Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch: Week 1

The Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch kicked off March 15th with Zane Baker returning as our counter. Things were looking a little dicey with several inches of snow falling the day before the count started. As a result, we opened a couple of hours late, but got in the remaining 6 days with no problem. Winds were mostly out of the NW and west with a couple of very gusty days. But, the sun was mostly shining and temperatures were seasonably warm in the 40s. Two days with raptor tallies in the 40s is not bad for the first week. Turkey Vultures led the way, as expected, with Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks representing the buteos. We were already trying to decipher the local Bald Eagle pairs on day one. Two of the days also had good migrations of Canada Geese (over 3000 on 3/17) and blackbirds. Unusual duck sightings included Common Goldeneye and Northern Pintail (new for the site). And, our first Sandhill Cranes were spotted on 3/21, with one lone bird and an additional flock of 6.

This week’s totals (this week – season to date – 2022 total):

BLACK VULTURE 0-0-1

TURKEY VULTURE 92-92-470

OSPREY 0-0-286

BALD EAGLE 27-27-97

NORTHERN HARRIER 5-5-84

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 6-6-670

COOPER’S HAWK 5-5-56

NORTHERN GOSHAWK 0-0-3

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK 21-21-123

BROAD-WINGED HAWK 0-0-1651