F. Winds SE shifting SW at 5-10mph. Favorable winds, but light again. Expect moderate migration. ======================================================================== 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
