Hazel Bazemore Hawk Watch, Fall 1998
Report Date: 10/01/98
Another late nighter! First, from the hill: Glenn's eyes after eight hours are surely roasted to a turn by now! And as Glenn notes, "A slow day on the hill. Hardly any hawks or visitors. My dicky bird list should have been a lot better but song birds were even hiding from me today. It was so slow that even the inca doves and ground squirrels didn't come in for the free seed." (Note: That's pretty slow, all right!)
"We had more clouds all day long, but never over 75% cloud cover. The wind picked up in the late afternoon, which saved us from another unpleasant afternoon."
"With this only being the mid point of the hawk watch, I hope we have more hawks coming the next 2 weeks. If not, it's going to take forever for Nov. 15th. to get here."
Joel's take on the day's report: "The tap was turned off today. Never have so many worked so hard to get so few."
I guess the up side to today was a wonderful talk this evening by Brian Mutch of the Peregrine Fund on the status of their aplomado falcon propagation program. The peregrine falcon is poised as of last month to be de-listed as an Endangered Species; a first for rehabilitation & conservation efforts, and the one truly proud moment man as a species can claim in recent years in trying to undo some of the most serious damage we have managed to inadvertantly inflict on ourselves and those around us throough the indiscriminate use of the organophosphate pesticide DDT. The aplomado falcon is a beautiful little multi-colored falcon that used to be resident and breed in Texas and New Mexico, even sighted as far north as parts of Oklahoma. But in recent years, it could only be found in Mexico in fast-dwindling numbers. The Peregrine Fund has taken the research and experience gained in restoring the numbers of peregrines after DDT nearly wiped them out in North America as a species. A lot of those same techniques are being used to breed and hack aplomados. Brian notes of the 351 or so released in the last three years they have bred aplomados, survival to independence is running at approximately 75%. That's excellent, folks. Aplomados in the wild are estimated to run close to that percentage for survival to independence. For captive bred birds to maintain that sort of survival is very encouraging that the program is not only on the right track, but hopefully promises to be as successful as the peregrine program. One of the more fascinating aspects to come from this new program is the chance to observe the aplomado as it matures and hacks, and finding it is a very social bird that likes to mix with other young falcons, to the point of cooperative hunting behaviors, much like the Harris's hawks. Brian notes this behavior seems limited to young falcons; once breeding pairs are established and a territory identified, the falcons turn to more territorial natures towards incoming young from subsequent hacks.
Brian's talk included so much more than I can present here, and I highly recommend attending his presentation if the opportunity presents itself in your area. The only thing missing from Brian's talk was "Willie", a long-time breeder female aplomado who is now in "retirement" and moved to education. Due to Brian's hectic schedule of presentation and hacking this season's captive-bred aplomado chicks during this trip, she couldn't make the journey.
One quick plug for one more talk for the Celebration of Flight week. Brian Wheeler will speak on Saturday on "South Texas Raptors: A Visual Experience." Tickets are available at the door; proceeds to pay for his trip and to the hawk watch. Don't forget; Brian's got a new raptor guide coming out in the next year or two, and from the proofs I've seen (don't ask how, just take my word for it!), it's gonna be a doozie! Illustrations and pic proofs are breathtaking, and the NEW range maps are gonna absolutely blow everyone away!
So! Take a deep breath, guys; the respite is only for a short time; we've got more raptors headed our way! Meanwhile, here are today's numbers:
Species Today (Season-to-date)
Black Vultures 0 (53)
Turkey Vultures 0 (5)
Osprey 7 (121)
Swallow-tailed Kite 0 (6)
Mississippi Kite 4 (3564)
No. Harrier 5 (92)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 20 (601)
Cooper's Hawk 2 (110)
Harris's Hawk 0 (4)
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 (33)
Broad-winged Hawk 38 (898700) (NOTE: 1 dm on 9-27)
Swainson's Hawk 5 (226)
White-tailed Hawk 0 (3)
Red-tailed Hawk 1 (77)
Am. Kestrel 6 (216)
Merlin 2 (22)
Peregrine Falcon 6 (113)
Prairie Falcon 0 (1)
Unidentified Accip 7 (124)
Unidentified Buteo 0 (16)
Unidentified Falcon 2 (22)
Unidentified Raptor 3 (120)
Today's total: 109 (904230)
Glenn's Day Birds:
American White Pelican 26
Anhinga 100
Great Blue Heron 1
White Ibis 7
Northern Pintail 40
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 3
Mississippi Kite 2
Northern Harrier 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Broad-winged Hawk 28
White-tailed Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 4
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Killdeer 1
Laughing Gull 1
Caspian Tern 1
Eurasian Collared-dove 1
White-winged Dove 2
Mourning Dove 1
Inca Dove 4
Common Ground-dove 2
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
Great Kiskadee 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1
Purple Martin 1
Barn Swallow 4
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Northern Mockingbird 4
Loggerhead Shrike 1
European Starling 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Olive Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Great-tailed Grackle 20
Bronzed Cowbird 4
Total Sp 47
Keep that chocolate flowing!