Derby Hill Bird Observatory Mexico, New York, USA Daily Raptor Counts: May 17, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 1 13 Turkey Vulture 122 2216 38381 Osprey 1 51 280 Bald Eagle 13 295 1014 Northern Harrier 6 93 600 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 557 3435 Cooper's Hawk 0 7 307 American Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 500 Broad-winged Hawk 76 3676 43774 Red-tailed Hawk 5 189 2878 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 68 Golden Eagle 0 2 68 American Kestrel 0 15 443 Merlin 0 11 79 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 12 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 0 1 Total: 227 7117 91855 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: David Brown Observers: Dave Wheeler, John Heidecker Visitors: 6 Weather: Overcast to start with a westerly wind kicking up at 9:30am (8:30am EST). No raptors seen from the North Lookout prior to that. Moved to the South Lookout around 9:45am (8:45am EST) and stayed there the rest of the day. It became partly sunny in the morning but very smokey and hazy, reducing visibility and making it harder to breathe. This then shifted to a more normal fog with continued reduced visibility. The winds became northwesterly and remained weak, but brought clearing skies and better visibility. Quite warm. Raptor Observations: A light but steady flight throughout the day that varied between inland, overhead, and lakeside. The flight was mostly Turkey Vultures (122) and Broad-winged Hawks (76). Other highlights included 6 harriers and 5 red-tails. Derby Hill 2026 Daily Summary Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8baxseGlb6YYCLHXEKtIckpJtq1srVm Non-raptor Observations: North Lookout: 4 American Woodcocks, Least Sandpiper, 3 Green Herons, Red-headed Woodpecker, 3 Veery, Orchard Oriole, PRAIRIE WARBLER. https://ebird.org/checklist/S340894479 South Lookout: Wild Turkey, 2 Killdeer, Tennessee Warbler. https://ebird.org/checklist/S341287516 New species for season: Least Sandpiper Predictions: TOMORROW: Sunny with some cloudy intervals. High 81F. Winds SE shifting WSW at 5-10mph. A nice warm southerly wind, but it may not be strong enough to hold off the lake breeze the whole day. Overnight song bird migration should be high and continue into a good non-raptor morning flight. The raptor flight should be at least moderate as well, though this late in the season the flight mostly consists of juvenile broad-wings, vultures, and Bald Eagles. Should be a good day of birding, though as the temperatures rise we may end up baking in the afternoon sun. TUESDAY: Partly cloudy. High 79F. Winds SW at 5-10mph. Another hot day with light southerly winds that will likely be good for non-raptors and decent for raptors. WEDNESDAY: Rain showers early with some sun later. Cooler. High 61F. Winds W at 10-20mph. 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/3860/20260517 -- 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. --
