BAS hike to Hawkwatch Intl. spot on the Wellsvilles

[<cllslp at msn dot com>]

Bridgerland Audubon Society sponsored its annual trek to the top of 
Hawkwatch peak in the Wellsville mountains this past Saturday.
Approximately 20 people showed up for the event.
I was happy to see alot of new faces and meet Nathan Darnall, President of 
GSL Audubon. Very nice guy!

Beautiful weather and scenery the whole way, along the 4 mile trek to 8,600 
ft. (my thighs are still aching!).

On the way, along the steep trail, we saw: Nothern Flicker, Hairy 
Woodpecker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fox Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, 
Black-capped and Mt. Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Warbling Vireo and Hermit 
Thrush.

At the top we were greeted by Mark Fogg and Rob Spaul, this seasons 
volunteers for Hawkwatch at the top of the Wellsvilles. They have been up 
there since August 22, and will stay until the end of October, when the snow 
begins to fly. Anthony Sandoval was also up there helping out. He was a 
volunteer from last season.
All were very knowledgeable and great assistance to us all as we spotted 
many cool raptors.
Mark told us they had recorded 2 Broad-winged Hawks on Friday, Sep. 24, 
which they were very excited about. Mark said that the majority of birds 
that they had been seeing were coming from their breeding grounds in British 
Columbia. One of the biggest frustrations initially for these biologists was 
being able to identify which birds were local yokels and which were 
migratory. Case in point were the beautiful Golden Eagles we saw soaring 
below us, which was pointed out by Mark to be local birds.
While the BAS group was there we spotted Sharp-shinned Hawk, Swainsons Hawk, 
Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, Golden Eagle, American Kestrel and Common 
Raven.
It was very exciting to see so many Sharpies and Northern Harriers catching 
the upward thermal drafts and ride them to the top. We were able to look 
down on the birds and watch as they soared from below to above us.

Here is a list of what the Hawkwatch team has recorded from August 22, 2004 
to September 24, 2004:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 237
Coopers Hawk - 133
Northern Goshawk - 10
Red-tailed Hawk - 261
Swainsons Hawk - 46
Ferruginous Hawk - 4
Broadwing Hawk - 2 (9-24-04)
American Kestrel - 371
Turkey Vulture - 4
Golden Eagle - 59
Bald Eagle - 5
Peregrine Falcon - 10
Prairie Falcon - 13
Merlin - 4
Northern Harrier - 80
Osprey - 15

Much thanks to Mark Fogg and Rob Spaul who shared their knowledge and 
expertise about these wonderful birds.
My hat goes off to these heroes, who are VOLUNTEERS, for their dedication 
and passion towards gathering this essential data on migratory raptors.

Stephen Peterson


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