Welcome to my web site

  
My current research project pairs my long term interest in how glider pilots use thermals for cross country soaring with my ongoing interest in raptor migration. The combination of these two interests led to my discovery early in 2003 that BLIPMAPs, in particular Thermal Updraft Velocity BLIPMAPs, are new, remarkable and valuable tools that assist in locating migrating raptors, and in predicting and evaluating raptor migration activities.


To access my study,
A NEW FORECASTING TOOL FOR RAPTOR MIGRATION: BLIPMAP

Click Here

Paul Summerskill
pws@ideasbypaul.ca

 

In the evening before, or during the morning of observing migrating raptors, on the internet find the velocity at which thermals are rising over and around your hawk-watch site. Thermal updraft velocity is found at: www.drjack.info/blipmap or by typing in "Blipmap Regions".

Click on your region, then scroll down to FORECASTS,
click on "Thermal Updraft Velocity".

Take note of the thermal updraft velocity over and around your hawk-watch site.

Relate your day's raptor count to the thermal updraft velocity over and around your hawk-watch site.

Assuming that the spring preferred direction of flight is northward, look for areas or corridors of thermal updraft velocity that would assist migrating raptors to pass over your hawk-watch site. It is assumed that the fall migration flight is in a southerly direction.

Several days of relating thermal updraft velocities to raptor count numbers in your area may be required before a correlation between thermal activity and migrating raptor counts becomes evident.

Raptor migration data collected from hawk-watch sites participating in HMANA's HawkCount can be accessed at: www.hawkcount.org.

My complete study based on data from HMANA's HawkCount, and BLIPMAPs, may be found by clicking the above link, "Click Here".

Individuals who are not associated with formal raptor monitoring may very well find BLIPMAPs to be extremely interesting and useful in their individual observations of raptors during the spring and fall migrations.

I welcome your comments.