Wednesday 2.29.12

Tomorrow is the start of the first annual spring migration count at Cumberland Gap hawk watch.  The forecast is looking great with a cloud ceiling above 12,000' and west winds up to 20 mph.  These conditions should produce a fair number of Golden Eagles as well as other raptors making their way north.  I made the trip down to the watch on Monday 2/27/12 and observed for 4 hours between 10:00 and 1:00 pm.  The day started chilly with wind around 8 mph.  It died down to calm for 2 hours and then picked up to 10 mph for my last hour.  The 12:00-1:00 hr. produced the most birds and it seems as if things were only getting started as I was leaving.  I wish I could've stayed to see the true daily count.  I'm guessing there was good activity the remainder of the day as was indicated by the counts at other hawk watches along the western side of the Appalachians.  Here's the raptor count for the day:

Turkey Vultures - 29

Golden Eagles - 2 adult

Bald Eagle - 1 adult

Northern Harrier - 1

Red-Tailed hawks - 8

Total raptors - 41

Hope to see you at the watch tomorrow.  -Tim