Overall we had a very good 2012 raptor migration at Rockfish Gap. Thanks to Rose Thomas’ steadfast counting during the weekdays, the total number of days with counts this year was 87 (25-yr avg = 71), and the total number of hours counted was 585 (25-yr avg = 431). We had a successful Open House on Sept. 8 with a nice turnout of visitors and lots of food, drink, educational materials and raptors! In terms of individual raptor species, we had a very healthy migration with several season records broken. Here is a summary:
275 Osprey – 2nd highest season count (record = 348 in 2011). [25-yr season AVG = 152]
224 Bald Eagle – A new season record (old record = 176 in 2011). [25-yr season AVG = 30]
77 Northern Harrier – A healthy number and highest since 77 in 1998. [25-yr season AVG = 64]
2,317 Sharp-shinned Hawk – 3rd highest count after 3,644 in 1986 & 2,336 in 2011. [25-yr season AVG = 1,122]
370 Cooper’s Hawk – A new season record (old record = 312 in 2011). [25-yr season AVG = 144]
3 Northern Goshawk – This is about average. [25-yr season AVG = 4]
64 Red-shouldered Hawk – The 2nd highest season count, right behind 67 in 2006 and just ahead of 63 in 1993. [25-yr season AVG = 33]
17,238 Broad-winged Hawk – A very healthy number. [25-yr season AVG = 10,612]
544 Red-tailed Hawk –Less than average. [25-yr season AVG = 826]
0 Rough-legged Hawk – This is average. Most years have zero and only a few have one RL.
10 Golden Eagle – Higher than average. [25-yr season AVG = 5]
267 American Kestrel – 2nd highest season count (record = 294 in 2011). [25-yr season AVG = 111]
26 Merlin – Tied with 2011 for the season record. [25-yr season AVG = 12]
20 Peregrine Falcon – A healthy number. [25-yr season AVG = 16]
1 Mississippi Kite – This is very rare, but we had one on Sept. 15.
21,488 total raptors – This is a healthy number. [25-yr season AVG = 13,211]
Non-raptor Notes: We also count a lot of non-raptors and make note of any other interesting sightings. I went back through the records and actually tallied many of these, and highlights are included here. Our first attempt at counting Chimney Swifts ended up with 2,068 for the season. We had a very high number of Ravens with 362 total (although we can’t be sure that all of these Ravens were migrating).
Season totals for other species include: 205 Hummingbirds, 2,301 Monarch Butterflies, 946 Nighthawks, 51 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 770 Double-crested Cormorants, 23 Common Loons, 2 Horned Larks, 2 Evening Grosbeaks, 2 Black Bears, 1 Red Bat.
We had a total of 17 warbler species including: Black-throated Blue, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Palm, Black-throated Green, Tennessee, Black and White, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Redstart, Yellow, Hooded, Blackburnian, Nashville, and Ovenbird.
Other birds of note include Pine Siskins, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Purple Finches, Kinglets, American Pipits, a Winter Wren, a few Rusty Blackbirds and plenty of Robins, Flickers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Waxwings, Blue Jays, Sapsuckers and Tree Swallows.