Golden Gate Raptor Observatory

Golden Gate Raptor Observatory HawkWatch Sightings 2004*

Click on a day to see HawkWatch Activity for that day.
Webmaster note: The Webmaster is a volunteer and on some days if the HawkWatch Today is late, it is because the Webmaster is in the field.

December

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1	2	3	4
5

November

October

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

September

August

December 5, 2004

Last day of HawkWatch 2004!

First off, the Sunday II team should be given well-deserved recognition for their four-Falcon-and-a-Ferrug day two Sundays ago. I should also mention that they endured winds gusting upwards of 30 mph. Their intern was busy at 1064 that day making a specimen of some poor unfortunate Hawk at a skinning workshop and failed to post a make-up blog entry. According to the old-fashioned log, their stats for Sunday November 21 were: 483 total sightings at 80.5 hph, comprising 12 species.

The highlight today was probably the impromptu banding demo offered by a juv Harrier early on the morning. Sighting-wise, today wasn’t anything to write home about: a couple of nice RT kettles formed, male kestrels did some performance flying around Kirby cove, and some adult coops (including one Accipiter study bird) made appearances, and that’s about it. But the team was well-fed and therefore content. We were treated to chicken wings, veggies and pretzels with dip, fresh oranges, pumpkin bread, baklava, butternut squash soup, cookies, truffles, filo-dough thingies filled with spinach and those little rolled up sandwiches with tasty stuff inside. Other treats included wines, Raptor Red Lager and a sudden shift from Code 3 to Code 1 wind speeds around noon. If that cold wind had continued throughout the day, the HawkWatchers probably would not have been able to recognize each other under the all layers of clothing.

I guess the Rough-leg chants and dances didn’t work this season, nor did offers of pizza rewards. Perhaps next year we need to offer up rewards for the Hawks instead of the HawkWatchers. Ptarmigan turnovers? Lemming loaf? Well, let’s just say it’s one point for the RLs this year for cleverly evading us.

In any case, it’s been yet another fun season for many, a special new experience for others, and speaking for myself, an exciting, exhausting and enlightening one. I’m sure I’ve gotten more out of it than I’ve given. Being involved with this unique subculture has truly been unique and inspiring. I am impressed by the spunk and dedication of the diverse individuals who volunteer at the GGRO, and I consider it a privilege to have witnessed the miraculous mechanism that they’ve made possible. Cheers to the staff and fellow interns past and present that somehow keep it ticking year after year!

Thanks to you all for caring enough about our natural world to make “citizen science” possible. And thanks for making me a part of it.

Over and out.

Hayley Ross

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 89
White-tailed Kite 1
Northern Harrier 13

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Cooper’s Hawk 4

Buteos & Aquila
Red-tailed Hawk 114

Falcons
American Kestrel 9

Unidentified
Accipiter 2
Raptor 2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 237
Rate of sightings: 39.5 hph
# Species seen: 7

Fly to the Top

Date: December 4, 2004

The end is upon us! The exhausting journey from quadrant to quadrant to quadrant to quadrant to…haven't I been in this quadrant before? Or in the case of this team, watching the fog and rain from Fort Cronkhite will have to continue elsewhere. But we did get on the hill for the entire day today! It was nice to be on the hill with this team. We saw many juvenile Harriers taking turns circling the hill. We even saw what could be termed "kettles" of Red-tails this morning.

So many kudos for all of those that contributed to the smorgasbord! Every time I walked back to the center of the hill I found another delicious dish. We also had good conversations, watched a few Red-tails now and then, and kept track of Coast Guard and Ranger activities. You may not be sure if Big Brother is watching, but you can be assured that if you're in the vicinity of Hawk Hill than HawkWatch is! Well, until the season is over, anyhow.

Until the birds have come again, no one is safe.

Well, maybe you will be. In the past couple of weeks, some volunteers have asked me and my fellow interns what our plans are. Once I am forced to leave the warm nest at the GGRO I will end up camping on Hawk Hill. I vow I will not come down from that Hill until a Rough-legged is seen! Thank you GGRO Hawk Watchers for training me, keeping me entertained and fattening me up for this mission. Happy off-season bird watching and keep on rockin' like Vultures!

-Kerry Neijstrom

Daily Food Count (Food has not been entirely eaten - contact members of the team for leftovers)

Drinks
Bloody Mary's
Red Tail Ale
Coffee

Deserts:
Cookies
Lemon bars
Baklava

Breads:
French
Pumpkin
Ginger

Other:
Chips and bean dip
Soup (warm!)
Quesadillas
Chicken
Cheese snips
Quiche

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked -contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture - 71
White-tailed Kite - 2
Northern Harrier - 9

Accipiters
none

Buteos & Aquila
Red-tailed Hawk - 91

Falcons
American Kestrel - 5
Peregrine Falcon - 1

Unidentified
We identified everything

Daily HawkWrap
Sightings: 179
Rate of sightings: 32.55 hph
# Species seen: 6

Fly to the Top

Date: December 3, 2004

I never thought I'd have as good of a last day on the hill as I did. We didn't see too many birds...aside from the usual Red-tails and TVs. We spotted some Red-shoulders and a few Sharpies and Coops. We had some great food...including some salmon that Linda made. It's funny...the Golden-crowned Sparrows seemed to like the salmon too..who would've thought! A few of them actually perched up on the side of the salmon dish and decided to take a few morsels away. One small note...we ended with a pizza on the hill today. Unfortunately, it wasn't because we saw an actual Roughleg. However, we did get a flash of a Roughleg out of the Sibley guide. We had quite a few visitors on the hill .... HawkWatchers mainly...that helped us count due to the small size of our team. Thanks to those extra HawkWatchers. This will be my last weblog. It was a great season and a pleasure to be on Hawk Hill with all of you. Thank you for all the kindness and good natured fun! GGRO rocks!

-Rachel

Daily HawkCount (data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-51
White-tailed Kite-5
Northern Harrier-8

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-3
Cooper's Hawk-2

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk-4
Red-tailed Hawk-189

Falcons
American Kestrel-3

Unidentified
Buteo-6

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 271
Rate of sightings: 49.27 hph
# Species seen: 8

Fly to the Top

December 2, 2004

Thursday II and the Blustery Day.

The day went like this: Yawn…shiver…yawn…stretch…Turkey Vulture…Dang it’s cold…Juv RT…Turkey Vulture…is it noon yet? Can we break open that bottle of wine?…Juv RT…Juv RT…Harrier…Mmmm wild mushroom pate…Juv RT…Juv RT…Juv RT…PRAIRIE FALCON!…

What, you say you picked those wild mushrooms yourself?

No, really, we saw a Prairie Falcon today. But only after having toughed out a wicked chilly AM. Hour after freezing hour of the morning passed by with the occasional TV and Red-tail and plenty of wine, sparkling cider, the aforementioned wild mushroom pate, tuna salad, and brie all with crackers. And turkey, fresh pineapples, lentil salad and sourdough date rolls. Yum yum.

For dessert we had the 1-2PM hour. Not only did this hour bring a slight (though EVER so slight) warming trend, but it brought much needed variety to the day: a pair of mismatched Accipiters, a Red-Shoulder and, yes, a Prairie Falcon. There had been earlier a few Kestrels, someone saw a Merlin somewhere, and the Golden Gate Bridge sentinel Peregrines dots were on their post, so when the Prairie Falcon soared over the hill amongst the confusion of the increasing number of RTs, we nailed a late-season Four-Falcon day. Not too shabby. Incidentally, Allen Fish was leading a special tour at this very hour, so it is suspect that Prairie may have been contracted for a hefty fee. But that’s just idle speculation.

The rest of the day was pretty much bumper-to-bumper Juvenile Red-tails flying hither and thither around the hill and giggling at how it made our heads spin. Didn’t know that Hawks giggle? Ask Buzz.

Haley Ross

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-74
White-tailed Kite-3
Northern Harrier-13

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-1
Cooper’s Hawk-1

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk-1
Red-tailed Hawk-307

Falcons
American Kestrel-5
Merlin 2
Peregrine Falcon-2
Prairie Falcon-1

Unidentified
Buteo-2
Raptor-2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 415
Rate of sightings: 75.45 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

Date: December 1, 2004

Hot corn chowder, sweet rosemary bread, crusty sourdough loaf, apple and bleu cheese and romaine and pecan salad, Chinese (chicken or no chicken) salad, spicy tuna salad, several bottles of special grape juice, Italian liquor cake, and brownies. The Wednesday 2 HawkWatch team finished up the season by alternating watching for birds and watching forkfuls of food enter their mouths. The good food, the warm sun on our backs, and the slow cool breeze off the bay lulled us into a contented HawkWatching state. The fabulous feast culminated in a wonderful opportunity to see a Red-Tail up close and personal.

Thanks for a great season, Wednesday 2 team!

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-40
White-tailed Kite-2
Northern Harrier-14

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-1

Buteos & Aquila
Red-tailed Hawk-65

Falcons
American Kestrel-4
Peregrine Falcon-2

Unidentified
Buteo-3

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 131 Rate of sightings: 26.2 hph
# Species seen:7

Fly to the Top

Date: November 30, 2004

The last Tuesday II HawkWatch. I was amazed to see what a production the last day has become. You would've thought you were watching a trail of refugees as Doris pointed out coming up to the hill. Everyone was carrying something over their shoulder or in a cart or wagon of some kind. It was like visiting a smorgasbord. There was wine, pie, chili, grape leaves, chips, salsa, guacamole, salmon, veggies, salad etc. etc. The list goes on and on. I was so full at the end of the day that I felt like I was going to burst. Everybody was in high spirits today...who knows if it was the actual spirits that were making us so giddy but we spotted some really great birds today...before the adult beverages were passed out. We watched a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk make its way over the midspan of the bridge towards North Slacker as well as a Merlin on a mission past the north quadrant. We all had a great look at the Ferrug and saw three distinct points of light...it was fabulous. We saw quite a few light Red-tailed Hawks....one bird was almost completely white on its ventral side but with distinct patagials, hood and dark commas at the wrists. Everything else was white with a distinct trailing edge. We had an adult Red-shouldered Hawk fly right over the hill. This particular bird had an awesome contrast of red, white and black throughout its body...it was very easy to tell it was an adult...it was one of those sightings that almost hits you right between the eyes because the ID is so apparent. Thanks Tuesday II for a great season.

-Rachel

(Data have not been entirely checked- contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other:
Turkey Vulture-65
White-tailed Kite-1
Northern Harrier-20

Accipiters:
Sharp-shinned Hawk-2
Cooper's Hawk-1

Buteos & Aguila:
Red-shouldered Hawk-1
Red-tailed Hawk-144
Ferruginous Hawk- 1

Falcons:
American Kestrel- 3
Merlin-2
Peregrine Falcon-1

Unidentified:
Accipiter:3
Buteo:3
Raptor:4

Daily HawkWrap:
Sightings: 251
Rate of sightings: 47.81 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

November 29, 2004

Monday II said good-bye to the season on a crispy clear fall day with not-too-strong but steady and chilly southeast winds. A distant young Golden Eagle and a very impressive close up Ferruginous Hawk graced our presence. The Ferrug showed up around 2:15 while the team was busy figuring out how many JRTs were soaring around with a big group of ravens just over west quadrant (there were 5). It glided in from the west, circled around over Rocky Ridge, took off through the gap in front of north quadrant and then hung a left and headed straight for Tiburon. Our spread of snacks, including chips and guac, brie and sourdough baguette, muffins, and HOT chocolate kept us going throughout the rest of the relatively slow day. The most important thing to remember about this day aside from the Ferrug or course was the HOT chocolate.

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 71
White-tailed Kite 1
Northern Harrier 13

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Cooper’s Hawk 4

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 114
Ferruginous Hawk 1
Golden Eagle 1

Falcons
American Kestrel 3

Unidentified
Buteo 1
Falcon 1
Raptor 5

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 223
Rate of sightings: 40.6 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

Date: November 28, 2004

Chocolate torte, brownies, pumpkin pie, cranberry nut bread, humus and cheese, crackers and dip, granola bars (a.k.a. raven snacks), wasabi peas, cranberry juice...and, oh yeah, there were some Hawks now and then.

For the last Sunday I HawkWatch, the Raptor activity was low, though the wind activity was high. We clocked the gusts in the north quadrant at 23mph with a wind chill of 28 degrees, thus proving we had a reason to feel like our faces were frozen! It was perfect Rough-legged weather, but, alas, there were no appropriately dressed Buteos in the air. All the smooth legged Hawks in the sky must have had cold tarsi. As for the HawkWatchers, we were freezing our own Buteos off! Thanks for a great season.

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount

(data have not been entirely checked -contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-84
White-tailed Kite-1
Northern Harrier-6

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-4

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk-6
Red-tailed Hawk-111

Falcons
American Kestrel-9

Unidentified
Raptor-2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 223
Rate of sightings: 49.56 hph
# Species seen: 7

Fly to the Top

Date: November 27, 2004

Well, with much sadness we ended Saturday I HawkWatch today. The day was really a good one. We started out thinking that we were going to get rained out but somehow the weather took a turn for the better and we ended up with some sunshine. The wind was whipping through the north quadrant as usual but was bringing in birds left and right. We watched a couple of Peregrines near Middle Kingdom stooping on each other. We figured it might be the north bridge tower pair attacking a foreign visitor. We had a great look at a Ferruginous Hawk over the FM towers and followed it until it reached the middle of Slacker saddle and then it ambled out of sight. No pizza birds today but we did have a visit from another intern to the hill bearing a special gift....a Northern Harrier. We were blessed with an impromptu banding demo at the end of the day. Thanks so much for that Kerry! We ended our counting with an Osprey and a Merlin....pretty sweet. Thanks so much to the team and to our esteemed dayleader. You made it a great season.

-Rachel

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-162
Osprey-1
White-tailed Kite-2
Northern Harrier-25

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-4
Cooper's Hawk-4

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk -2
Red-tailed Hawk-132
Ferruginous Hawk-1

Falcons
American Kestrel-11
Merlin-1
Peregrine Falcon-9

Unidentified
Buteo-6
Raptor-2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 362
Rate of sightings: 65.81 hph
# Species seen:12

Fly to the Top

Date: November 26, 2004

It must have been all that tryptophan from the turkey that kept all the birds away. I'm sure they were all slumbering somewhere cozy while we were busy searching for them in every little nook and cranny of the Headlands freezing our hineys off. Seriously! Where have all the birds gone? It's quite a mystery. We did have a good last time on the hill for Friday I. We counted a lot of RTHA's and TV's for the day but managed to see a Merlin, a Peregrine and a few Northern Harriers. I could easily count the Accips on one hand practically. We watched a Red-tail go into an awesome death-defying stoop at Hawk blind. WOW! Thanks to the Friday I team for everything! You guys helped make it a great season on the hill!

-Rachel

(Internette #2)

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-107
White-tailed Kite-2
Northern Harrier-14

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-3
Cooper's Hawk-2

Buteos & Aquila
Red-tailed Hawk-48

Falcons
American Kestrel-2
Merlin-1
Peregrine Falcon-1

Unidentified
Accipiter-2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 182
Rate of sightings: 37.02 hph
# Species seen: 9

Fly to the Top

November 25, 2004 - Thanksgiving

No report filed.

Fly to the Top

Date: November 24, 2004

Bagels and cream cheese, smoked salmon, pepper kettle chips, pumpkin muffins, donut holes, tortilla chips and dip, Peet’s Coffee, and a box of mixed nuts (aka Wednesday 2 HawkWatchers). The food sprawled over the middle of the hill, and we made trips between our quadrant and the decadent display, feasting upon the goodies. In between bites of salmon laden bagels, we followed big boiling kettles of red tails around the sky.

The bright hazy day ended with a cardboard rough legged sighting! It appeared to be the elusive and little known subspecies, Buteo lagopus fishensis. The bird, oddly staying within a sky-blue cutout square, hovered over Hawk Blind, astonishing banders and HawkWatchers alike, before disappearing over the horizon. Truly this deserves a pizza, or at least a picture of a pizza!

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture - 44
White-tailed Kite - 1
Northern Harrier - 16

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 5
Cooper’s Hawk - 6

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk - 5
Red-tailed Hawk - 198
Cardboard Rough-legged Hawk - 1

Falcons
American Kestrel - 2
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 4

Unidentified
Accipiter - 3
Raptor - 1

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 286
Rate of sightings: 57.2 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

Date: November 23, 2004

The most extraordinary thing about the day was our terrific team. Awww. Yeah, that’s a little too cute. However, everyone on this team is great and I’ll miss you guys. We had a relaxing day in terms of raptor sightings although we were all hyper on sugar and coffee.

Cookies have been proven by scientists to improve vision for bird watching. (But these may be the same scientists who claim there’s no global climate change occurring).

We didn’t see a huge number of birds, but we did see an Osprey, some Falcons and some kettles of Red-tails. Or are those the same Tails kettling? Only the Ravens know.

Peace,
Kerry

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other Turkey Vulture - 84
Osprey - 1
White-tailed Kite - 1
Northern Harrier - 13
Allen Fish - 1

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 7
Cooper’s Hawk - 2

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 138

Falcons
American Kestrel - 12
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 3

Unidentified
Accipiter - 3
Buteo - 4
Falcon - 1
Raptor - 1

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 273
Rate of sightings: 49.6 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

November 22, 2004

Doughnuts, humus and pita bread and crackers, Israeli orzo salad, pizza (non RLHA), roast chicken, bubbly, bagels and cream cheese and lox, custard tarts...what? what did you say? Oh that's right! we're supposed to be making a list of HAWKS we see! Well, the food was mildly distracting.

A juvie Golden Eagle and Hawk Hill had a near miss, the bird started out at Hill 88, went down Sausalito ridge, over to Slacker saddle, then made a beeline to Hawk Hill, right through the north quadrant, zoomed into the west quadrant and disappeared behind the trees. We later saw it over Hill 88 again.

Three cheers for Monday 1 team! Thanks for a wonderful season everyone! And for the next two weeks, bring on the farewell picnics and feathered legged visitors from the north!

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-80
Osprey-1
White-tailed Kite-2
Northern Harrier-25

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-15
Cooper’s Hawk-4

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk-1
Red-tailed Hawk-133
Golden Eagle-1

Falcons
American Kestrel-10
Merlin-1

Peregrine Falcon-1
Unidentified
Accipiter-3
Buteo-2 Falcon-1

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 281
Rate of sightings: 46.7 hph
# Species seen: 12

Fly to the Top

November 21, 2004

No report filed today.

Fly to the Top

November 20, 2004

Crystal clear skies and a light east wind bending to north by day's end brought a total of 372 Raptor sightings. Lots of Redtails still, but we're down to a handful of each small Accipiter. No Roughlegs yet, although they've been down to our latitude - at Grizzly Island - already. High points today were 4 Merlins, an adult Harlan's Hawk (a coal-black Redtail subspecies), and a dark morph Ferruginous Hawk, along with zounds (a British measure translating to just over 200) Redtails.

Amazingly, the final two-week cycle of the 2004 GGRO HawkWatch Season starts on Monday the 22nd. Dec 5th is our last day of counting. Come join us that Sunday on Hawk Hill for potluck food and drink, and the 2004 migration send-off. Thanks to our finger-flying interns -- Kerry Neijstrom, Rachel Norris, Susan Culliney, and Hayley Ross - for their flying fingers on these web-reports. And thanks for following our migration-blogs these past four months.

Peace -- Allen Fish

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked -contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 69
Osprey
White-tailed Kite 2
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier 18

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 20
Cooper's Hawk 7
Northern Goshawk

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk 4 Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk 227 including 1 ad Harlans
Ferruginous Hawk 1 dark morph!!
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle

Falcons
American Kestrel 9
Merlin 4
Peregrine Falcon 2
Prairie Falcon

Unidentified
Accipiter 9
Buteo
Eagle
Falcon
Raptor

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 372
Rate of sightings: 62 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

DATE: November 19, 2004

If anyone ever thought they had a small team for HawkWatch ...think again. We had four people on the hill today with an intermingling of visitors who just happened to know Raptors. Who would have thought we could ever have a fish sighting on the hill being so high above water...With the help of two particular irregulars we pulled the count together...thanks a million you guys! We had two very odd things happen on the hill. First was the sighting of a parrot of some kind being chased by one of the bridge Peregrines. The second was a tad on the sad side. A Broad-winged Hawk was spotted over North Slacker with a broken wing. The flight pattern was quite irregular which drew our attention towards it and we watched it perch on the ground for a bit and then rise up again and disappear into the distance. Hopefully he makes it to Mexico. On a lighter note, we saw two juvenile Golden Eagles in the same field of view. It gives me shivers every time I think about it. They are such wonderful birds! Besides the lack of team, the birds were fantastic. No pizza bird yet...I bet they'll get it tomorrow. A particular fish seems to have really good luck.

-Rachel

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-96
Osprey
White-tailed Kite-2
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier-23

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-17
Cooper's Hawk-6
Northern Goshawk

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk -1
Broad-winged Hawk-1
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk-303
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle-2

Falcons American Kestrel-4
Merlin-1
Peregrine Falcon-1
Prairie Falcon

Unidentified Accipiter-2
Buteo-2
Eagle
Falcon-1
Raptor-1

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 322
Rate of sightings: 53.6 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

November 18, 2004

Hawk Hill was the only place in the bay area not covered in fog today, so we enjoyed clear sunny weather, but limited visibility. The Hawk count started out pretty busily, with Northeast breezes, lots of RTs piling up and spilling over the hill, and several Accipiter ID studies to keep us busy. But the last 3 hours of HawkWatch were slow, slow, slow. Slight to nonexistent winds came from the South. Highlights for the day were a last minute Peregrine on the fast track through south quadrant and over the Golden Gate, and an adult female Northern Harrier perched on Rocky Ridge in the west quadrant. Earlier in the morning, we saw and heard hundreds of white-throated swifts all over the hill. Try as we might, we could not convince our recorder that we’d seen a Rough-leg, because, well, we hadn’t. Reliable sources say that RLs have been seen of late in the Solano County area, so don’t give up hope!

Hayley

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 48
White-tailed Kite 3
Northern Harrier 20

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 12
Cooper’s Hawk 2

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 173

Falcons
American Kestrel 6
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1

Unidentified
Accipiter 1
Falcon 3
Raptor 3

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 275
Rate of sightings: 45.8 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

Hawkwatch Today: November 17, 2004

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were not seen today. We started the beautiful morning off complaining that it was very slow despite a strong wind from the East. The lesson I learned was: complain, and you shall receive.

The day and the birds picked up quickly. They didn’t stop flowing until late in the afternoon. In one magical hour, the 2-3 hour, we had 90 Red-tails, 1 Peregrine, 1 Kestrel, 1 Merlin and 2 BWBs (big white birds, aka Ferruginous Hawks). Well, it was closer to 3 BWBs, since 1 Red-tail had an unusual white pattern on its primaries.

On the ride back to Fort Cronkhite, we complained that we didn’t see any Red-shoulders. Again, the complaining thing worked for us. In two different places along the road we spotted radiant adult Red-shoulders perched on power poles.

I need to do some more complaining about not seeing a ROUGH-LEGGED.

Warmed at 70 degrees,

Kerry Neijstrom (haha New Yorkers!)

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture - 105
Osprey - 1
White-tailed Kite - 2
Northern Harrier - 13

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 46
Cooper’s Hawk - 4

Buteos & Aquila
Red-tailed Hawk - 243
Ferruginous Hawk - 2

Falcons
American Kestrel - 7
Merlin - 3
Peregrine Falcon - 2

Unidentified
Accipiter - 5
Buteo - 2
Falcon -2
Raptor - 2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 439
Rate of sightings: 439 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

November 16, 2004

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked -contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-108
Osprey
White-tailed Kite-1
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier-18

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-13
Cooper's Hawk-5
Northern Goshawk

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk-106
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle

Falcons
American Kestrel-4
Merlin-1 Peregrine Falcon-3
Prairie Falcon

Unidentified
Accipiter-7
Buteo-3
Eagle
Falcon
Raptor-2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 271
Rate of sightings: 45.17 hph
# Species seen: 9

Fly to the Top

November 15, 2004

No report filed.

Fly to the Top

Date: November 14, 2004

Sunday 1 team was finally rewarded with a bright sunny day. The haze that covered the East Bay could not darken our spirits. The breeze was a little chilly, but not nearly cold enough to warrant covered shoes. We had a lively day with Hawks flying by regularly, plenty of savory and sweet snacks, and good company. Next time is our last! C’mon teams, let’s bring in a Roughie! Tempt that northern visitor with a hot pizza pie.

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount

(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-185
White-tailed Kite-1
Northern Harrier-25

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-35
Cooper’s Hawk-16

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk-4
Red-tailed Hawk-131

Falcons
American Kestrel-14
Merlin-3
Peregrine Falcon-3

Unidentified
Accipiter-10
Buteo-1
Raptor-1

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 426
Rate of sightings: 71 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

Date: November 13, 2004

So, I bet everyone is wondering....did they see the Roughlegg yet? The answer to that question is...well...you guessed it....no. However, we were presented with another fabulous bird that made up for the void we felt from the lack of Roughlegg....a juvenile Bald Eagle. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny finally. It makes me think about how cold my family and friends probably are back in Michigan while I'm living it up in sunny California in the winter...they must be freezing. Anyway, we had a perfect day with a ton of birds. We've been due for a big day. Some other highlights were the Merlins, Peregrines, a couple dark morph Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shoulders, Sharpies and Coops. It felt almost like a peak day today, minus hundreds of Accips flying around.

-Rachel

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-187
Osprey-0
White-tailed Kite-2
Bald Eagle-1
Northern Harrier-28

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-19
Cooper's Hawk-6
Northern Goshawk-0

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk -13
Broad-winged Hawk-0
Swainson's Hawk-0
Red-tailed Hawk-201
Ferruginous Hawk-0
Rough-legged Hawk-0
Golden Eagle-0

Falcons
American Kestrel-6
Merlin-5
Peregrine Falcon-4
Prairie Falcon-0

Unidentified
Accipiter-5
Buteo-7
Eagle-0
Falcon-1
Raptor-2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 487
Rate of sightings: 81.2 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

Daily HawkCount - November 12, 2004

(Disclaimer: there is no Owl Watch at Hawk Hill …. yet…..)

A friendly tip to other teams, if you want to see raptors, it is highly advisable that you look for them when it is not raining. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Today, with sunny skies, we heard our opportunity knocking. We also heard Red-tails kerring and Peregrines kakking right above our heads!

Those who missed coming up to the hill missed donuts and Red-tails of all sorts of flavors. Some had Red-tails, some had sprinkles of rufous and others were chocolate flavored. One even came in vanilla. Well, its head was very light and had very dainty patagial marks. Not to be outdone, the donuts came in different flavors too.

In addition to our 12 dark morph Red-tail sightings, we also savored some falcons, Harriers and a few Accipiters. I heard someone yelling about a very big Accipiter, and I was fully prepared to feast my eyes on a Goshawk. But it was only a beefy Cooper’s Hawk.

Another day, maybe. Oh, and speaking of unusual sightings, did anyone else see that gorgeous Gyrfalcon fly by? Or was that when I had dosed off as it started to get dark at 3 o’clock? Next time I’ll pay attention so that the Owl Watch people don’t have to wake me up.

~ Kerry Neijstrom

(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture - 94
White-tailed Kite - 1
Northern Harrier - 13

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 19
Cooper’s Hawk - 7

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 221
Rough-legged Hawk – big fat 0

Falcons

American Kestrel - 6
Merlin - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 5
Gyrfalcon – 1 in my dreams

Unidentified
Accipiter - 1
Buteo - 1
Falcon - 3
Raptor - 4

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 380
Rate of sightings: 63.3 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

Date: November 11, 2004

Rained out!

Fly to the Top

Date: November 10, 2004

Rained out!

Fly to the Top

Date: November 9, 2004

Our complete count for today was made up of 60% Turkey Vultures. Now if that doesn't tell you how the day went then I don't know what will. We had no COHA's or Red-shoulders today. Probably the most excitement we had on the hill was watching the Peregrines on the bridge dive bomb a foreign juvenile Peregrine. Edgar and Allen are still awaiting a certain black-dot specialists return to the hill for more peanuts. That's all for now....better luck tomorrow!

-Rachel

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-125
Osprey-0
White-tailed Kite-2
Bald Eagle-0
Northern Harrier-20

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-7
Cooper's Hawk-0
Northern Goshawk-0

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk -0
Broad-winged Hawk-0
Swainson's Hawk-0
Red-tailed Hawk-47
Ferruginous Hawk-0
Rough-legged Hawk-0
Golden Eagle-0

Falcons
American Kestrel-4
Merlin-0
Peregrine Falcon-4
Prairie Falcon-0

Unidentified
Accipiter-2
Buteo-0
Eagle-0
Falcon-0
Raptor-0

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 211
Rate of sightings: 35.17 hph
# Species seen: 7

Fly to the Top

November 8, 2004

Weren't nuthin' doin' today. To give you an idea, just one bird tilted the team towards one quadrant for a look-see, and it was a Hermit Thrush. We did drive up to a promising sight -- two Peregrines flying charismatically about Kirby Cove and over Hawk Hill -- but that was about all the excitement we could expect for the day.

The weather was chilly and overcast and the winds stayed in the SW. After we enjoyed the usual opening performances of our local Harriers, RTs and TVs, we then used up all our good-humored quips about "keeping up with all the Hawks" and of our new jobs on "Bay Watch." Around the time the drizzling started, most team members must have resembled bored, caged animals, fidgeting and pacing in our quadrants. Our wise and benevolent dayleader cut us loose around 1:30.

Next time, there will be birds, oh yes, there will be birds. And even if there aren't, we'll have food! (Hard to believe the season's winding up and teams are already planning that last day potluck!)

Check out these ASTOUNDING numbers!

Hayley

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 33
White-tailed Kite 1
Northern Harrier 10

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Cooper’s Hawk 1

Buteos & Aquila
Red-tailed Hawk 26

Falcons
American Kestrel 2
Peregrine Falcon 5

Daily HawkWrap
Sightings: 83
Rate of sightings: 21 hph
# Species seen: 8

Fly to the Top

November 7, 2004

Today started out with a bang as kettle after kettle boiled over with dozens of Red-tails (mostly juvs, of course). They were truly spectacular to behold, and a bit of a challenge to keep track of as they rose and fell, in an out of our range of vision, and then exploded in different directions. Also in the RT department were a good handful of lovely “speckle-bellies.”

The action simmered down in the afternoon, when our most taxing task was watching what I like to call the “traveling Circus” isn’t that the same juvenile Harrier we just counted? One never can assume we did see two together, much to our surprise, in the last hour.

Weather-wise, one could not complain: the air was cool but the sky was mostly clear. Winds were from the South most of the day, however, and when they did shift to the Northwest in the afternoon, they didn’t bring us anything but numb noses and froze toeses.

I’m starting to recall the movie “Waiting for Guffman” as the days go by and we all get more and more anxious for the legendary Rough-leg and Goshawk to show up so we can dazzle them with the hawk-watching skills we’ve been rehearsing all season. But, hey, don’t get me wrong; “glam-bird” or not, a day on the hill is always a pleasure, and the Sunday II team had a very happy one today.

Hayley

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 70
White-tailed Kite 1
Northern Harrier 26

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 26
Cooper’s Hawk 8

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 211

Falcons
American Kestrel 8v Merlin 3
Peregrine Falcon 4

Unidentified
Accipiter 5
Raptor 5

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 373
Rate of sightings: 62.17 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Daily HawkCount
No official count due to fog, yes, fog, just like September.

Daily HawkWrap
The fog played peekaboo with us on the Hill today, so we never made it there. We settled in at the Annex - a turnout along Conzelman Road above Kirby Cove, and saw dozens of hawks in three hours - Redtails, Shoulders, Accipiters, Kesses, Vultures, and . . . one juv Broadwing, which MAY have been the rehabbed Broadie we released in Rodeo Valley two days ago. (This bird was in captivity for the previous month due to a run-in with a car in SF on Oct. 4th.) We also got close looks at a coyote and mock-fighting bucks, and - unusual for Hawk Hill area - four American Crows. Hawk Hill closed in again by 1:15 PM and we called it quits not soon after.

- Allen Fish

Fly to the Top

Saturday, November 05, 2004

No report filed.

Fly to the Top

November 4, 2004

This count brought to you entirely by the fearless Thursday II HawkWatchers, minus their intern. I stayed off the hill most of the day because I'm a wimp and can't seem to fight off this darn cold. The extremely chilly and windy conditions the HawkWatchers put up with today seemed an unwise remedy. I paid my penance for wimpiness by missing out on a viewing of a juvenile dark morph Ferruginous Hawk! The HawkWatchers probably felt at least a psychological raise in temperature at the sight of the deliciously unusual sighting. Other than that, the count was a bit on the scanty side, but boasted pretty good diversity with 8 species. Red-tail numbers were high, Merlin and Peregrine helpings were pretty generous, but Accips were few and far between.

By the way, regarding that "5-Goshawk day" on Monday...I've sent the Blog report out for analysis and it seems that the error was entirely mine, contrary to my hopes that hackers from outer space were attempting to alter Earth's scientific data and had somehow stumbled upon the GGRO web page. My first instinct is to laugh and say "I meant to do that," as if that would make me sound clever instead of careless, but then I realize that such a joke would probably get me beat up and/or fired, so, let's just leave it at a typo, shall we?

Oops.

Hayley

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked -contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 75
White-tailed Kite 2
Northern Harrier 12

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 23
Cooper's Hawk 1

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Red-tailed Hawk 184
Ferruginous Hawk 1

Falcons
American Kestrel 6
Merlin 2
Peregrine Falcon 7

Unidentified
Accipiter 4
Buteo 2
Raptor 2

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 324
Rate of sightings: 54 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

November 3, 2004

The storm is coming! After a nice day filled with hawks, the raptor activity slowed to a halt. Instead, we turned our attention to watching the bolts of lightning in the north saddle instead. Fantastic light show! Then we thought about the network of metal that runs through hawk hill and made a quick exit down the mountain. Now, safe in building 1064, we can hear the thunder outside.

Before the weather drama, we had a number of interesting birds, most of them were very high and we needed to keep looking over our heads to notice those passing Hawk-spots For unusual birds, we had a Ferrug go high over head, a Golden Eagle out at Hill 88, as well as a couple Merlins and Peregrines.

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-77
White-tailed Kite-2
Northern Harrier-10

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-20
Cooper’s Hawk-14

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk-2
Red-tailed Hawk-133
Ferruginous Hawk-1
Golden Eagle-1

Falcons
American Kestrel-6
Merlin-3
Peregrine Falcon-5

Unidentified
Accipiter-5
Buteo-10
Falcon-4
Raptor-9

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 299
Rate of sightings: 54.36 hph
# Species seen: 12

Fly to the Top

Date: November 2, 2004

I'd have to say that Merlins are one of the most magical Raptors around without sounding too corny. Somehow they dive and twist through the air almost effortlessly and can catch dragonflies and small birds on the wing. We've been pretty lucky seeing so many lately. We had a total of nine for the day. We barely saw any Peregrines...only our resident couple on the bridge. I heard a rumor that a Prairie Falcon was in our midst but we didn't have any luck finding it. There were however a couple of Kestrels that seemed to be harassing each other along Rocky Ridge all day long. No Roughlegs either...I'm still waiting for the big day....

-Rachel

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use) Other

Turkey Vulture-123
Osprey-0
White-tailed Kite-1
Bald Eagle-0
Northern Harrier-15

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-29
Cooper's Hawk-19
Northern Goshawk-0

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk -6
Broad-winged Hawk-0
Swainson's Hawk-0
Red-tailed Hawk-248
Ferruginous Hawk-0
Rough-legged Hawk-0
Golden Eagle-0

Falcons
American Kestrel-10
Merlin-9
Peregrine Falcon-0
Prairie Falcon-0

Unidentified
Accipiter-12
Buteo-4
Eagle-0
Falcon -2
Raptor -1

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 479
Rate of sightings: 79.8hph
# Species seen: 9

Fly to the Top

November 1, 2004

What a great day just to be thankful for our eyeballs. The visibility was unbelievable and there were some great birds in the air to boot. Another 1-dozen Merlin day. Many of those little magicians gave us a nice look at their skillful dragonfly snatching right over the hill. A handful of Peregrines cruised by, their slate-gray backs and bright yellow ceres brilliant in the superb lighting. Young Harriers were a common sight, and a good number of our Sharpies were beautifully colored adults. Also notable, the numbers of Juv Red-tails was pretty high. Guess it’s that second peak time. The winds were mostly out of the NE but swung around to the S and W in the afternoon, and totally vanished during the last hour of the count, when bird activity pretty much stopped. A great day, but the HawkWatchers are getting ever more antsy to witness those last elusive birds on our list of expected species so check those ‘Red-tails’ for carpal patches and watch out for unusually bulky ‘Coops!’

Hayley

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 148
Osprey
White-tailed Kite 4
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier 16

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 35
Cooper’s Hawk 15
Northern Goshawk

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk 156
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle

Falcons
American Kestrel 13
Merlin 12
Peregrine Falcon 5
Prairie Falcon

Unidentified
Accipiter 7
Buteo
Eagle
Falcon 4
Raptor 5

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 423
Rate of sightings: 76 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

October 31, 2004

After being fogged out twice in a row, the Sunday 1 HawkWatch team finally made an appearance on the hill today. And what a spectacular day it was! The weather was fine, the Raven entertainment made us laugh, the non-raptors were migrating, and interesting Raptors made appearances all day.

I'd have to say that, although the coolest bird of the day was a Raptor, it wasn't found in our Hawk guides. A Short-eared Owl graced us with its company by circling directly over Hawk Hill, while attempting to rid himself of Raven baggage.

We also had many Merlins, only a few of which turned into Kestrels and male Sharpies. A couple Peregrines gave us good looks. And the Bald Eagle spotted over Angel Island, while only a dot, was much a much bigger dot than the Turkey Vulture dots in its company. Other birds were also making migratory movements. Canada Geese sailed on by, honking softly. Double-crested Cormorants, flocked in long sinewy lines, flew overhead.

Thank you sun, Hawks, Owls, and other birds for a great day, and thank you to the two foodies for supplying the team with snacks without overdosing us on sugar.

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount

(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Short-Eared Owl-1
Turkey Vulture-160
White-tailed Kite-7
Bald Eagle-1
Northern Harrier-23

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-17
Cooper’s Hawk-14

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk-8
Red-tailed Hawk-124

Falcons
American Kestrel-17
Merlin-12
Peregrine Falcon-8

Unidentified
Accipiter-9
Buteo-5
Raptor-4

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 409
Rate of sightings: 68.2 hph
# Species seen: 12

Fly to the Top

Date: October 30, 2004

Skunked Again! We have been waiting patiently for that first Rough-legged Hawk to show up and it just won't happen. Those Roughies must have a different agenda. We thought that just maybe....if we saw one...that Allen would come dashing out of the bushes with a hot pizza in hand; yeah right! The weather was beautiful but there was no wind to be had for a while. I think we would have seen more birds if the wind had been blowing all day. Don't forget all you hawk fans, this is the last weekend for the docent chats up on the hill...Tomorrow's talks should be spooktacular! Hawk Talk at noon and Banding demo at 1pm on Hawk Hill. Merlins seemed to be flying everywhere and we had great looks at each one of them. They seemed to be the highlight of the day. Only a few more chances to get a pizza on Saturday I....we'll have to try extra hard next time.

-Rachel

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-170
Osprey-0
White-tailed Kite-3
Bald Eagle-0
Northern Harrier-21

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk-25

Cooper's Hawk-19
Northern Goshawk-0

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk -5
Broad-winged Hawk-0
Swainson's Hawk-0
Red-tailed Hawk-149
Ferruginous Hawk-0
Rough-legged Hawk-0
Golden Eagle-0

Falcons
American Kestrel-4
Merlin-11
Peregrine Falcon-3
Prairie Falcon-0

Unidentified
Accipiter-13
Buteo-8
Eagle-0
Falcon -1
Raptor -6

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 438
Rate of sightings: 73 hph
# Species seen: 10

Fly to the Top

Daily HawkCount for October 29, 2004

Hungry for pizza, but with no Rough-legged around, I attempted to snatch up some flying insects for a healthy snack. The Merlins were much better at it than I. The secret must be in those vampy tomial teeth they have. Speaking of sharp teeth, we saw many of pointy falcon wings today. Adult Peregrines were out and about.

Also parading about the hills was a Golden Eagle and a Ferruginous. One individual Red-tail won the prize for Most Striking Dark Morph. If she had been any darker, I would have sworn that the Earth’s shadow was causing an eclipse over her.

Something must have been up with the cosmos, because our count went shooting up into the 500’s. Our day was filled with ID’ing birds... and letting our feelings be known to people walking off-trail and over fences. Hey, we all need to protect the Headland’s natural habitat.

Because Hawk Watchers deserve a nice view when there aren’t as many birds to look at as there were today.

~Kerry Neijstrom

(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture - 137
White-tailed Kite - 1
Northern Harrier - 22

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 46
Cooper’s Hawk - 46

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 246
Ferruginous Hawk - 1
Golden Eagle - 3

Falcons
American Kestrel - 5
Merlin - 11
Peregrine Falcon 7

Unidentified
Accipiter - 7
Buteo - 2
Falcon - 1
Raptor - 4

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 543
Rate of sightings: 90.5 hph
# Species seen: 12

Fly to the Top

October 28, 2004

TWO Golden Eagles today! The first, a juv was off in the distance near Mt. Tam, dukin' it out with a Raven. Guess the Raven won because the Golden high-tailed it back North. The second, an adult, perhaps had more experience with the pugnacious Corvids and didn't let the pestering sway it from its path straight for Hawk Hill. We got a great look at it as it sailed high over the pines and flapped off across the Golden Gate. Other highlights, making up for low numbers, were very satisfying views of Peregrines, Merlins, a few adult Accipiters, a Varied Thrush, and a flock of Red Crossbills. Winds were mostly from the South, moving into the Southwest in the afternoon. Some threatening dark clouds passed over in the morning and left a clear and pleasant afternoon. And as usual, our jolly Thursday I team feasted -- soup and froufy cookies made for happy HawkWatchers all day long!

Hayley

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture 70
Osprey
White-tailed Kite 5
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier 19

Accipiters
Sharp-shinned Hawk 12
Cooper’s Hawk 14
Northern Goshawk

Buteos & Aquila
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk 134
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle

Falcons
American Kestrel 4
Merlin 7
Peregrine Falcon 10
Prairie Falcon

Unidentified
Accipiter 5
Buteo 4
Eagle
Falcon
Raptor 1

Daily HawkWrap

Sightings: 290
Rate of sightings: 48.3 hph
# Species seen: 11

Fly to the Top

Date: October 27, 2004

The cold blustery wind kept the HawkWatchers bundled up. Mittens were a must. A Swainson's Hawk, and a Golden Eagle were among the afternoon delights, and the day was liberally spiced with adult Sharpies and fast flying Merlins. No Rough-legged Hawk yet, so keep your eyes to the sky. These wintry winds could make those northerly Buteos feel right at home.

Susan Culliney

Daily HawkCount
(data have not been entirely checked –contact Buzz Hull at bhull@parksconservancy.org for final results and for permission to use)

Other
Turkey Vulture-137
Osprey-2
White-tailed Kite-2
Northern Ha

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday