October 17, 1999
Hello everyone, the birds just keep on coming. Nice numbers of
swainson's
were mixed in with the broad-wingeds, also a big day for harriers,
kestrels, and sharpies. The kestrels averaged about 14 per hour until
the
hour of 3-4pm when 64 were counted. I think they were all coming down
from up high because thick clouds were moving in and cutting down
visibilty up there. We also felt a few drops of rain at 4pm, so
perhaps
the kestrels were descending to rest and avoid the bad weather. Wind
was
from the NW all day at 10-15mph, and most of the hawks were within
unaided eye range. Today's count:
Oct. 17...........................[season total]
5 Black Vulture.............................[126]
55 Turkey Vulture.........................[352]
1 Osprey........................................[43]
0 Swallow-tailed Kite...................[52]
0 White-tailed Kite........................[11]
2 Mississippi Kite......................[2975]
0 Bald Eagle..................................[2]
30 Northern Harrier......................[320]
133 Sharp-shinned Hawk...........[3627]
41 Cooper's Hawk.......................[884]
0 Red-shouldered Hawk.............[25]
432 Broad-winged Hawk...........[32,533]
0 White-tailed Hawk.....................[1]
23 Swainson's Hawk...................[81]
7 Red-tailed Hawk.......................[53]
0 Ferruginous Hawk....................[2]
0 Crested Caracara......................[2]
149 American Kestrel..................[1680]
4 Merlin..........................................[40]
3 Peregrine Falcon......................[83]
0 Unid. accipiter............................[80]
0 Unid. buteo................................[25]
1 Unid. falcon................................[8]
0 Unid. raptor................................[90]
886 Total Hawks..........................[43,095]
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.