Totals for 16 September 1998/  Season Totals

Turkey Vulture   0/  4
Black Vulture   0/  2
Osprey   1/  8
Swallow-tailed Kite   0/  51
White-tailed Kite   0/  18
Mississippi Kite   95/  1457
Northern Harrier   2/  27
Sharp-shinned Hawk   0/  7
Cooper's Hawk   1/  30
Unid. Accipiter   0/  1
Red-shouldered Hawk   0/  23
Broad-winged Hawk   37/  1448
Swainson's Hawk   1/  8
Red-tailed Hawk   0/  1
Unid. Buteo   0/  15
American Kestrel   2/  57
Merlin   0/  2
Peregrine Falcon   0/  4
Unid. Falcon   0/  1
Crested Caracara   0/  1
Unid. Raptor   1/  14
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GRAND TOTALS   140/ 3179

The day began with quite a few birds making their appearance on the
Point. It looked to be a good start. But strong winds and a cloudy sky
kept them down & we saw the SAME birds again & again & again!  Very few
seemed to go anywhere at all. An afternoon deluge pretty much cancelled
any hope for the afternoon to pick up. A little bit of sunshine broke
through late afternoon, but it still seemed that the birds were not
getting any lift. On the plus side, since they were flying so low to the
ground, we had a lot of close, long looks at many individuals. Of all the
Broad-winged Hawks & Mississippi Kites counted today, not a single one
was positively identified as an adult (however, some were unid age).
Hoping for clearer skies.....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