Date: 3/26/26 6:58 pm From: Lee Simpson <0000013640a8a13a-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Erie County, Presque Isle Hawk Watch for March 26, 2026
I have never gotten as many ticks as I did at Presque Isle some years ago!! It was Epic!Lee Simpson, Berks Co.
On Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 12:18:31 PM MST, SCOTT WEIDENSAUL <000001343b2dd726-dmarc-request...> wrote:
Jerry,
Um, just how thorough was that tick search? I’m trying to avoid certain mental images…
Scott Weidensaul
Milton, NH (formerly Schuylkill Co.)
> On Mar 26, 2026, at 2:20 PM, <jerrymcw...> <0000001b5c226889-dmarc-request...> wrote:
>
> Presque Isle
> Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
> Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 26, 2026
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture 0 1 1
> Turkey Vulture 989 5747 5750
> Osprey 0 1 1
> Bald Eagle 3 27 30
> Northern Harrier 0 1 1
> Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 18 18
> Cooper's Hawk 0 10 11
> American Goshawk 0 0 0
> Red-shouldered Hawk 1 41 41
> Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
> Red-tailed Hawk 9 105 110
> Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 3
> Golden Eagle 0 1 1
> American Kestrel 1 22 22
> Merlin 0 1 1
> Peregrine Falcon 1 2 2
> Unknown Accipitrine 1 2 2
> Unknown Buteo 0 7 7
> Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
> Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
> Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
> Short-eared Owl 0 1 1
>
> Total: 1010 5989 6003
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Observation start time: 08:00:00
> Observation end time: 12:00:00
> Total observation time: 4 hours
>
> Official Counter: Jerry McWilliams
>
> Observers: Julie Leonard
>
> Visitors:
> Julie Leonard assisted with the count. Only one visitor, a police officer
> stopping by for us to give him a tick search since he picked 13 off of his
> clothes while doing an on-duty search in a grassy area.
>
>
> Weather:
> Clear becoming cloudy with SW wind early switching around to the WNW by
> 1000 hours EST. Unseasonably warm.
>
> Raptor Observations:
> Conditions were good early then deteriorating through the morning as the
> wind shifted to a lake breeze pushing the vulture flight inland at a much
> higher altitude. Still very few hawks. One local Cooper's Hawk
>
> Non-raptor Observations:
> Great Blue heron 2, Northern Flicker 8, Double-crested Cormorant 4, Eastern
> Phoebe 1, Killdeer 1, Tree Swallow 1, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird,
> Brown-headed Cowbird, American Robin, Blue Jay 2, Rock Pigeon 2, Mourning
> Dove, European Starling, Ring-billed and Herring gulls.
>
> Predictions:
> Much colder with clouds in the AM then clearing, but with NNE wind. No
> lakeshore flight likelyJerry McWilliamsErie, Erie County, <Pa.jerrymcw...>
