Waggoner's Gap 40 km W of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- BV 0 0 0 TV 0 0 0 OS 10 82 114 BE 16 131 198 NH 4 39 47 SS 51 394 410 CH 2 30 38 AG 0 0 0 RS 0 2 3 BW 272 9277 9423 RT 5 51 115 RL 0 0 0 GE 1 1 1 AK 0 47 56 ML 2 10 10 PG 4 13 17 UA 0 9 10 UB 2 4 9 UF 0 2 2 UE 0 0 0 UR 1 15 17 SK 0 0 1
Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Jess Cosentino, Ron Freed
Observers: Dave Grove, Gene Wagner, Pat Freed, Ron Freed
Visitors: 10
Weather: Overcast morning with a light SE wind and some fog laying in the nearby valleys, Fog gradually clearing but overcast sky remained well into late afternoon when the first bit of sun finally broke through, SSE wind picked up later into the count period
Raptor Observations: Broad-winged Hawks began moving steadily into the southerly headwinds by the late morning hours, and began streaming slowly along the ridge for the next few hours in small groups. Broad-winged Hawks were either cutting low and close along the south side of the ridge, or appearing very distant to the north/northeast and taking their time while cutting in towards the ridge and eventually passing southward overhead
The first Golden Eagle of the fall was spotted spiraling slowly up the ridge alongside a pair of Turkey Vultures, before setting off into a lengthy glide that took the eagle directly overhead along the south side of the ridge before continuing onward.
Several great looks at Peregrine Falcons diving on the owl decoy, as a steady stream of Osprey, Bald Eagles, and Sharp-shinned Hawks continued to pass relatively close to the ridge during almost every hour of the count into the late afternoon hours.
A good mix of raptor diversity with ten different migrant species tallied throughout the count
Chimney Swift 3, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1, Red-headed Woodpecker 1, Blue Jay 54, Common Raven 4, Carolina Wren 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 1, Monarch 16
Predictions: A chance of rain and possible thunderstorms tomorrow, later into the afternoon (after 3 PM) with variable light south winds all morning leading up to that ======================================================================== Report submitted by WG Counter ()
