Lenoir Hawk Watch

Members enjoy migrating hawks at Lenoir Nature Preserve

  

A view from the Palisades back over to the Hawk Watch            A "Sitting Cat" formation first appearing in 2003 can be seen from Lenoir

Hudson River Audubon conducts a hawk watch each fall at Lenoir Preserve. Situated high above the eastern shore of the Hudson River, thousand of hawks pass by between late August and November. During the migration period, Hudson River Audubon volunteer hawk counters are out in the field every weekend and during the weekdays when possible. A summary of the numbers of raptors are compiled by species, date, weather and wind conditions and submitted to the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) for inclusion in their nationwide statistics.

So join us and watch for circling Broad-winged Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Red-tails, Eagles and 12 other raptor species as they search for thermals to assist them in their long southerly migration. Join our friendly group of hawk watchers in front of the mansion at Lenoir. Learn how to differentiate between the different species of hawks, falcons, and other raptors. Learn about migration patterns and where these birds are heading. Help us keep a tally on the raptors as they fly over. Our group will gladly introduce first-time participants to this exciting annual event. Our volunteers will be more than happy to answer any questions you have about these raptors. You may want to bring along a beach chair for your comfort. Please bring binoculars since the number of loaners we have is limited.

For more information contact Michael Bochnik, Email: BochnikM@cs.com

Happy Holidays to all you dedicated Hawk Watchers and bird lovers in the NE!!!!

Lenoir Wildlife Sanctuary has officially closed down the annual hawk watch site for 2007. We wish all?you guys and gals at Hawk Mountain, Hook Mountain, Montclair, Quaker Ridge, Franklin Mountain, Waggoner's Gap, Second Mountain, Peak Mountain, Fire Island, Mount Peter,?Chestnut Ridge and the many other hawk watch sites, a great holiday season and a happy and healthy 2008.?

Your?involvement in this work?helps to protect and preserve the raptors that we all love to observe. Hopefully our efforts will enable our children and grandchildren to inherit a planet filled with the majestic birds.
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Special thanks goes to Michael and Kelli Bochnik, Ed Higgins, Paul and Barbara?Steineck?and Bill Van Wart for putting in so many hours (300+ hours) and braving the heat, cold and rain at the Lenoir Hawk Watch for the last three and a half months. The birds thank you too.

Also thanks to those folks who joined us from time to time at the site.....

Joe O'Connell
Lenoir Hawk Watch

Below are the results of this years hawk watch

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Results

 
SPECIES 1997 1998 1999  2000  

2001

 2002  2003 2004 2005 2006

2007
Black Vulture   0 0 0 2 0 17 10 5 6 14
Turkey Vulture 202 447 1277 721 654 613 868 539 408 1251 1334
Osprey 43 121 321 318 134 195 131 95 105 173 214
Bald Eagle 3 20 22 6 21 18 48 35 27 51 66
Northern Harrier 12 17 20 16 20 15 16 19 8 17 46
Sharp-shinned Hawk 169 373 663 289 449 289 383 299 492 679 679
Copper's Hawk 17 57 81 56 73 43 82 58 90 112 128
Northern Goshawk 0 4 11 4 4 6 3 2 0 2 7
Unidentified Accipiter 0 3 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 16 80 84 38 38 10 101 24 14 120 70
Broad-winged Hawk 214 1255 1680 2356 490 1566 165 1628 402 1869 2122
Red-tailed Hawk 52 190 890 350 246 192 633 169 47 139 322
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
Unidentified Buteo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Golden Eagle 1 2 3 0 1 3 5 0 4 2 0
American Kestrel 31 137 248 138 91 62 96 89 97 113 144
Merlin 3 13 13 14 18 15 15 21 43 32 48
Peregrine Falcon 2 12 40 25 29 21 18 13 10 16 15
Unidentified Falcon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Unidentified raptor 6 8 10 13 14 1 1 12 0 16 9
TOTAL 771 2739 5364 4344 2284 3049 2583 3013 1752 4590 5226
Hours Watched 52 119 206.25 177.75 167.16 146.5 217.25 193.75 109.75 260.5 309.5

In 2001,  86,030 blackbirds, 10,398 Blue Jays, 4912 Am. Robin, 2673 Brant and 904 Cedar Waxwings were counted.

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