Date: 9/11/26 8:46 am From: 'Phil Brown' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Monadnock Region - nighthawks, raptors, and Lark Sparrow
A few updates in one:
Nighthawks:This fall, the Harris Center conducted a nighthawk migration watch for a fifth straight season. Staff and volunteer observers once again 'counted' nighthawks from private land on Powder Mill Pond in Hancock. I put counted in quotes because nighthawk migration appears less straightforward than say hawk migration, in which migrating raptors typically fly in the same direction all the time! We did our best to estimate numbers, staying consistent with how we've counted birds here over the past several years.
We counted for a 16-day period (8/20 - 9/4), generally between 5:30-7:30 pm. Of these nights, we counted for 15 days, tallying over 100 birds on all but the first night of the count. We were only once rained out (and that night probably still had a few birds!).
This was our site's best season, with 6,632 nighthawks tallied in just over 28 total hours.Peak nights fell from Aug 26-28, with over half the season's tally on these nights.In a one-week period of Aug 25-31, we witnessed 77% of the season's total count.These dates coincided with big counts elsewhere in the region, including Laconia, Concord, and VT.
Additionally this year, a young birder observed 2,663 nighthawks from upriver - in Peterborough (actually south of this location, as the Contoocook River flow north) over the same dates. The peak night there was 9/3, when 905 birds were tallied.As always, we learn from our observations, but we perhaps come no closer to an understanding of nighthawk movements through New England!
Raptors:The Harris Center's Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory at Miller SP in Peterborough has been underway since 9/1, and observers are currently reporting a strong hawk flight, led by broad-winged hawks, which are already well into the hundreds today. To visit, especially on a weekend, you may want to make reservations with Miller SP. All information about the hawk watch can be found at the link below:https://harriscenter.org/conservation-research/wildlife-research/birds/pack-monadnock-raptor-observatory
Lark Sparrow:I found an adult Lark Sparrow this morning in Hancock, which appears to be one of the few Monadnock Region records of this western species. It was located at the 'Valley Farm' along Middle Road near the intersection of Route 137 in a brushy field next to a barn, but it appeared to move further from the road by the time I left. Below is a pin for the location:https://maps.app.goo.gl/442VQ8CwFv7Hozmi6
Phil BrownHancock, NH
