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

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

 2008 2009
Black Vulture   0 0 0 2 0 17 10 5 6 14 10 7
Turkey Vulture 202 447 1277 721 654 613 868 539 408 1251 1334 296 276
Osprey 43 121 321 318 134 195 131 95 105 173 214 45 143
Bald Eagle 3 20 22 6 21 18 48 35 27 51 66 20 69
Northern Harrier 12 17 20 16 20 15 16 19 8 17 46 5 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 169 373 663 289 449 289 383 299 492 679 679 103 154
Copper's Hawk 17 57 81 56 73 43 82 58 90 112 128 25 20
Northern Goshawk 0 4 11 4 4 6 3 2 0 2 7 0 0
Unidentified Accipiter 0 3 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 16 80 84 38 38 10 101 24 14 120 70 36 3
Broad-winged Hawk 214 1255 1680 2356 490 1566 165 1628 402 1869 2122 26 1322
Red-tailed Hawk 52 190 890 350 246 192 633 169 47 139 322 103 19
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
Unidentified Buteo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Golden Eagle 1 2 3 0 1 3 5 0 4 2 0 2 0
American Kestrel 31 137 248 138 91 62 96 89 97 113 144 22 41
Merlin 3 13 13 14 18 15 15 21 43 32 48 5 22
Peregrine Falcon 2 12 40 25 29 21 18 13 10 16 15 7 7
Unidentified Falcon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
Unidentified raptor 6 8 10 13 14 1 1 12 0 16 9 0 0
TOTAL 771 2739 5364 4344 2284 3049 2583 3013 1752 4590 5226 707 2088
Hours Watched 52 119 206.25 177.75 167.16 146.5 217.25 193.75 109.75 260.5 309.5 210 60.0

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

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