Derby Hill Bird Observatory Mexico, New York, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 22, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 5 11 Turkey Vulture 586 21963 34961 Osprey 8 132 145 Bald Eagle 62 294 501 Northern Harrier 26 347 441 Sharp-shinned Hawk 169 1976 2154 Cooper's Hawk 1 87 279 American Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 85 497 Broad-winged Hawk 3575 19356 19356 Red-tailed Hawk 66 1662 2541 Rough-legged Hawk 0 15 68 Golden Eagle 1 31 61 American Kestrel 5 318 383 Merlin 1 34 64 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 8 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 1 1 Total: 4502 46311 61473 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 17:30:00 Total observation time: 10.5 hours Official Counter: David Brown Observers: Dave Wheeler, Kim Steininger, Mike Tetlow Visitors: 15 Weather: Mostly sunny with moderate southeast winds. Quite warm with temperatures reaching the mid 60s. Winds became light and variable in the mid-afternoon with a switch to a northwest wind that sent us to the South Lookout at 2:45pm (1:45pm EST). Raptor Observations: An excellent flight for most of the day. Some nice looks early as the raptors were getting up, then a steady high altitude flight that was mostly slightly over the lake, then shifted overhead and inland as the winds began to shift. After the move to the South Lookout it was slow for an hour as we lost the flight line to the south, then we had another 500 broad-wings as the final groups of the day came close enough to see again south of 104b. Broad-winged Hawks were most numerous with over 3,500 for the day. Other notable totals included 586 Turkey Vultures, 62 Bald Eagles, and 169 Sharp-shinned Hawks. One Golden Eagle. Northern Harriers (26) and Red-tailed Hawks (66) also had a decent number mixed in with the groups of broad-wings. Derby Hill 2026 Daily Summary Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb6YYCLHXEKtIckpJtq1srVm Non-raptor Observations: North Lookout: 2 Sandhill Cranes, 11 Common Loons, 150 Blue Jays, 3 Fish Crows, Cliff Swallow, 60 Rusty Blackbirds, 3 Palm Warblers, Pine Warbler, 25 Yellow-rumped warblers. https://ebird.org/checklist/S325709884 South Lookout: 3 Wild Turkeys, 4 Killdeer, 2 Wilson's Snipes, PECTORAL SANDPIPER https://ebird.org/checklist/S325711293 New species for season: Pectoral Sandpiper Predictions: TOMORROW: Partly cloudy. High 53F. Winds NW at 5-10mph. South Lookout. A less favorable wind direction but fairly weak. A lot of broad-wings in the area at the end of the day so should be plenty of supply for tomorrow. The flight will mostly depend on where the flight line settles in with the wind, but with the weak speed it is certainly possible we'll have a good flight. However there is also a chance that the flight line could get pushed out of sight to the south. Overall I'd probably be optimistic. FRIDAY: Intervals of clouds and sun. High 52F. Winds NNW at 10-15mph. Similar but slightly stronger winds run a higher risk of pushing the flight line further inland. SATURDAY: Morning rain showers then steady rain for the afternoon. High 54F. Winds ESE at 10-15mph. Decent wind direction and speed. If the winds shift more southerly and they take some of the rain out then it could be a good flight. I wouldn't write it off yet. Keep an eye on as we get closer. ======================================================================== 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/3860/20260422 -- 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. --
