WRS Survey Summary

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Route	Black Dirt - Wallkill NY-NJ (1145)
Location	New York / New Jersey, USA
Survey date	2026-02-28
Survey ID	2470

Survey Conditions

Survey Date: 2026-02-28	Start Time: 09:50:00	End Time: 15:30:00
Temperature	4 (C)	13 (C)
Cloud Cover	70 (%)	0 (%)
Visibility	14 (km)	15 (km)
Precipitation	0: None	0: None
Wind Speed	2: 6-11 km/h (4-7 mph)	3: 12-19 km/h (8-12 mph)
Wind Direction	SW	SW
Water	Frozen	Frozen
Snow Depth	3 (in)	2 (in)
Observer 1	Steve Walter
Observer 2
Observer 3
Observer 4
Notes	Low species variety and fewest individuals since 2021 -- less than half of the last couple of years. Many areas, some of which are usually productive, were practically devoid of raptors. Why? The first thing that comes to mind is that the area has been under deep snow for most of the last 5 weeks. Much less snow now, with few fields totally covered. The second issue that comes to mind is that this is somehow related to avian flu. I didn't see any dead hawks, but the effect of it was visible on Canada Geese. A few dozen dead ones could be seen on the Wallkill River at Celery Ave. One person told me that raptors had been feeding on carcasses. I didn't see that. But could that have had an effect? Especially noteworthy was the low number of Red-tails. Numbers on this route have been 50-70 in recent years. Just 12 this time -- outnumbered by the 13 Rough-legs.

Survey Sightings

Species	Time	Count	Behavior	Morph	Age	Sex	Habitat
RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	09:50:00	1	Perched	Light	Immature		•dirt agriculture

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	09:55:00	1	Perched	Light	Immature

UB (Unknown Buteo)	10:00:00	1	Perched

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	10:20:00	1	Perched	Light

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	10:50:00	1	Perched

TV (Turkey Vulture)	11:25:00	2	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	11:25:00	1	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	11:30:00	6	Flying

NH (Northern Harrier)	11:55:00	1	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	11:55:00	1	Flying

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	12:00:00	2	Flying	Light

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	12:00:00	1	Perched				•dirt agriculture

TV (Turkey Vulture)	12:00:00	2	Flying

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	12:05:00	1	Flying	Light	Adult	Male

NH (Northern Harrier)	12:15:00	1	Flying		Adult	Male	•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	12:15:00	2	Flying	Light			•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	12:15:00	1	Flying		Adult		•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

NH (Northern Harrier)	12:20:00	3	Flying		Adult	Female	•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

TV (Turkey Vulture)	12:20:00	3	Flying

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	12:25:00	2	Flying	Light			•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	12:30:00	1	Perched	Light			•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

NH (Northern Harrier)	12:35:00	2	Flying				•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	12:40:00	1	Flying	Dark	Immature

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	12:55:00	1

TV (Turkey Vulture)	13:10:00	1	Flying

BV (Black Vulture)	13:20:00	3	Flying

BV (Black Vulture)	13:25:00	3	Flying

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	13:30:00	1	Flying		Adult

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	13:40:00	3	Flying				•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

TV (Turkey Vulture)	13:40:00	3	Flying				•wetland/pond/marsh/riparian

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	13:45:00	1	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	13:45:00	1	Flying

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	14:05:00	1	Perched		Adult

RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	14:10:00	1	Flying	Dark	Immature

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	14:15:00	1	Perched				•green agriculture

TV (Turkey Vulture)	14:20:00	1	Flying

RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	14:25:00	1	Perched

TV (Turkey Vulture)	14:30:00	1	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	15:15:00	1	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	15:20:00	2	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	15:20:00	2	Flying

TV (Turkey Vulture)	15:25:00	3	Flying

BV (Black Vulture)	15:30:00	2	Perched				•dirt agriculture

TV (Turkey Vulture)	15:35:00	1	Perched				•dirt agriculture

Survey totals by species

Species	Total Count
RL (Rough-legged Hawk)	13
UB (Unknown Buteo)	1
RT (Red-tailed Hawk)	12
TV (Turkey Vulture)	31
NH (Northern Harrier)	7
BV (Black Vulture)	8
Total	72