Derby Hill Bird Observatory Mexico, New York, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 29, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 6 12 Turkey Vulture 114 23052 36050 Osprey 15 213 226 Bald Eagle 82 505 712 Northern Harrier 15 412 506 Sharp-shinned Hawk 134 2687 2865 Cooper's Hawk 1 107 299 American Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 86 498 Broad-winged Hawk 3615 39665 39665 Red-tailed Hawk 29 1780 2659 Rough-legged Hawk 0 15 68 Golden Eagle 1 35 65 American Kestrel 0 363 428 Merlin 0 38 68 Peregrine Falcon 1 5 9 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: 4007 68971 84133 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: David Brown Observers: Dave Wheeler Visitors: 9 Weather: Overcast with light southeasterly winds. One brighter period in the mid-morning. Temperatures reaching around 60F. A cold front at 1:30pm (12:30pm EST) brought a shift to northwest winds. The count was moved to the South Lookout by 2pm (1pm EST). Rain ended the count at 3pm (2pm EST). Raptor Observations: The flight was slow the first few hours with some sharpies and Ospreys. After a brief brighter period in the mid-morning a steady raptor flight was launched becoming a strong flight until the wind shift. Broad-winged Hawks were most numerous with over 3,600 soaring in kettles of up to 200+ birds and nice extended looks as the light southeast winds kept them in place. Probably the most impressive looks at kettles of broad-wings we have had all season! Sharp-shinned Hawks had a strong flight as well with 134, starting low then mixed in with the broad-wings. Bald Eagles had the biggest flight of the season with 82. Other notable totals included 114 Turkey Vultures, 29 red-tails, and 15 Ospreys. Raptor highlights included a Golden Eagle and a Peregrine Falcon. Non-raptor Observations: North Lookout: 10 White-winged Scoters (overhead migrating flock), 2 Solitary Sandpipers, Great Egret, Red-headed Woodpecker, 2,250 Blue Jays, Fish Crow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, 2 EVENING GROSBEAKS, White-crowned Sparrow, 55 Rusty Blackbirds, Northern Yellow Warbler, 40 Yellow-rumped Warblers. https://ebird.org/checklist/S329584531 South Lookout: Wild Turkey, 3 Green Herons. https://ebird.org/checklist/S329584576 New species for season: White-crowned Sparrow, Green Heron Predictions: TOMORROW: Mostly cloudy. Cooler. High 48F. Winds W at 10-20mph. Probably South Lookout. Might be a cleanup flight of whatever didn't push through ahead of the front today. I wouldn't expect a lot of broad-wings. Could be a light to moderate flight of other species. FRIDAY: Partly cloudy. High near 50F. Winds WNW at 5-10mph. South Lookout. A less favorable wind direction, but fairly weak plus sunshine. Broad-winged Hawks may get pushed inland, but could be a moderate day for other species. SATURDAY: Considerable clouds early. Some sun later. High 48F. Winds W at 10-15mph. Probably South Lookout. Expect light to moderate migration. ======================================================================== 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/3860/20260429 -- 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. --
