Fort Smallwood Park (30 Apr 2026) 280 Raptors

[SUE RICCIARDI]

Fort Smallwood Park

Pasadena, Maryland, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 30, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	5	59	118
Turkey Vulture	102	2658	8332
Osprey	4	106	222
Bald Eagle	1	43	89
Northern Harrier	2	41	47
Sharp-shinned Hawk	139	543	591
Cooper's Hawk	19	120	169
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	18	256
Broad-winged Hawk	3	83	83
Red-tailed Hawk	0	25	83
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	0
American Kestrel	2	61	96
Merlin	1	30	31
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	7	9
Unknown Buteo	0	4	8
Unknown Falcon	0	6	7
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	2	13	14
Swallow-tailed Kite	0	2	2
Total:	280	3819	10157

Observation start time:	9:00 am Daylight Time
Observation end time:	4:00 pm
Total observation time:	7 hours
Official Counter	Chris Reed
Observers:	Cindy Godwin, Cristians Rivas, Hal Wierenga, Lynn Davidson, Ralph Geuder, Steve Steimel, Sue Ricciardi

Weather:
Partly cloudy; 57-66 degrees; good visibility; winds northwesterly with a few hours of straight west, 7-16 mph gusting to 26 mph

Raptor Observations:
We went over 10,000 migrant raptors for the season today. A busy day for accipitrines, 10 species in all. Steady flight of Turkey Vultures and Sharp-shinned Hawks all day. Fun day to count with good weather and a good flight.

Non-raptor Observations:
Orchard Oriole, Common Tern. Swifts and swallows especially numerous today and no doubt undercounted: Chimney Swift 608, Tree Swallow 92, Barn Swallow 42, Northern Rough-winged Swallow 8, Bank Swallow 1, Purple Martin 15.

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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.