Date: 10/16/25 6:28 pm From: Hawkcount.Org Reports <reports...> Subject: Waggoner's Gap (16 Oct 2025) 468 Raptors
Waggoner's Gap 40 km W of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- BV 0 11 11 TV 204 989 989 OS 0 19 148 BE 15 101 332 NH 4 23 102 SS 147 848 2163 CH 25 96 158 AG 0 1 1 RS 5 16 20 BW 0 18 10265 RT 45 106 239 RL 0 0 0 GE 7 16 18 AK 5 45 164 ML 3 25 46 PG 0 26 47 UA 3 19 33 UB 3 6 18 UF 0 4 6 UE 0 0 0 UR 2 21 41 SK 0 0 1
Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 16:45:00 Total observation time: 10.25 hours
Official Counter: Jess Cosentino, Ron Freed
Observers: Abby Sentz, Andy Frank, Dave Grove, Gary LaBelle, Jeff Thompson , Paul Fritz, Paul Kosten, Ron Freed, Steve Dunwoody, Tim Johnson
Visitors: Alvin Wenger, 12
Weather: Another day with northwest winds throughout the entire count period, cloudless blue sky throughout the morning with no cloud cover developing throughout the afternoon into early evening, High 62 F
Raptor Observations: There was good raptor momentum from the beginning of the count through the morning hours, as over 100 raptors were logged as of the 11 AM DST hour.
A highlight of the morning included the second Golden Eagle of the morning popping up incredibly close suddenly from the nearby treeline on the opposite side of the rock field, and slowly drifting down the north side of the ridge before peeling off and heading south again. This pass by the Golden was so close, that most standing on the ridge didn't bother to lift their binoculars as a naked eye view was just as good from that distance!
Northwest winds slammed onto the ridge throughout the early afternoon, bringing a steady stream of raptors with it. Several great looks at grey ghosts, as male Northern Harriers continued to appear up the ridge and pass high above. A second consecutive day of good Turkey Vulture movement, with another triple digit day count total following yesterday's.
The dominant flight lines for almost all raptors throughout the count period was slightly north of the ridge, often passing quickly while some raptors did pass directly overhead. Sharp-shinned Hawks were moving steadily just a bit north of the ridge throughout the entire morning into the afternoon count hours, while a good push of Cooper's Hawks also followed.
One of the first bigger pushes of Red-tailed Hawks for the fall came down the ridge, as the large buteos continued to appear north of the ridge and follow similar flight lines passing high overhead while several Red-shouldered Hawks appeared along similar lines, flapping erratically to find lift before tucking in long glides overhead.
Good Golden Eagle movement down the ridge throughout the entire count period, with the highest day count so far this season at 7. At one point, two Goldens passed together - one young bird trailing the other - while cutting on the familiar flight line just north of the ridge, passing quickly on similar glides. One Golden cut along this same flight line before briefly circling back to find lift directly north of the ridge, providing extended looks at the bird in the late day sun light - an excellent viewing opportunity before the raptor continued on down the ridge.
Predictions: Tomorrow (Fri): Another day of northwest winds (7 mph) as we head into the weekend
Sat: Winds finally shift to southeast, up to 69 F
Sun: Warming a bit, high 76 F, with sturdy southeast winds (up to 17 mph by early afternoon) ======================================================================== Report submitted by WG Counter ()
