Derby Hill Bird Observatory Mexico, New York, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 04, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 12 Turkey Vulture 329 672 36837 Osprey 2 12 241 Bald Eagle 58 117 836 Northern Harrier 10 23 530 Sharp-shinned Hawk 132 192 3070 Cooper's Hawk 2 2 302 American Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 499 Broad-winged Hawk 1329 1893 41991 Red-tailed Hawk 36 80 2769 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 68 Golden Eagle 0 0 66 American Kestrel 3 5 433 Merlin 0 0 68 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 9 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 0 1 Total: 1901 2996 87734 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 11 hours Official Counter: David Brown Observers: Dave Wheeler, Kim Steininger Visitors: 10 Weather: Overcast to start with some early sprinkles. Rapidly clearing up to mostly sunny which it stayed the rest of the day. Moderate southwest winds with some stronger gusts became light and variable at 12:30pm (11:30am EST), settling into a westerly direction late. Quite warm at times, with the lake breeze cooling things occasionally. Stayed at the North Lookout all day. Raptor Observations: A good day for raptor migration, but after the initial liftoff the raptors were very hard to spot. The flight line was far out over the lake until the lake breeze, then was extremely high and scattered. Our totals were decent with over 1,300 Broad-winged Hawks, 300+ Turkey Vultures, and 100+ Sharp-shinned Hawks, plus 58 Bald Eagles. However it is likely that a huge number of migrants went past without being spotted. Derby Hill 2026 Daily Summary Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb6YYCLHXEKtIckpJtq1srVm Non-raptor Observations: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-headed Woodpecker, 5 Eastern Kingbird, 2 Wood Thrushes, 4,500 Blue Jays, 2 Bank Swallows, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 3 Baltimore Orioles, Overnbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak. https://ebird.org/checklist/S332745264 New species for season: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ovenbird, Baltimore Oriole, Wood Thrush, Bank Swallow, Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Predictions: TOMORROW: Showers and thunderstorms likely. High 67F. Winds WSW at 10-15mph. Chance of rain 70%. Good winds. Could be a raptor flight when it isn't too rainy. WEDNESDAY: Rain early then remaining cloudy with showers. Cooler. High 49F. Winds NNW at 5-10mph. Poor conditions. Count will likely be shortened or canceled. THURSDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy. High 51F. Winds W at 10-15mph. Moderate conditions. Probably South Lookout. ======================================================================== 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 Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - Project info at: https://trektellen.org/count/view/3860/20260504 -- Oneidabirds-L List Info: Visit: http://LISTS.cornell.edu for more information Posting Address: [email protected] Sightings: Please submit your observations to eBird at http://www.ebird.org. --
