Waggoner's Gap 40 km W of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- BV 0 0 0 TV 0 0 0 OS 3 97 129 BE 7 164 231 NH 5 71 79 SS 213 1299 1315 CH 12 54 62 AG 0 0 0 RS 0 3 4 BW 25 10101 10247 RT 3 69 133 RL 0 0 0 GE 1 2 2 AK 14 110 119 ML 1 21 21 PG 1 17 21 UA 1 13 14 UB 1 7 12 UF 0 2 2 UE 0 0 0 UR 1 18 20 SK 0 0 1
Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter: Dave Grove, Jess Cosentino, Ron Freed
Observers: Bill King, Brandon Brogle, Dave Grove, Gary LaBelle, Gary Labelle, Gene Wagner, Pat Freed, Pete Biasucci , Ron Freed
Visitors: 2
Weather: Strong northeast winds from early morning last until afternoon, when the wind speed dropped off a bit, High in upper 70s F, Overcast throughout the entire count period
Raptor Observations: The raptor movement began steady in the mid-morning hours, as Sharp-shinned Hawks began passing quickly down the ridge. It did not take long to pass the 100-mark by around noon, with another hundred and more passing throughout the remainder of the count into the afternoon hours
In the late morning, as two Sharp-shinned Hawks rose in a thermal to the north of the ridge, a subadult Golden Eagle joined them and began a lengthy glide just above the treetops before disappearing out of view.
Sharp-shinned Hawks dominated the flight throughout the midday, with a steady mix of Cooper's Hawks also mixed in. The day was the highest Cooper's Hawk day count for the month, and season thus far.
The day also saw good falcon movement, with all three falcon species observed moving down the ridge.This included the second-highest day count total for American Kestrels of the month and season thus far.
With 11 migrant raptor species detected moving southward, there was great species diversity to end the month of September. The month of September also documented the highest Broad-winged Hawk monthly total since 2012.
First bird SSHA 0705 Last bird SSHA 0428
Non-raptor Observations: Canada Goose 258, Chimney Swift 8, Mourning Dove 2, Double-crested Cormorant 8, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 5, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Blue Jay 144, Common Raven 3, Cedar Waxwing 26, Carolina Wren 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 5, Monarch 18, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
LFE: 5 Monarch: 18 Hummingbirds: 0 ======================================================================== Report submitted by dave grove (<waggap...>)
