Alton Bay Hawk Watch (15 Apr 2026) 43 Raptors
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Apr 15, 2026, 5:30:38 PM (7 days ago) Apr 15
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Alton Bay Hawk Watch
Alton, New Hampshire, USA
Visitors:
Only 3. One of these days I will graph the relationship between number of visitors and number of hawks!
Weather:
Scattered high thin clouds to start followed by increasing cloudiness with full cloud cover by 1:30 pm; light winds mostly from the E and NE; 60 - 70 F.
Raptor Observations:
Half the day's count came in the 9:00 hour, I've never seen an early push like that here. Hawk behavior is different in the spring compard to fall migration. According to the hawk watcher's bible, "Hawks in Flight" by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton, a "super group" if ever there was one, Cooper's Hawks are solitary and "love to soar and are loath to flap." In Fall! Yesterday, there were 2 pairs of Cooper's Hawks, each pair flying together, not alone, with the male flapping hard with his "sky dance" courtship display. This you don't see in the fall. Tomorrow I'll talk about how Broad-winged Hawk differs in spring.
Non-raptor Observations:
A much smaller list of other species compared to yesterday and not much migratory movement.
Predictions:
Thursday and Friday both appear to be rained out, count resumes Saturday.
Report submitted by Rob Woodward (touc...@yahoo.com)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Alton, New Hampshire, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 15, 2026 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Osprey | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 4 | 12 | 12 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| American Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 32 | 58 | 58 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipitrine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Total: | 43 | 104 | 104 |
| Observation start time: | 09:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 13:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 4.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Rob Woodward |
| Observers: |
Visitors:
Only 3. One of these days I will graph the relationship between number of visitors and number of hawks!
Weather:
Scattered high thin clouds to start followed by increasing cloudiness with full cloud cover by 1:30 pm; light winds mostly from the E and NE; 60 - 70 F.
Raptor Observations:
Half the day's count came in the 9:00 hour, I've never seen an early push like that here. Hawk behavior is different in the spring compard to fall migration. According to the hawk watcher's bible, "Hawks in Flight" by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton, a "super group" if ever there was one, Cooper's Hawks are solitary and "love to soar and are loath to flap." In Fall! Yesterday, there were 2 pairs of Cooper's Hawks, each pair flying together, not alone, with the male flapping hard with his "sky dance" courtship display. This you don't see in the fall. Tomorrow I'll talk about how Broad-winged Hawk differs in spring.
Non-raptor Observations:
A much smaller list of other species compared to yesterday and not much migratory movement.
Predictions:
Thursday and Friday both appear to be rained out, count resumes Saturday.
Report submitted by Rob Woodward (touc...@yahoo.com)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
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