Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch 9/16/12

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

I arrived at the Hawk Watch at 3:00 p.m., and for the next hour all I saw wre a few Turkey Vultures and a distant Red-tailed Hawk. The sky started to clear around 4:00, and a few Broad-winged Hawks, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, and two Ospreys flew over.


Osprey


Broad-winged Hawk


Red-tailed Hawks


Red-tailed Hawks

Around 4:30, some good kettles of Broad-winged Hawks formed. They were fairly spread out, so that I couldn't get an entire kettle in one photograph. Kettles of about 80, 20, and 200 hawks were counted, and some of them streamed out of the kettles and flew overhead. I would estimate that in the first 45 minutes after the kettles were formed, I saw between 300 and 400 hawks, and then it clouded over again and I headed for home.


Broad-winged Hawks


Broad-winged Hawks


Broad-winged Hawks


Broad-winged Hawks



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