View from FIRE hawkwatch

We are an all volunteer organization in operation Sep 10-Nov 10 for 27 years. Location

2009 Count & Web updated:  03/05/2010                                   2009 Data                                     NEHW Silhouette Guide

Drew to Talk at FINS Conference on April 22: 
"Trends in Raptor Migrations based on Hawk Watch Data from Fire Island"
 7th Biennial Fire Island National Seashore Planning, Science and Research Conference
Apr 21 and 22, 2010    Program    FINS Information Page    Free Registration:  enter
"Conference Registration" under subject, and complete the information requested

   New PG videos: 
1. From the dunes  2. Down the pike  3. Past the bridge  4. Around the owl 

  Trends by Video!    Check out our 4 videos showing the Fire Island Hawk Watch, and Trends for Peregrines, Merlins, and Kestrels!  Look for photos of you, photos of the hawks, and videos of the hawks.  Also, check out the trends.  Are you correct to think that the PGs are increasing?  What about the Merlins?  Are the Kestrels really declining?  If so, why?  Here we discuss the trends relative to ecology!  

2009 Data        F.I.R.E. News       Season Update     2008 Data               2008 Luncheon

Panko Press:  2009 Season Summary             
                           10/12/09: PGs Steal the Show!
     10/3/09: Slow Sep

  FIRE in the News
Merlins speed past the watch site. Don't miss them!

Merlins everywhere!  on perch, overhead, all around
 


Come join us.
 Watch with us, count with
us, and enjoy the fun!

  
Merlins often stop for lunch near the Fire Island Hawk Watch. This ML is dining on a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Robert Moses Bridge board walk
Experience Fire Island 

Report Form:   Excel, HMANA pdf

We average 180
Peregrines a year! 

Come help us
count them!

FIRE News

Hawkwatch:   FIRE (Fire Island Raptor Enumerators)

2009 Data

Panko Press, 2009 Season Summary

Peregrine Falcon flying over the Fire Island Hawk Watch
Click for 2009 PG videos

    Summary:

After a very slow September,  
the PGs show up and steal the show!
CH are above average and ML at their 20 year average.  

OS and  NH numbers are below average, but nowhere as low as the SS & AK numbers. 
Both SS & AK numbers are so low as to be
very worrisome and worthy of further study on their breeding grounds.

2009 Compared to the 20-yr Average

  2009 Total 20 YR AVG Deviation fr 20-yr ave
OS 264 305 -16%
BE 1 3

****
NH 181 230 -21%
SS 291 455 -36%
CH 47 28 +70%
NG 1 2

****
RS 0 0

****
BW 0 0

****
RT 1 1

****
RL 0 0

****
AK 518 1360 -62%
ML 1291 1291 +0.0%
PG 290 180 61%
U 8 22

****
TOT 2893 3876 -25%
Hrs 414 432 -4.2%
Days 64 61 +5.0%

The last column is the deviation from our 20-year average, for the most common species.

 

The negative deviations for OS & NH are in the range of normal variation, and if the
NH are cyclic in numbers, they were due for a low this year.  The positive variation
for CHs is actually a little lower than in recent years.  In a statistical fluke the MLs
exactly hit their 20 year average.  The PGs numbers are very significant and
positive, it seems that they had a good breeding year - global warming in the Arctic?
We've had 3 really good years of PG flights....hopefully they'll continue!
 
But the AKs and SSs are in serious trouble in our source regions.  We had a huge drop in AK numbers in '95 (see Falcon Trends), then they seemed to be stabilizing in the last 5 years, but this year their numbers have declined to an all time 28 year low!  The SS numbers have been declining steadily for years but this year is a significant drop from recent years and 36% below their 20 year average.  However, there were 2 days late in the season, as the adults came through, that were better than we could expect considering the low numbers of immatures.
 Kestrels need our help!
 

     American Kestrel (video)
                                     ******************
It is often said that one of the purposes of hawk watching is to provide early warning of any worrisome decline in raptor numbers.  What is left out is that someone has to be listening.  The AKs certainly, and likely the SSs as well, need to be promoted to threatened status. And serious work must be undertaken to determine the "Whys & Wherefores" of their declines.
                                     ******************
The low numbers of total hawks (TH) merely reflects the low AKs & SSs.
 
The good coverage in both hours and days covered speaks well of our wonderful
cadre of volunteers!
 
See you at the beach next year!  
  

Panko Press, 10/12/09 edition

Peregrine in dive! Click for videos.

Click for new PG videos

Summary:

After a very slow September,

 the PGs show up and steal the show!

CH and ML are also above average. 

OS and  NH numbers are below average,
but nowhere as low as the SS & AK numbers. 
Both SS & AK numbers are so low as to be
very worrisome and worthy of further study
on their breeding grounds.

Notable days to date(10/10/09):

  9/30 10/4 10/5 10/7 10/8 10/10 10/11 YTD Dev fr
                  25YrAve
OS 9 0 9 1 7 19 4 225 -16%
BE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 avg:1.9
NH 3 1 4 0 11 9 4 94 -37%
SS 1 1 3 0 17 1 0 84 -72%
CH 0 1 1 0 4 1 0 13 +26%
NG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
RS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
BW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
RT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
RL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
AK 2 1 45 0 29 20 12 411 -72%
ML 64 10 101 4 91 162 6 1067 +8.5%
PG 14 25 35 22 7 65 14 229 97%
U 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 7  
TOT 92 38 200 27 166 277 40 2125 -45%

(numbers are tentative until final reports are submitted)
The last column is the deviation from our 26-year average, for the most common species.

 

The negative deviations for OS & NH are in the range of normal variation, and if the NH are cyclic in numbers, they were due for a low this year.  The positive variation for CHs is actually a little lower than in recent years.  The positive deviation for MLs is insignificant - well within normal variation.  The PGs numbers are very significant and positive, it seems that they had a good breeding year - global warming in the Arctic?

Peregrines were flying on both sides of the platform. This one was flying along the north shore.

Peregrine Falcon at FIRE, along the north shore
But the AKs and SSs are in serious trouble in our source regions.  We had a huge
drop in AK numbers in '95 (see http://www.battaly.com/fire/trends/) but then they seem to be stabilizing in the last 5 years, but this year their numbers have declined significantly again!  The SS numbers have been declining steadily for years but this year is a significant drop from normal.  However, there is a chance that the numbers may pick up as the adults start coming through....but I'm not betting on it.
 
It is often said that one of the purposes of hawkwatching is to provide early warning
of any worrisome decline in raptor numbers.  What is left out is that someone has to be listening.  The AKs certainly, and likely the SSs as well, need to be promoted to threatened status. And serious work must be undertaken to determine the "Whys & Wherefores" of their declines.
 
The low numbers of total hawks (TH) merely reflects the low AKs & SSs.
 
Hope to see you all down at the beach!  
  

Summary:
It's been a very slow September. 
CH is the only species above average. 
OS, ML and PG numbers are at or close to average.
And all other species are well below average -
AKs being most worrisome.

Notable days to date(9/30/09):

  8/31 9/9 9/15 9/19 9/25 9/30 YTD Dev fr
                25YrAve
OS 17 18 5 21 45 9 180 -8%
BE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 avg:0.8
NH 2 2 2 7 28 3 54 -41%
SS 0 1 5 10 15 1 60 -61%
CH 0 0 0 0 1 2 5 +16%
NG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
RS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
BW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
RT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
RL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
AK 0 3 1 71 184 2 294 -69%
ML 1 48 81 50 159 64 617 -10%
PG 1 1 0 1 9 14 45 0%
U 0 0 0 0 0 1 11  
TOT 21 73 94 161 442 92 1264 -45%

(numbers are tentative until final reports are submitted)
The last column is the deviation from our 25-year average, for the most common species.

 


This year seems to be starting off very low.  The AKs, NHs and SSs are well below our 26 year average.  I am really worried about the AKs.  They seemed to stabilize in the last 3 years but this is a significant decline from their average over the last 3 years.  The SS numbers are very low - but consistent with their average over the last 13 years.  The NH are very low, but they seem to cycle every 5 or 6 years and they were due to be low this year.

The low numbers of total hawks (TH) merely reflects the low AKs & SSs.

click for video of Osprey at Fire Island
 

Osprey at FIRE, Sep 15, 2009
Thank goodness for the near average numbers of OS, ML, and PGs or we would have nothing to count!
 
Be on the lookout for the next cold front - Sunday or Monday.  We're in Peregrine season!
 
Check out the trend analysis for the falcons: http://www.battaly.com/fire/trends/
  

Hope to see you all down at the beach!

Location:

On a barrier beach, off the south shore of Long Island, NY. We're about midway along Long Island, slightly west of due south from New Haven CT.

Driving directions: Proceed south on Robert Moses Parkway, over the bridge to Robert Moses State Park. From the water tower circle (check for PG), proceed East to parking lot #5. From the NE corner of the lot, walk east toward the lighthouse. We watch from the highest point near the road barriers.

Link up to one of the following:


Hawks

Birds and Butts

Weather and Tides

Other Weather

Webmaster: Trudy Battaly merlin@pipeline.com or BAT'S BYTES  

Updated: 03/05/10 11:25 PM

 

All New Videos!   Check out our 4 new videos showing the Fire Island Hawk Watch, and Trends for Peregrines, Merlins, and Kestrels!  Look for photos of you, photos of the hawks, and videos of the hawks.  Also, check out the trends.  Are you correct to think that the PGs are increasing?  What about the Merlins?  Are the Kestrels really declining?  If so, why?  Here we discuss the trends relative to ecology!