Derby Hill Bird Observatory Mexico, New York, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 13, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 1 13 Turkey Vulture 28 1430 37595 Osprey 11 35 264 Bald Eagle 34 226 945 Northern Harrier 22 77 584 Sharp-shinned Hawk 90 534 3412 Cooper's Hawk 1 7 307 American Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 500 Broad-winged Hawk 615 3050 43148 Red-tailed Hawk 10 149 2838 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 68 Golden Eagle 0 2 68 American Kestrel 3 12 440 Merlin 5 8 76 Peregrine Falcon 1 3 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 0 1 Total: 820 5535 90273 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: David Brown Observers: Dave Wheeler, John Heidecker, Kim Steininger Visitors: Only the counter and the three regulars who were present for the Wood Stork. Weather: Overnight rain continued into the morning and delayed the start of the count. Becoming mostly sunny for the early afternoon with moderate to strong southeast winds. Quite warm with temps reaching the upper 60s. A line of thunderstorms ahead of the cold front came through around 5pm (4pm EST) ending the count and bringing a tornado warning (radar indicated rotation north of us over the lake)! Raptor Observations: The best raptor flight of the past nine days. A steady migration from the late-morning through the rain hitting with the highest numbers when the sun was out in the afternoon. The flight was mostly overhead or slightly to the sides and a mix of high and low altitude. Broad-winged Hawks were most numerous with over 600. Only 28 Turkey Vultures. Moderate flights of most other species including 11 Ospreys, 34 Bald Eagles, 22 harriers, 90 sharpies, and 10 red-tails. We had the falcon trifecta with 3 kestrels, 5 Merlins, and an adult peregrine. Derby Hill 2026 Daily Summary Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb6YYCLHXEKtIckpJtq1srVm Non-raptor Observations: As soon as the rain was ending in the morning a flock of 40 Yellow-rumped Warblers moved through the trees along the bluff which was a good indication! A huge non-raptor flight picked up overhead at the lookout and continued most of the day. Weather radar showed an even stronger migration cutting the corner of the lake. The WOOD STORK was spotted by Dave Wheeler and is a first Derby Hill record and first Oswego County record. 168 Brant, 7 White-winged Scoters, Sandhill Crane, 5 Solitary Sandpipers, WOOD STORK(!!!), 94 Eastern Kingbirds, 140 blue Jays, all six swallows species, Red-breasted Nuthatch, 55 Cedar Waxwings, 3 American Pipits, 7 Evening Grosbeaks, 185 Pine Siskins, 450 American Goldfinches, 810 Bobolinks, 74 Baltimore Orioles, 14 Rusty Blackbirds, 16 Warbler species including 18 Cape May Warblers, 9 Scarlet Tanagers, 6 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, 3 Indigo Buntings. https://ebird.org/checklist/S338524482 New species for season: Brant, Wood Stork, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Waterthrush, Tennessee Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Canada Warbler, Indigo Bunting Predictions: TOMORROW: Cloudy. High 52F. Winds W at 5-10mph. May start at North Lookout but winds will eventually send us down to the South Lookout. Expect light to moderate migration. FRIDAY: Cloudy then partly cloudy. High 59F. Winds NW at 5-10mph. South Lookout. Expect light to moderate migration. SATURDAY: Sunny. High near 75F. Winds SSW at 5-10mph. A good wind direction, though it may not be strong enough to hold off the lake breeze all day. Probably a good non-raptor day. Expect moderate raptor 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 Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - Project info at: https://trektellen.org/count/view/3860/20260513 -- 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. --
