Date: 4/3/26 8:27 pm From: 'SUE RICCIARDI' via Maryland & DC Birding <mdbirding...> Subject: [MDBirding] Fort Smallwood Park (03 Apr 2026) 450 Raptors
Fort Smallwood Park Pasadena, Maryland, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 03, 2026
Species
Day's Count
Month Total
Season Total
Black Vulture
2
5
64
Turkey Vulture
340
533
6207
Osprey
29
31
147
Bald Eagle
2
2
48
Northern Harrier
6
6
12
Sharp-shinned Hawk
24
25
73
Cooper's Hawk
9
12
61
American Goshawk
0
0
0
Red-shouldered Hawk
5
5
243
Broad-winged Hawk
0
0
0
Red-tailed Hawk
1
1
59
Rough-legged Hawk
0
0
0
Golden Eagle
0
0
0
American Kestrel
24
24
59
Merlin
4
4
5
Peregrine Falcon
0
0
0
Unknown Accipitrine
0
0
2
Unknown Buteo
0
0
4
Unknown Falcon
1
1
2
Unknown Eagle
0
0
0
Unknown Raptor
2
3
4
Swallow-tailed Kite
1
1
1
Total:
450
653
6991
Observation start time:
9:30 am Daylight Time
Observation end time:
4:30 pm
Total observation time:
7 hours
Official Counter
Chris Reed, Lynn Davidson
Observers:
Alan Young, Cindy Godwin, Fred Shaffer, Hal Wierenga, Lynn Davidson, Steve Steimel, Sue Ricciardi, Sue Young
Visitors: Al Hafner, 2
Weather: Drizzle and fog to start, becoming mostly cloudy, still with light fog; 49-74 degrees; poor to fair visibility; winds light at first becoming stronger and with a SW component.
Raptor Observations: Memorable day! The flight started before the fog lifted appreciably with several falcons and Ospreys. The two hours from 1 to 3 pm daylight time provided 391 individuals of nine species, with 24 Ospreys, 6 Northern Harriers, 22 Sharp-shinned Hawks, and 13 American Kestrels. But the prize appeared earlier at 12:16 pm: a Swallow-tailed Kite! A probable adult, it came in from the waterside behind us, glided SW to the back of the pond, circled a few times and then continued SW, never flapping its wings. We managed a few photos, but with the poor visibility, they were not of good quality; nor was the view crisp as it flew. However, the swallow tails and black and white pattern underneath made the ID unmistakable. Interestingly, we also had two Ospreys of the aircraft kind, which encouraged us to be more specific when a migrant Osprey or harrier of the avian kind was called out. :)
Non-raptor Observations: First Purple Martin of the season, Lesser Yellowlegs 3, Cedar Waxwing 160, Horned Grebe 41, almost 600 scaup, mostly Greater of those that were id'd.
Site Description Fort Smallwood Park is located on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Patapsco River, 11 miles south of Baltimore, MD. Best winds are from the southwest.
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