Fort Smallwood Park (18 Apr 2026) 36 Raptors Swallow-tailed Kite

[SUE RICCIARDI]

Fort Smallwood Park

Pasadena, Maryland, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 18, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	44	103
Turkey Vulture	29	2172	7846
Osprey	1	90	206
Bald Eagle	0	28	74
Northern Harrier	0	35	41
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2	329	377
Cooper's Hawk	0	82	131
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	18	256
Broad-winged Hawk	0	43	43
Red-tailed Hawk	0	24	82
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	1	55	90
Merlin	2	20	21
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	3	5
Unknown Buteo	0	3	7
Unknown Falcon	0	6	7
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	11	12
Swallow-tailed Kite	1	2	2
Total:	36	2965	9303

Observation start time:	8:30 am Daylight Savings Time
Observation end time:	2:30pm
Total observation time:	6 hours
Official Counter	Chris Reed
Observers:	Cristians Rivas, Sue Ricciardi

Visitors:  Claudia Yao, Chase Guida, Collin Willis

Weather:
Mostly cloudy with some fog; 63-73 degrees - much cooler today; fair to good visibility; winds mostly from the ENE 9-13 mph

Raptor Observations:
Easterly winds are normally not productive in volume and that characterized the day, but who can complain about the first raptor of the day being a Swallow-tailed Kite! This individual was an adult and our second of the season. It circled a bit and then headed north. eBird photos will be available later.

Non-raptor Observations:
Almost 1000 Blue Jays, Northern Yellow Warbler

---

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

---

 
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.