Date: 10/7/25 7:23 pm From: Hawkcount.Org Reports <reports...> Subject: Waggoner's Gap (07 Oct 2025) 172 Raptors
Waggoner's Gap 40 km W of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 07, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- BV 0 7 7 TV 79 203 203 OS 4 18 147 BE 7 35 266 NH 3 7 86 SS 58 279 1594 CH 4 28 90 AG 0 0 0 RS 0 0 4 BW 1 16 10263 RT 2 25 158 RL 0 0 0 GE 0 4 6 AK 1 13 132 ML 0 2 23 PG 8 16 37 UA 2 6 20 UB 0 1 13 UF 1 2 4 UE 0 0 0 UR 2 11 31 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, Meredith Lombard, Pat Freed, Pete Biasucci , Ron Freed
Visitors: 4
Weather: Steady south winds for the entire count period, S/SE for most of the morning into afternoon, Overcast until shortly after noon when the sun began to break through, High 78 F, Heavy band of rain was moving in from the west and due to land on the ridge by this evening
Raptor Observations: A good morning lift off of Turkey Vultures lasted for several hours until around noon, as small groups of up to 20 lingered north of the ridge while finding lift in the southern winds and slowly made their way southward.
Raptor momentum hit a brief noon lull; however, the afternoon hours brought one of the best Peregrine Falcon flights of the season to date. Most of the birds took similar flight lines down the south side of the ridge, often quite high but passing directly overhead and providing great looks
A lone Broad-winged Hawk headed south down a similar flight line in the mid-afternoon hours as well.
Overall good raptor diversity on the day, with 10 migratory raptor species documented moving south throughout the day
First bird TV 8:05 Last bird OS 3:22
Non-raptor Observations: Canada Goose 1, Chimney Swift 4, Red-bellied Woodpecker 5, Blue Jay 55, Horned Lark 1, Tree Swallow 9, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Indigo Bunting 2, Monarch 13
LFE: 3 Monarch: 13 Hummingbirds: 0
Predictions: Following the passage of this evening's front and rain, the morning hours following sunrise may continue to see a chance of rain. It's unclear if the ridge will be cleared even if rain stops; however, the winds will shift to the north/northwest shortly after sunrise and be consistent all morning (15 mph by 11 AM), so if there are clear conditions on the ridge, raptor migrants are expected to be moving ======================================================================== Report submitted by WG Counter ()
