Totals for 13 September 1998/ Season Totals

Turkey Vulture   0/  4
Black Vulture   0/  2
Osprey   1/  7
Swallow-tailed Kite   1/  51
White-tailed Kite   0/  18
Mississippi Kite   56/  1361
Northern Harrier   1/  25
Sharp-shinned Hawk   0/  7
Cooper's Hawk   1/  29
Unid. Accipiter   0/  1
Red-shouldered Hawk   0/  23
Broad-winged Hawk   50/  1410
Swainson's Hawk   0/  7
Red-tailed Hawk   0/  1
Unid. Buteo   0/  15
American Kestrel   2/  53
Merlin   0/  2
Peregrine Falcon   0/  4
Unid. Falcon   0/  1
Crested Caracara   0/  1
Unid. Raptor   0/  13
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GRAND TOTALS   112/  3035

Well, we broke the 3000 mark today! The birds started late this morning
due to rainy conditions. Not much was up until after 11 am. At noon, a
long-absent bird was spotted -- a Swallow-tailed Kite flew by without
giving us much of a chance to admire. The last one sighted at the tower
was on the third of September. So apparently there's still a chance to
see one of these gorgeous raptors if you come out & spend some time.
Ironically, a field trip lead by Cecilia Riley had left the tower mere
moments earlier & missed the bird overhead while loading up to go to the
next stop. Sorry guys! Maybe next time....Afternoon birds were way up
there. Skies were mostly cloudy so chances are some birds went by
undetected. At times, x-ray vision would be handy for this job! David
Sarkozi spotted an Osprey zipping by the west side of the tower, heading
north carrying a sizeable fish. It apparently found a good picnic spot.
Later on we saw the bird heading west with the leftovers. If you plan to
come out this week, be careful driving on the grassy area just before the
tower. Its squishy, mushy & the worn areas are starting to get pretty
messy. Park on the grass just after the gravel ends & walk in --don't
forget your repellent!!!!!   Rebecca

Rebecca Smith & Steve Seibel, Smith Point Hawk Watchers for the
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory http://www.nol.net/~criley
SPHW is sponsored by GCBO, Ornithology Group-ONC, TPWD, HawkWatch Int'l.,
and the Exxon Baytown
Use of computer provided by Tx PIF, TPWD, and Compaq Computer Corp