Waggoner's Gap 40 km W of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 23, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- BV 0 0 0 TV 0 0 0 OS 4 86 118 BE 7 138 205 NH 7 46 54 SS 75 469 485 CH 3 33 41 AG 0 0 0 RS 0 2 3 BW 237 9514 9660 RT 4 55 119 RL 0 0 0 GE 0 1 1 AK 3 50 59 ML 2 12 12 PG 0 13 17 UA 1 10 11 UB 0 4 9 UF 0 2 2 UE 0 0 0 UR 0 15 17 SK 0 0 1
Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Dave Grove, Jess Cosentino
Observers: Dave Grove, Paul Kosten, Ron Freed, Steve Manifold
Visitors: 7
Weather: Overcast and cloudy morning, but the ridge was clear shortly after sunrise. Light southeast wind picked up throughout the morning at times, with other periods of stale absence of winds; An isolated shower moved in from the north and cut parallel to the ridge heading east, but never hit the lookout, Winds shifted to southwest after this, High in the high 70s
Raptor Observations: By late morning, several loose groups of Broad-winged Hawks began popping up to the north and passing slow and low along the ridge while the southerly headwinds kept the migration pace light. This offered good, sustained looks at almost all birds as they took lenghty glides cutting just over treetop-level before passing directly overhead or sligthly along the southside of the ridge
Kettles did not venture very far from the ridge throughout the morning, as Broad-winged Hawks hugged it tightly until they eventually began to find some lift. The higher birds were still manageable to spot, usually by naked eye as they finally passed slowly overhead.
As the isolated rain showers moved in from the north, it seemed to push a pocket of raptors up onto the ridge and we saw a quick burst of Broad-winged and Sharp-shinned Hawks pushing ahead of the rain. Both Northern Harriers and Osprey, along with several Bald Eagles of mixed ages, all joined on a similar flight line which took birds slowly along the south side of the ridge while passing closely and providing great looks
As the winds shifted SW, we saw a burst of Sharp-shinned Hawks in the mid-afternoon, which lasted several hours. A steady trickle of Sharpies continued to pop up over the treeline up the ridge, passing directly overhead at times. We also saw the first noticeable presence of adult Sharp-shinned Hawks mixed in with these birds (as up until recently, we have mostly been counting juvenile birds)
Canada Goose 1, Chimney Swift 7, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Philadelphia Vireo 1, Blue Jay 4, Tufted Titmouse 1, Tree Swallow 7, Carolina Wren 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler 1, Black-throated Green Warbler 3, Monarch 8
Predictions: Some chance of showers of the next two days
Wends: West winds early shifting to south later in the day, with chance of rain later in the afternoon so the count period will likely be clear
Thurs: Higher chances (40-45%) for showers in late morning/mid-day with south winds
However, the following days into the weekend look to clear up and bring northwest winds on Friday ======================================================================== Report submitted by WG Counter ()
