Smith Point Hawk Watch is located in Chambers County, Texas. The count is
conducted from a watchtower situated in the Candy Abshier Wildlife
Management Area. From I-10 take Hwy. 61 south (exit 512 from W, exit 513
from E) to FM 562. Follow 562 approximately 20 miles into Smith Point.
Hawk Watch signs are posted and will lead you to the watch tower.

Totals for 01 October 1998/ Season Totals

Turkey Vulture   20/  30
Black Vulture   8/  19
Osprey   5/  41
Swallow-tailed Kite   0/  59
White-tailed Kite   1/  23
Mississippi Kite   24/  2317
Northern Harrier   14/  126
Sharp-shinned Hawk   89/  2216
Cooper's Hawk   20/  526
Unid. Accipiter   7/  139
Red-shouldered Hawk   0/  35
Broad-winged Hawk   1425/  11808
Swainson's Hawk   1/  10
Red-tailed Hawk   0/  11
Unid. Buteo   0/  17
American Kestrel   76/  695
Merlin   0/  17
Peregrine Falcon   7/  50
Unid. Falcon   0/  10
Crested Caracara   0/  1
Unid. Raptor   17/  50
-------------------------------------------
GRAND TOTALS   1714/ 18,207

Welcome to October! A far better day than yesterday. Things started off
relatively slow in the early morning & we thought we were in for a repeat
slow day. Then the Broad-wingeds lifted off & got way up there right
without any messing around today. Sunny, clear, and HOT conditions must
have been just right for the formation of some good thermals because by
midday, the only birds we could see were miniscule specks. Fortunately a
few scattered cumulus formed a backdrop, or our eyes would be way gone.
Vultures, both turkey & black, are on the move. A kettle of ten Turkey
Vultures was spotted high up in the afternoon, moving out over the bay.
Northern Harriers are increasing in numbers as well. So far, only
immature & female birds have been sighted. Looks like this weather will
be with us through the weekend, so we should have some more wonderful
days in store.....hasta later-----rebecca

Rebecca Smith & Richard Gibbons, 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