Autumn Hawk Watch comes to a close with new bald eagle record
In autumn 2016, Hawk Mountain tallied 17,548 hawks in 1,106 hours of effort. The overall total was 6% below the 10-year average.
This year, new record was set for the Bald Eagle, 489, well above the prior record of 406 set in 2010. The best day for Bald Eagles occurred late in the season, on Dec. 3 when 22 Bald Eagles flew past representing half the migrants observed that day.
Nine of the 16 regularly recorded species showed below-average counts in 2016, including the Amer- ican Kestrel, which was 50% below the 10-year average and Osprey 343, 33% below average. Favorable winds in September boosted counts of Broadwinged Hawks in 2016, with 9,361 counted, 22% above the 10-year average of 7,683. The largest oneday count in 2016 coincided with the peak Broadwinged Hawk flight, with 3,066 hawks for the day, including 3,018 broadwings.
Bald Eagle Record
On Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, the 407th bald eagle soared over North Lookout, breaking the record previously set in 2010. At the end of the fall migration count on Dec. 15, the count stood at 489.
The bald eagle has increased steadily since the ban of DDT in 1972, leading to it being down-listed from Endangered to Threatened, and then finally removed from the Endangered Species List entirely in 2007. A record 406 migrating bald eagles were counted during the duration of the 2010 Autumn Migration season, and Hawk Mountain has seen improved numbers in recent years as nesting populations continue to increase throughout Pennsylvania, New England, and eastern Canada.
For more information, visit our Raptorpedia Ba;d Eagle Page at http://www. hawkmountain.org/raptorpedia/ hawks-at-hawkmountain/hawk-species-athawk-mountain/bald-eagle/ page.aspx?id=456
The 2,500-acre Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the world’s first refuge for birds of prey and is open to the public year-round by trailfee or membership, which in turn supports the nonprofit organization’s raptor conservation mission and local-to- global research, training, and education programs. To learn more about Hawk Mountain or other programs, please call 610-756-6961 or visit www. hawkmountain.org.