Mount Peter Hawk Watch
"Mount Peter is the oldest, continually run, all-volunteer fall watch in the country!"

Compiler:  Judy Cinquina          Location

2009 Report 11 Year Summary  10 Year Average  2009 Dailies  Region 2009        2008: Report, Dailies  2007: Report (To print this page with tables, you may need to change Page Setup to Landscape)

Record Bald Eagles sweetened Mount Peter’s 52nd annual fall Hawk Watch.  Otherwise, 2009 brought in very average tallies for most other species.  Conducted from September 1 through November 15, the 67-day count produced a final tally of 6,948 raptors, which translates to 17.41 hawks per hour.  Broad-winged Hawks kept to their traditional schedule, with large pushes on September 16 (1,381) and 18 (1,361) on variable winds.  The bulk of the 4,505 noted this season moved through between September 13 and 24. While Broadwing numbers were rather average, Red-shoulders didn’t show well, with a below average 38 noted: 14 adult, 11 immature, and 13 unknown.  Although most moved through in October and November, their migration was scattered.  A healthy 471 Red-tails were tallied, the majority moving through on northwest winds, November 1 and 6.  On the 6th, Carol Linguanti observed one immature Red-tail “carrying a long, waving piece of material.”  South of the platform, it was attacked by an immature Bald Eagle.  The Red-tail dropped the item, and the eagle grabbed the prize as it floated in the air and flew north. Even young raptors like to play.  The eagle wasn’t counted. Although better than last year, accipiter numbers were slightly below average.  1,106 Sharp-shinned Hawks were tallied, with Denise Farrell bringing in our best day of 101 on October 10.  Cooper’s Hawks averaged out at 89, and Carol Linguanti noted our only N. Goshawk, November 6. Although the 183 Am. Kestrels (28 male, 13 female, and 145 unknown) came in above our 10-year average, our long-term data shows an alarming decline.  Beverly Robertson witnessed our best day of 36 on September 13.  She reported a large dragonfly flight over the lookout between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. with Kestrels in pursuit and dining on the wing.  It’s interesting that Steve Bailey and Charlie Mayhood counted 210 Kestrels, our best day ever, on September 11, 1965 also during a flight of dragonflies. Both Merlins and Peregrines came over in above average numbers of 22 and 14 respectively.  On September 30, Herb Stein watched a migrant Peregrine stoop on a distant flock of ducks.  He reported that the ducks instantly tightened their formation, with one exception.  That lone duck was hit “hard” and both prey and Peregrine plummeted straight down and out of sight. On three different occasions, 9/18, 10/3 and 11/2, a Peregrine flew over the lookout but flew north.  The September 18 Peregrine seemed to be hunting and was counted, the others were not. Ospreys bounced a bit above average with 176 recorded.  The majority moved through between September 14 and 21.  Don Leak and Denise Farrell garnered the best count of 34 on September 16.  N. Harrier numbers were low last season and even lower in 2009, with 36 observed: 8 male, 8 female, 10 immature, and 10 unknown. Continuing their upward trend, a new record of 45 Bald Eagles passed our lookout: 20 adult, 24 immature, and 1 unknown.  Also noted were one adult and two immature that appeared over the lookout but went north and weren’t counted.  Four Golden Eagles also make our roster: 1 adult and 3 immature, between October 12 and November 10. The non-raptor migration was rather lackluster this fall.  Carol Linguanti had the best Monarch count with a mere 11 on September 4.  Nine Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were noted between September 8 and 21, with four noted that last day.  Don Leak and Herb Stein grabbed our best Canada Goose day, with 3,000 on October 14. Other interesting sightings included: September 1    2 Olive-sided Flycatchers (other singles on 9/5 and 9/9), 2 Scarlet Tanagers (others 9/20 and 9/21), first Yellow-rumped Warbler September 5    Prairie Warbler September 6    first C. Yellowthroat September 8    2 C. Nighthawks (another 9/10) September 10  first Palm Warbler September 15 Great Egret September 16  D.C. Cormorant September 17  first Purple Finch (another 10/2 and 6 on 10/19) September 20  Red-eyed Vireo, first E. Phoebe September 21 Parula Warbler September 28  Trail’s Flycatcher (probably a Willow), first White-throated Sparrow September 29  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (another 10/19 and 10/30) October 1        E. Towhee, first Black-throated Green, Blue-headed Vireo (another 10/5 and 10/12), first Golden-crowned Kinglet, first Ruby-crowned Kinglet October 4        Red-breasted Nuthatch (another 10/15) October 5        first 2 Blackpoll Warblers October 8        5 Rusty Blackbirds October 10      Field Sparrow October 12      first Juncos, Great Blue Heron, first Winter Wren, Nashville Warbler October 19      Hermit thrush November 1    3 C. Loons The Mount Peter Watch may be 52 years old, but it seems healthier than ever with enthusiastic volunteers assuring daily coverage.  Thanks goes to all our leaders for making the count possible and especially for submitting data promptly.  A special thanks goes to Scott Marchal and Rob Stone for recording data that would otherwise have been missed and to our frequent visitors who afforded us good company and extra eyes. We deeply appreciate the following volunteers who contributed sweat and conviviality on clean-up day: Carole Baligh, Denise Farrell, Tom Millard, Dennis Murphy, Beverly Robertson, Herb Stein, Gene Tappan, and Ken Witkowski.  Tom also deserves accolades for not only putting up and taking down our box, but for rebuilding the box after it was vandalized. Our daily data can be accessed at www.hawkcount.org , thanks to the diligence of Ajit Antony.  Finally, we are always grateful to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for overseeing regular clean-up crews at the site, and to the Fyke Nature Association of Bergen County NJ for sponsoring the watch.  Mount Peter is the oldest, continually run, all-volunteer fall watch in the country.

11 2009 FALL HAWK WATCH RESULTS                                       WATCH BV TV OS BE NH SS CH NG RS BW RT RL GE AK ML PG TOTAL HRS MONTCLAIR 86 746 288 66 55 1,160 181 5 117 5,701 266 0 2 215 42 26 9,037 477 HOOK MT. 37 696 260 125 82 1,718 185 5 100 6,803 191 1 5 154 36 36 10,450 427 BEAR MT. 0 0 109 103 9 207 23 0 11 1,258 214 0 7 28 2 5 1,997 412 WILDCAT RDG. 38 48 103 47 11 834 119 0 6 1,633 95 0 0 65 3 5 3,014 304 PICATINNY RDG. 7 202 164 90 60 1,339 86 0 61 5,205 187 0 6 133 16 20 7,658 324 SUNRISE MTN. 0 0 166 89 42 619 92 7 23 3,961 618 0 17 94 72 28 5,878 339 MOUNT PETER 42 177 176 45 36 1,106 89 1 38 4,505 471 0 4 183 22 14 6,948 399

11 YEAR SUMMARY OF AUTUMN HAWK COUNTS AT MOUNT PETER, N.Y.                         SPECIES 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Black Vulture 23 4 42 6 58 44 83 20 26 51 42 Turkey Vulture 103 103 130 53 139 199 156 123 238 142 177 Osprey 232 98 106 187 180 121 130 164 208 116 176 Bald Eagle 18 24 10 24 19 24 32 25 42 41 45 N. Harrier 83 42 56 45 66 23 64 53 89 42 36 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1,304 1,050 1,232 682 1,181 754 1,222 1,205 1,303 785 1,106 Cooper's Hawk 103 95 98 63 90 86 153 67 109 58 89 N. Goshawk 1 4 5 2 4 1 4 1 3 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 67 31 33 37 43 24 30 65 88 34 38 Broad-winged Hawk 6,793 5,646 2,467 3,946 2,110 1,913 3,826 3,784 5,722 10,548 4,505 Red-tailed Hawk 545 199 421 249 905 339 716 249 396 345 471 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 9 3 5 2 5 1 6 7 3 5 4 American Kestrel 344 187 209 201 167 78 152 184 186 69 183 Merlin 13 12 14 10 22 4 39 12 9 14 22 Peregrine Falcon 7 3 12 7 9 8 18 7 20 14 14 Unidentified Eagle 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Unidentified Raptor 60 93 93 57 65 45 65 44 57 35 14 GRAND TOTAL 9,705 7,595 4,934 5,572 5,064 3,665 6,696 6,010 8,500 12,302 6,948 TOTAL HOURS 385 435 439 383 410 366 393 365 391 376 399 RAPTOR/HOUR 25.21 17.46 11.24 14.54 12.36 10.01 17.04 16.47 21.74 32.70 17.41

10 Year Average

MOUNT PETER FALL HAWKS:  1999-2008  10-YEAR AVERAGE   BV TV OS BE NH SS CH NG RS BW RT RL GE AK ML PG TOTAL HRS HWKS/HR 10-Year Avg. 36 139 154 26 56 1,172 92 3 45 4,676 436 0 5 178 13 11 7,004 394 17.78 Total 2009 42 177 176 45 36 1,106 89 1 38 4,505 471 0 4 183 22 14 6,948 399 17.41

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(Updated 03/05/2010)