Date: 10/19/25 3:40 pm From: Hawkcount.Org Reports <reports...> Subject: Waggoner's Gap (19 Oct 2025) 89 Raptors
Waggoner's Gap 40 km W of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 19, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- BV 0 11 11 TV 15 1027 1027 OS 0 19 148 BE 4 118 349 NH 2 27 106 SS 52 1018 2333 CH 2 118 180 AG 0 1 1 RS 0 20 24 BW 0 18 10265 RT 11 168 301 RL 0 0 0 GE 0 25 27 AK 0 46 165 ML 1 27 48 PG 0 26 47 UA 1 22 36 UB 1 7 19 UF 0 4 6 UE 0 0 0 UR 0 25 45 SK 0 0 1
Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Jess Cosentino
Observers:
Visitors: 52, Potomac Valley Master Naturalists (2)
Weather: Thick fog lingering on the ridge all morning, no visibility, slowly cleared by 1 PM with southeast winds intensifying all afternoon, SE winds remained strong all afternoon with mostly cloudy sky
Raptor Observations: A low cloud ceiling hanging over the ridge all morning prevented any hawkwatching, aside from the occasional Sharp-shinned Hawk that would shoot out of the nearby fog and continue down the ridge seconds later.
Afternoon saw strong southeast winds, which cleared the fog ceiling and more migrant raptors began to be detected passing high and fast along the south side of the ridge. A steady trickle of Sharp-shinned Hawks continued to pass alone the south side of the ridge for several hours in the afternoon, often gaining lift rapidly off the deflecting south winds before shooting southwest. A few other raptors followed similar flight lines, with almost no migration activity observed north of the ridge all afternoon.
Despite no visibility for half of the count period, the day ended up being relatively productive in the afternoon with the flight abruptly losing momentum around 4 PM DST.
First bird SS 0903 Last bird SS 1439
Non-raptor Observations: Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Blue Jay 12, Common Raven 1, Cedar Waxwing 50, Tree Swallow 14, Purple Finch 1, Dark-eyed Junco 1, Pine Siskin 1, Common Grackle 17, Yellow-rumped Warbler 2, Monarch 2
LFE: 2 Monarch: 2 Hummingbirds: 2
Predictions: Rain overnight that could potential linger in the earlier morning hours, Unclear if the ridge will be clear yet or not. However, sturdy (18 mph) northwest winds will blow down on the ridge once the rain does clear and will last throughout the late afternoon hours. We could expect to see some good raptor movement with these conditions
Tuesday: Mixed south winds, Light rain later in the PM
Wednesday: West winds, low chance of showers
======================================================================== Report submitted by WG Counter ()
