2015 marked the 40th season for Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch. In total, 13,819 migrating raptors were counted, which is a little lower than our average number of 16,535. Our season spans Aug 15-Nov 30, and we were able to have good coverage this year (623 total hours).
We did not record any rare migrants this season such as Mississippi Kite, Rough-legged Hawk or Swainson’s Hawk. However, this season’s Bald Eagle count of 246 was second only to last year’s 280 (season avg = 61)! We had 22 Golden Eagles, tied with 2013 for the second-most in a season (season avg = 8 and season high of 40 in 2014).
The falcons put on a good show this season. We had 48 Merlin, breaking the previous season record of 46 last year (season avg = 15). The last Merlin of this season was recorded on November 27, which is a record late season migrant (previous late date was 11/24). We had 40 Peregrine Falcon, the third highest season count on record (season avg = 19) and 187 American Kestrel, which is a little above average (season avg = 142).
We recorded 213 Osprey (season avg = 177) and 76 Northern Harrier (season avg = 69).
The buteos gave a mixed bag of results this year. The 63 Red-shouldered Hawks was above the season average of 41. The number of Broad-winged Hawks totaled 10,497, which is a little below the season average of 13,469. The Red-tailed Hawks numbered 609, which was also below the season average of 892.
The accipiter numbers were a little above average this season. We recorded 6 Northern Goshawk (season avg = 4), 249 Cooper’s Hawk (season avg = 175), and 1,497 Sharp-shinned Hawk (season avg = 1,384).
In addition to being on a raptor migration flyway, Rockfish Gap is a great spot to observe other avian migrants, and this year we ended with a total of 114 different species (raptors and non-raptors). Highlights are described here. A total of 234 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrated through Rockfish Gap this fall. The warblers put on a good show this fall with 23 species recorded (Ovenbird, Golden-winged, Black-and-white, Tennessee, Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, American Redstart, Cape May, Northern Parula, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Yellow, Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue, Palm, Pine, Yellow-rumped, Prairie, Black-throated Green, Wilson’s, and Yellow-breasted Chat). The sparrows also made a good showing with 9 species (Chipping, Field, Fox, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned, White-throated, Savannah, Song, and Eastern Towhee).
Other notable total season numbers of migrants include: 95 Common Loons, 448 Double-crested Cormorant, 45 Ring-billed Gull, 22 Common Nighthawk, 3,326 Chimney Swifts, 85 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 38 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 8 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 208 Northern Flickers, 4,031 Blue Jays, 526 Fish Crows, 257 Common Ravens (although we can’t be sure all of these were indeed migrating), 366 Tree Swallows, 240 Barn Swallows, 4,687 American Robins, 8,003 Cedar Waxwings, 54 Indigo Buntings, 2,340 Red-winged Blackbirds, 5,482 Common Grackles, 7 Purple Finches, 38 Pine Siskins, and 357 American Goldfinches. A few uncommon migrants included: Gadwall, American Black Duck, Northern Pintail, Lesser Scaup, Herring Gull, Philadelphia Vireo, Horned Lark, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Pipit, and Rusty Blackbird.
For the second year in a row, we had several sightings of a leucistic Turkey Vulture, though this year’s bird had fewer dark feathers than last year’s bird, indicating it was a different individual. For the second year in a row, one humorous, continuing story throughout the season has been the “Corvid Food Story”, and this year we observed the following on different occasions: Crows carrying chunks of kettle corn, a pair of Ravens with one carrying a slice of white bread and the other carrying a piece of bologna, the next day we observed another or the same pair of Ravens with one carrying a slice of white bread and the other carrying an unknown reddish colored food item, a Raven carrying two French fries at the same time, a Raven carrying a hotdog wiener and a few hours later another or the same Raven carrying half a hotdog bun, a Raven carrying an onion ring and then another or the same Raven carrying an onion ring the following day, and a Raven carrying a hotdog in bun.
It was great to see lots of Monarch Butterflies again this year, and although there weren’t quite as many Monarchs as last year, this season’s total of 882 is much better than several of the other recent years! Our highest single-day count was 106 on 9/16.