The opposite of a hawk watch | this count is one where the hawk watchers are on the move and hawks -- more or less -- aren't. These "winter counts" are now conducted around Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Groundhog Day in two locations with similar open, flat terrain and of approx. the same square miles [80].
Again, over 150 raptors and over 70 Rough-legs for the two days in Northern New York and the Champlain Valley of Vermont. Both days started with temperatures in the single digits [F] and warmed only a bit during the day.
This now concludes my annual Winter counts for the 2000-2001 Winter.
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Watertown Wanda, the migration predicting Rough-legged Hawk, saw her shadow over a vole on Saturday giving us six extra weeks of Spring hawk flights... all you have to do is get out and enjoy it!
[Right: Watercolored digital photo of a typical winter Redtail in the East -- hooded, wide blackish bellyband...]
Northern NY [2/3/01]
Count area -- West of Watertown on Pt. Peninsula and nearby.
Sunny day, in amongst many days with snow squalls. Gerry had a couple of Snowy Owls staked out for a successful Rice Creek Biological Field Station field trip.
BE 2 [a pair]
CH 1 [imm. female]
RT 38 [40 adults, 9 undetermined (presumed adults)]*
RL 54 [38 light, 16 dark]**
AK 3 [all males]
Also: 2 Snowy Owls, 1 Short-eared Owl, 3 Northern Shrikes.
Hawk Food Sampler: Horned Larks, Wild Turkeys, Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs [100+], Gray Partridge.
[Below: Digiscope image of a Snowy Owl on top of a silo east of Three Mile Bay, NY]
Champlain Valley VT [2/4/01]
Count area -- Towns of Bridport, Addison and Panton, mostly.
Overcast out ahead of a Nor'easter, but a pleasant day for a hawk survey. And we had 1 dark Roughleg and 8 Redtails [7 adults, 1 undetermined] south of the count area.
RT 45 [38 adults, 4 immatures, 3 undetermined]*
RL 22 [14 light, 8 dark]**
AK 1 [adult male]
Also: 1 Short-eared Owl.
Hawk Food Sampler: Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs [2], Wild Turkeys, American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds.
* Redtail field notes also include info on eastern RT plumage variations.
** Roughleg field notes also include info on age classes.
Unindicted coconspirators: Gerry Smith [NY] and Tom Tyning [VT]