Strong south winds on 16 October produced a good hawk flight at 
Derby Hill in the typical west to east spring flight pattern. Highlights 
were 180 Red-tailed Hawks and 7 immature Northern Goshawks. This 
"wrong-way" flight had not been observed for a number of years. Two 
days later, on the 18th, the best hawk flight of the season took place at the 
Bishop Road location west of Pulaski. Highlights were 224 redtails, five 
Bald Eagles and two Golden Eagles. The season's total of five Golden 
Eagles was two more than any previous fall, partly due to people partic¬ 
ularly looking for hawks this fall. Northern Harrier and accipiter num¬ 
bers were good. Several reports of Peregrine Falcons in downtown 
Syracuse gave rise to the hope that a pair might be looking for a suitable 
place to breed. 
The fall shorebird season at Delta Lake was at its best through 23 
September, but by then the water level had gotten so low that shorebirds 
were on distant mudflats and difficult to identify without boat access. 
Fortunately, the lone Hudsonian Godwit for the season was large enough 
to see at great distances. Two Western Sandpipers were seen, Purple 
Sandpipers put in only brief appearances at the traditional Little Sodus 
Bay location, but were more dependable at Sandy Pond, and Red Knot 
was missed for the second year. 
The fall gull flight at Derby Hill was one of the best of the decade, with 
a Sabine's Gull and at least 24 jaegers, along with the usual Black-legged 
Kittiwakes and Little Gulls. Nearly all of the jaegers and unusual gulls 
were seen in the afternoon, suggesting that patience and/or good timing 
is required to see these birds. No Iceland or Glaucous gulls were report¬ 
ed and there was no large concentration of Herring or Great Black-backed 
gulls by the end of the season. Several Forster's Terns appeared along 
Lake Ontario after mid-October as they do most years. 
Snowy Owl was another species not reported, while several reports of 
road-killed Northern Saw-whet Owls in November were the only evi¬ 
dence of their migration. Mourning Doves remained in the Region in 
large numbers and a Black-backed Woodpecker was the only Adirondack 
specialty reported. 
The passerine flight was generally poor. September migrants had too 
much good flight weather and barely stopped. Flycatchers were not 
numerous and swallows were very scarce. Northern Rough-winged 
Swallow and Purple Martin were not recorded, but this may be due to 
few reports from traditional staging grounds along Lake Ontario in early 
September. Thrush numbers were low, even for Eastern Bluebird and 
American Robin. Fish Crow may be starting to be old news by now after 
five years in Syracuse, but it was not reported for the season. 
The Kingbird 2000 March; 50(1) 
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