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Spring Hawk Count 2021

Season Summary

Species Count
171
Total Count
736,093

Species Composition

Species composition changes over time depending on weather, seasons, and many other factors. This chart displays the composition over a time period you select.

Click on pie pieces to see more detail. If there are more than seven species, click on "Other" to see a breakdown of the rest.

Display

Many sites have a protocol that is designed to maximize finding particular species. If you select "Focus Species," only these species will be shown.

Date Selector

The control box below the pie chart lets you select a date period for the chart.

You can push the buttons "1d," "1w," or "1m" to zoom the graph to 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month.

The graph shows the overall volume seen on each day. You can drag the sliders on each side of this graph to adjust the start and end dates.

Species Composition
February 5th to July 1st

Drag the Sliders Below to Change the Dates Shown

Hourly Data

The time shown in the top row is the start of the one hour period.

Select Day

Choose a date to load the hourly table for that day. Only days that have data are shown.

Daily Counts

These charts show which species are most numerous at different parts of the season. Hover your mouse over a chart to see the number for a given day. The right column shows season totals and the left side shows the maximum for a single day. Each graph is scaled so that the single-day maximum is the highest point on the chart.

Sort By
  • Focus Species: Show the highest priority species at the top of the list.
  • Taxonomic Order: Sort the species by their scientific classification.
  • Alphabetic Order: Sort the species by their common name.
  • Abundance: Sort the species with the largest number counted at the top.

Daily Counts

Turkey Vulture
28071
Osprey
273
Golden Eagle
79
Northern Harrier
365
Sharp-shinned Hawk
2193
Cooper's Hawk
285
Northern Goshawk
1
Bald Eagle
839
Show More Species

Site Weather

Spring Hawk Count 2021

Onondaga Audubon’s Derby Hill Bird Observatory, located on the southeastern corner of Lake Ontario in Oswego County, NY, is one of the premier hawk watches in the Northeastern United States. Hawk counts at the site were started in the early 1970s and since 1979 have been conducted every year in a standardized way. On average 40,000 raptors are counted each spring as they migrate northwards, making this site one of the best spring sites in the country.

Directions

Directions from Syracuse... Take I-81 north to exit 34, which is Route 104. (From North Syracuse, where 481 joins 81, the distance is 22 miles). Turn west on 104. Drive 6 miles to the village of Mexico. Turn north at the traffic light onto Route 3. Drive north on Rt.3 for 4 miles to the intersection with Route 104b. Turn left (west) on Rt.104b and drive a 1/2 a mile to Sage Creek Drive. Turn right (north) on Sage Creek Drive. DHBO is clearly signed in both directions on Rt 104b just before the Sage Creek turn off.

Derby Hill Bird Observatory

Onondaga Audubon’s Derby Hill Bird Observatory, located on the southeastern corner of Lake Ontario in Oswego County, NY, is one of the premier hawk watches in the Northeastern United States.

About the Data

All data displayed on this site are preliminary and have not yet undergone quality control. Written permission is required to use the data.