Date: 4/17/24 4:00 am From: Hawkcount.Org Reports <reports...> Subject: Chester County Hawk Watch & Migration Count at Chambers Lake (16 Apr 2024) 246 Raptors
Chester County Hawk Watch & Migration Count at Chambers Lake Wagontown, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 16, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Larry Lewis (Early Bird Nature Tours)
Observers: Judy Ford
Visitors: CHESTER COUNTY HAWK WATCH & MIGRATION COUNT AT CHAMBERS LAKE <BR><BR> Visitors (2): Judy Ford <BR><BR> Thanks everyone, for coming to beautiful Chambers Lake! <BR><BR>
Raptor Observations: ----“Raptors” seen but deemed not to be migrating: 2-Bald Eagle, 2-Red-shouldered Hawk, 4-Red-tailed Hawk, and numerous Black (4) and Turkey Vultures (65). <BR><BR> ----Bald Eagle ages: 1 yr.-1; 2 yr.-_; 3 yr.-_; 4 yr.-_; adult-1 <BR><BR>
Non-raptor Observations: TODAY’S Bird Blog: [PLEASE NOTE: I send out a large weekly “blog/newsletter” detailing much more than these small daily recaps. This newsletter from EBNT, has our upcoming schedule and the County year bird list, etc. If you aren’t receiving it and would like to, kindly email me <earlybirdtours...> to be added. <BR><BR> At Chambers Lake, migrating waterfowl is down to just a few Bufflehead remaining. There still may be a few stragglers to come but it’s mostly over. A Ruddy Duck later joined them. I watched a first-year Bald Eagle swoop down and snare a fish, catching his own meal. The woods around the parking lot were alive with passerines - mostly Palm Warblers, but Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Pine Warbler were there. While on my walk thru the woods, the clothing fairy paid a visit to my site, dropping off a fine green hoodie. I have no idea who dropped it off for me. Anyway, thanks clothes fairy! I was further treated to a Green Heron [my FOY], flying by. A Spotted Sandpiper worked the shoreline a few feet away. I took another walk, adding no birds or any more to my wardrobe. The clothes fairy did not visit again. Damn, the luck but I had to try! Late in the day there were lots of Broad-winged Hawks moving, very high in a deep blue sky and difficult to see. I wonder how many I had missed earlier in the day before I latched on to them. They were on the move! A fisherman right in front of me landed a 2-pound Largemouth Bass. [Additional highlights listed below] <BR><BR> ---- Thanks to Frank Haas and his gracious generosity and support over the years, in his name and in the memory of his wife, Barbara. <BR><BR> ----ADDITIONAL BIRD HIGHLIGHTS: <BR><BR> Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Wood Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Purple Martins, Rough-winged Swallow, Field Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Warbler, Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Towhees <BR><BR> ----OTHER WILDLIFE NOTED: Butterflies (4): Cabbage White, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Clouded Sulphur, Red Admiral. Dragonflies (0). Reptiles & Amphibians (3): Spring Peeper, Green Frog, American Toad. Mammals (3): Eastern Gray Squirrel, White-tailed Deer, Eastern Chipmunk. <BR><BR> ----EBNT’s “Walk with Nature” ™ Program Daily Tally with our Fitbits: This is a stationary watch, but if I stay stationary too long, I might tend to “bulk up.” Besides, I am ever so fortunate to be walking unaided, at all! Therefore, I keep moving (if you’ve been here, then you know that I pace endlessly….) - my Fitbit thanks me and its part of my “Walk with Nature” program. So, below are MY results at the watch for the day. Your totals could all be zero, if you choose to sit and relax. You are certainly welcome to take it easy….I simply choose not to, affording me a panoramic view of our entire sky and a bit of exercise. So come join our “Walk with Nature!” ™ Anyway, just for fun, here are my numbers at the site for today (join me, if you wish): Steps – 7,367, Miles – 3.74, Floors – 7 <BR><BR> ----“SEASON’S BIRD SPECIES LIST” – we are not just a Hawk Watch but conduct a migration tally from the site. The complete species list will be in our weekly email blog sent to those requesting it. Our tally board, on site, will feature an approximation (very rough, best “guestimate,” – searching for Hawks must remain our primary focus) for totals of each species seen for “The Watch” year. The overall list for the season from the watch will be part of the large weekly “blog,” if you’ve signed up for that at <earlybirdtours...> <BR><BR> TOTAL SPECIES – Identified from watch site: today: 50; this season: 96 <BR><BR> NEW SPECIES ADDED TODAY TO THIS YEAR’S “WATCH SPECIES LIST (2):” Green Heron, Pine Warbler. <BR><BR> Contact: Larry Lewis ------- Early Bird Nature Tours(EBNT)---"Exciting & Fun Adventures in Nature"---63 S. Park Ave., Coatesville, PA 19320---484-340-SORA (7672)--Business Cell---email: <earlybirdtours...> "Group Birding - The Economical, Fun and Environmentally Friendly Way to Bird!"
Predictions: Tomorrow’s flight looks fairly cloudy with light westerly winds <BR><BR> . The Chester County Hawk Watch and Migration Count is sponsored, in large part, by Frank Haas and in the memory of Barbara Haas. Membership in EBNT is requested. Please contact us at <earlybirdtours...> with questions or comments.
======================================================================== Report submitted by Larry Lewis (<earlybirdtours...>)
Site Description: The platform just left of the only boat ramp for Chambers Lake in the main parking lot, overlooking the lake to the north.
Directions to site: We set up in the main parking lot for the lake, on the platform just left of the only boat ramp. The Hawk Watch at Chambers Lake (as part of the Chester County Hawk Watch) operates daily, March 1 thru April 30 from 9am - 3 pm (unless counter is away leading a tour elsewhere). In fall the season is Sept. 1 thru Nov. 30,each day 9am-3pm. Please contact Larry at 484-340-7672 to confirm counter is present. This count welcomes all visitors to this fine habitat. When there are no hawks present, many birds still are. The lake holds numerous waterfowl species and the variable shoreline can produce incredible shorebirds.
Directions to hawk watch: From the Rt. 30 By-pass take the Rt. 82 exit north. Turn left at the first light(Rt. 340) and go 1.3 miles to Wagontown Rd. Turn Rt. on Wagontown Rd. and continue on this winding road for 1.8 miles (you will pass the Hibernia Park entrance on your right, the Chambers Lake parking lot, and Chambers Lake on your right). Pull off the road to the left and park safely at the end of the lake to visit the hawk watch. You will see us sitting on the dike near the road at the end of the lake.
