Fort Smallwood Park (20 May 2025) 73 Raptors

[SUE RICCIARDI]

Fort Smallwood Park

Pasadena, Maryland, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: May 20, 2025
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	5	38	309
Turkey Vulture	61	559	8910
Osprey	5	11	367
Bald Eagle	0	33	122
Northern Harrier	0	4	106
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	51	1066
Cooper's Hawk	0	11	322
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	258
Broad-winged Hawk	0	68	362
Red-tailed Hawk	0	13	122
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	0	3	145
Merlin	0	2	52
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	2
Unknown Accipitrine	0	1	10
Unknown Buteo	0	10	23
Unknown Falcon	0	0	10
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	4	22
Mississippi Kite	0	5	5
Swallow-tailed Kite	1	1	1
Total:	73	814	12214

Observation start time:	8:30 am
Observation end time:	4:00 pm Daylight Time
Total observation time:	7.5 hours
Official Counter	Chris Reed
Observers:	Cindy Godwin, Cristians Rivas, Dan Walker, Hal Wierenga, Jenny Isaacs, Rich Mason, Steve Steimel, Sue Ricciardi

Weather:
Sunny becoming mostly cloudy; 57-71 degrees; excellent visibility; winds northerly, often with a NW component 3-12 mph.

Raptor Observations:
We were fortunate to another kite today, except that this time it was a Swallow-tailed Kite! Our eagle-eyed observers spotted it at quite a distance at 1:10 pm clock time. It circled twice, then glided out of sight for a two-minute view. The shorter swallow tails indicated that it was likely a one-year-old. See photo here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S240782753 Otherwise, the day's tally was dominated by Turkey Vultures.

Non-raptor Observations:
Least Flycatcher; Nashville Warbler and Chestnut-sided Warbler among 8 warbler species.

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Report submitted by Sue Ricciardi (susi...@comcast.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

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Site Description
Fort Smallwood Park is located on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay at the
mouth of the Patapsco River, 11 miles south of Baltimore, MD. Best winds are
from the southwest.