Hazel Bazemore Hawk Watch, Fall 1999
Date:   09-12-99

Greetings all:

Wow, what a day! There's nothing like a close-up-and-personal look at one of the harder birds to get at the watch. Check out Joel's report:

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The bird of the day was a very co-operative Prairie Falcon. After passing by low it made several turns just overhead to give great looks to all 12 people on the watch. Our first "real" kettle of over one hundred broadies for this season was exciting even knowing it is a drop in the bucket compared to what is to come. Throughout the day we had over 25 people visit the watch.

2 Osprey
46 Mississippi Kite
1 Northern Harrier
2 Cooper's Hawk
272 Broad-winged Hawk
2 Swainson's Hawk
2 Red-tailed Hawk
1 American Kestrel
3 Peregrine Falcon
1 Prairie Falcon
1 Unidentified Accipiter
2 Unidentified Buteo

Total 335

- Joel

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Bill and I finally made it to the hill today, too, and got wonderful looks at the prairie falcon, along with three of Bill's favorites, the peregrines.

Joel told a cute story today; says yesterday a peregrine falcon came down to the watch and perched on a tree north of the watch site, by the river. While overflying the flats, it scared the life out of all the cattle egrets on the flood plains; pretty amusing to watch the peregrine calmly fly by and the egrets scatter for their lives!

A Coastal Bend welcome today to Ryan Wagner, who joins the Hazel Bazemore watch site crew courtesy of Hawk Watch International.

Cheers,
Patty Beasley
Joel Simon
Fernando Ramos
Ryan Wagner
and the rest of the HBHW cast and crew