Presque Isle Hawk Watch

Red-shoulder Hawk by Shawn Collins, © the photographer

**Note: I will be posting once or twice a week the Hawk Watch results.  Toni Kelly PIAS webeditor**
About the Presque Isle Hawk Watch
The Presque Isle Hawk Watch records hawk migration along the south shore of Lake Erie beginning in March and continues through at least early May. The data collected at the hawk watch will be used by the North American Hawk Watch Association to monitor the health of the raptor populations throughout the continent. Jerry McWilliams, Presque Isle Hawk Watch Coordinator, invites anyone interested to help him spot and count hawks that migrate along Lake Erie. Jerry is assisted by Roger Donn.

Jerry and Roger don't have set hours. Right now there are hardly any birds on the move, so Jerry is just sampling until things heat up. However, they try to get out every day provided there is not heavy low cloud cover, storming, or foggy, and they usually don't make any firm decisions on whether they will be going out or how long until the day before the watch.  When the flights kick in, usually after mid-March, they usually start around 10:00 AM and stay to at least to 2:00 PM, if birds are moving and weather conditions permit.  If conditions are not so good they either scratch the watch for the day or just spend a little time and if nothing is flying we go home.

If the winds are out of the south they will be at the south end of the TREC parking lot.  If the winds are from any other directions they will be at the vacant lot on the west corner of Peninsula Drive and West 12th Street.  This latter site might be developed some time in the near future, so we may have to look for another inland site elsewhere.

It is best for anyone planning on hawk watching to give Jerry a call at 240-8594 or email him at jerrymcw@aol.com to find out what his plans will be for the next day.  We can always use extra eyes on the sky, no ID skills required.

Presque Isle
Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 09, 2014

Observation start time: 10:45:00 
Observation end   time: 13:45:00 
Total observation time: 3 hours
Official Counter:        Jerry McWilliams, Roger Donn
Observers:        Jerry McWilliams, Roger Donn

Visitors:
Roger Donn assisted in the early part of the count.  David Sublette and a Millcreek police officer stopped to visit for a while.

Weather:
Cloudy becoming partly cloudy and hazy.  SW wind early becoming NW by 1300 hrs.  Temps. reaching 30 F.

Raptor Observations:
There were small bursts of activity with long periods of dead air. Most migrants were TVs with a sprinkling of Red-tails moving across a wide expanse of sky.

Non-raptor Observations:
Canada Goose--8, Redhead--12, Common/Red-breasted Merganser--30, American
Crow--20, Horned Lark--53 (46 in one group) 

Predictions:
Weather prediction still uncertain.  Depends on wind direction and precipitation.  Still cold.

 Jerry McWilliams
Erie, Erie County, Pa.