Monday 12.5.2011

The morning started out cold with mostly overcast skies clearing around noon. I watched from 9:00-1:30. Winds were very calm out of the SW. My first bird was a subadult Golden Eagle at 10:48. It came out of the trees and was directly overhead.  It flapped its wings the whole way across the gap (an example of how little wind there was).  Eagles are well known for their ability to soar, if there is wind.  The clouds cleared and the sun made a brief appearance for an hour or two.  A mature adult Bald Eagle flew low in the valley following the contour of haystack mountain.  It was less than 40 feet above the houses flapping its wings the whole time.  Wonder if anyone noticed it?

Bald Eagle Adult @ 11:39
Red-Shouldered hawk 1
Red-tailed hawk 6
Golden Eagle Subadult @ 10:58

Other birds observed:
Pileated Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Raven, Dark-Eyed Junco, Black-Capped Chickadee, Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Thursday 12.1.2011

I met Adam Duerr, Ph.d a wildlife biologist at the watch for a day of observation.  Adam is involved in a Golden Eagle tracking project that is currently taking place.  We were hoping to see a few Golden Eagles, but the light winds seemed to deter them a bit.  It was a slow day, but great to see Adam again and have another pair of eyes scanning the skies.  It was completely blue skies with a calm west wind most of the day.  I had to leave the watch at 1:00, but Adam stayed until 4:30.  Here are the observations we made.

Turkey Vulture 45
Red-Tailed hawk 2
Red-Shouldered hawk 1

After my departure Adam had a few more birds. Here is the message Adam sent to me.

I stayed yesterday until 4:30 and saw several more RTHA, a few BLVU that clearly were moving south and 1 GOEA (at about 1:30).

Adam

Wednesday 11.23.2011

Weather forecast called for a mostly cloudy day, with winds up to 30mph out of the NE.  Rained almost the entire way down to Cumberland from PA.  Drove to the top in case of bad weather. Started the watch at 8:30.  Observed for 3.5 hours.  Very windy with temperatures dropping over my observation.   Thought I might have a repeat of Monday, but fortunately some birds were migrating.  Rain started about noon.

Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 9
Northern  Goshawk 2
Red-Tailed Hawk 4
Golden Eagle  6

Today's total count: 23

Monday 11.21.2011

Noticed that most of the ridge further north of the watch site was in the fog and rain on my drive down.  Started my watch at 8:00 am. I observed for 3 hours until the rain moved in.  Short day.  No raptors.

Other species observed: 2 Pileated Woodpeckers

Sunday 11.20.2011

Due to prior commitments Laura and I had a later arrival than we would've liked. We had a very enjoyable hike up the hill to the watch. We started the count at 11:30. The skies had 100% cloud cover and the winds were blowing out of the ESE at 5mph. Our first bird was a Coopers Hawk at 11:40. That CH turned out to be the only bird for the first half hour. The next bird was a Sub adult Golden Eagle which flew through quite high. That was the first of 7 Golden Eagles for the 12-1 hour. After the first the birds were, Juv 12:28, Unk 12:30, Sub 12:33, Juv 12:36, Sub 12:41, Unk 12:44. No other migrant raptors were sighted that hour. Over the hour the winds slowed and shifted to the SSW. During the next hour the only bird was a lone Sharpie. The next hour slowed and rains slowly started to make their way from the west. We packed up and made our way down the road to the car. In 2.5 hours of observation we counted 9 birds. 1 CH, 7 GE, 1 SS.  It was a short, but enjoyable day at the CGHW.

Other species sighted today were; 1 Hermit Thrush, 1 Carolina Wren, 3 Ravens, 2 Crows, 1 American Robin, 8 Dark-Eyed Junco, 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker, 4 Turkey Vultures.

Some photos from today

Looking NE from the site

Hungry, Hungry Porcupine

Looking South East from the site, Cumberland in the valley

Lounging Laura high above the gap

Looking SE from the site, where's cammo waldo?

Tomorrow 11.20.11 shows promise for Golden Eagles if it doesn't rain. NE Winds @ 5.

Friday 11.18.2011

Today started out on the cool side. The gate was locked as it has been on Fridays for the last month. I loaded my pack and made my way up the hill to the watch site. My watch started at 9:00am. It was -1C with NE winds averaging 5mph. First bird was a juvenile Bald Eagle at 9:39. Seemed like it was going to be a busy day. Several groups of Tundra swans flew over early as well. Golden Eagle activity started at 10:19 when a juvenile flew over quite low. Two more GOEA's flew over at 11:45 and 11:47 first bird was a basic I and the other was an adult. Other counted birds today were Red-Tailed hawks, Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures and a couple of Accipiters. The winds shifted and slowed around noon reducing this afternoons flight to a trickle. It's been a slow (but pleasant) day. Total birds as of 3:00 (48)