October 11, 1999

Hi folks, a beautiful day on the tower. I was not surprised this morning

at 7:30am to see the Swallow-tailed Kite that was patrolling the area

last evening. It had settled down somewhere close by and was one of the

first hawks on the move. There were lots of non-raptors flying today too,

with our first big flocks of white-fronted geese (472 total). Other

sightings were wood stork (33), anhinga (55), white pelican (21),

magnificent frigatebird (1), white ibis (31), white-faced ibis (12),

common snipe (6), warbler sp. (6), red-breasted nuthatch (1), chimney

swift (8), ruby-throated hummingbird (5), scissor-tailed flycatcher (3),

blue-gray gnatcatcher (4), brown thrasher (8), and thousands of swallows

(mostly rough-winged which flowed through after 3pm). Today's count:

10 Black Vulture

26 Turkey Vulture

1 Osprey

10 Northern Harrier

112 Sharp-shinned Hawk

39 Cooper's Hawk

106 Broad-winged Hawk

10 Swainson's Hawk

4 Red-tailed Hawk

56 American Kestrel

2 Merlin

4 Peregrine Falcon

6 Unid. accipiter

12 Unid. raptor

398 Total Hawks

Until tomorrow,

Kyle McCarty

Official counter

Smith Point Hawk Watch is made possible by donations from Exxon,

Hawkwatch International, Houston O.G., Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, and

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Computer donated by Texas Partners in Flight and Compaq. Thank you all.