Hazel Bazemore Hawk Watch

Corpus Christi, Texas (Nueces County)

All reports are posted daily to the following newsgroups: 
BirdHawk, TexBirds, BirdChat, TexasBirdChat
   

Taylor files today's report:

There wasn't a single cloud all day today, and it was breezy from the northeast and a pleasant temperature. The liftoff this morning was one of, if not the biggest yet, as well as the earliest (a little before 8am HWT!). 

Birds were coming up in large numbers east of the site as well as in the usual distant west, and we ended up counting about 12,000. After that the birds kept coming pretty steadily for once, often in very long and populous streams, until early evening (between 1,388 and 5,631 per hour from 9am-4pm HWT). One highlight was seeing a zone-tailed hawk passing over midday. 

Note: HWT means HawkWatch Time, which is one hour earlier than the time presently used by the citizens of Corpus Christi. The discrepancy exists because of the time change in a few weeks, which HWT will not observe for scientific reasons. 

The numbers for October 1:
9 turkey vultures
5 ospreys
4 Mississippi kites
2 harriers
28 sharp shinned hawks
48 Cooper's hawks
38,607 broadwinged hawks, incl. one dark morph
8 Swainson's hawks
12 red-tailed hawks
1 zone-tailed hawk
18 kestrels
4 merlins
9 peregrines
2 prairie falcons
8 unidentified accipiters
4 unidentified falcons
3 unidentified raptors
That makes 38,772 migrants today.

Thanks, Taylor! NEXRAD looked really good from my lab. It was hard to resist driving on out to the hill today, watching all those raptors stream by on the radar screen. Glad to see the numbers on the hill show some of those streams. Sometimes it's hard to match them up, especially when the distance is off by only a few miles. One thing that is evident, the Alberta broadies are coming through now, as evidenced by the dark-morphs (Alberta-localized sub-population). Another small "front" (I use the term loosely; more like a cool wave) came through today, keeping temperatures down to really wonderful levels (upper 70's, low 80's ... drier air). Word from watchers up north indicate Swainson's are on the move, so we should be seeing increased numbers of those hawks this month, too. The fun's not nearly over! 

Some paperwork to finish up before we close tonight. Joel audited the reports and we've got a few corrections to log in. Those corrections are reflected in the season-to-date totals below. 

Specifics for all but one hawk's adjustment can be found on the web site for September 27th (that might've been the day coffee was accidentally spilled on the hourly log and dots of hawks had to be separated from dots of Columbian dark). Actually, I'm still off by one bird, but Joel and I will figure that out and get it corrected tomorrow.

The other adjustment was for one bird on the 29th, after said bird was cussed and discussed at length, but eventually put down as an unknown buteo. Bill Clark helped counters out yesterday in confirming it was indeed a ferruginous hawk. Those guys always make us think on them a bit longer than usual. Cool birds, those ferrugies. We usually get at least one each fall. Right around this time, come to think of it. Nice to know some of our frequent flyers keep coming back for return engagements season after season. 

October 2, 2003:

Joel files today's report:

What a letdown, when the peak is over it's really over. Actually it is sad that a day with 1300 raptors seems so slow. Strong east winds did not help and the lack of clouds in the morning made for some tired eyes.

Turkey Vulture........5
Osprey..................1
Mississippi Kite....15
Sharp-shinned.......14
Cooper's...............10
Broad-winged......1236
Swainson's.............7
Am. Kestrel............2
Merlin....................2
Unid. Accipiter........5
Unid. Falcon...........2
Unid. Raptor...........3
Total- 1302

Thanks, Joel! Another front's due in this weekend (forecasters even think it might actually reach us, too). Swainson's are on the move ... life is still good! Enjoy this chance to rest your eyes and bask in the cool breezes. Truly wonderful weather in terms of air temps. The winds are supposed to lay a bit tomorrow; should be better, but they're still out of the east.  

October 3, 2003:

Same pattern as yesterday, no clouds in the AM but turned totally cloudy in the PM. Unfortunately, on both days most of the hawks came through the blue skies. The only good thing is that the hawks we had later in the day were much lower.

Turkey Vulture........4
Osprey..................3
Mississippi Kite......7
No. Harrier.............1
Sharp-shinned.......19
Cooper's...............17
Broad-winged......4100
Swainson's.............5
Red-tailed...............1
Am. Kestrel............8
Merlin.....................1
Peregrine................5
Crested Caracara....1
Total 4172

Thanks, Joel! Some quick corrections: add one red-shouldered hawk to Aug. 27th (which balances my missing hawk in the totals); add one ferruginous to Oct. 2; remove one unknown raptor from Oct. 2. 

October 4, 2003:

Taylor files today's report:

Today was pretty quiet, not many visitors after the Audubon outdoor club left. There didn't seem to be any good thermals because all of the birds were flying very low. A couple of broadies gave up around 2pm and set down near the site! Vultures are on the move. Here are the totals:

20 Turkey vultures
2 Ospreys
2 Mississippi kites
4 Northern harriers
9 Sharp-shinned hawks
17 Cooper's Hawks
268 broadwinged hawks
3 Swainson's hawks
7 kestrels
9 Peregrines
3 unidentified accipiters
1 unidentified falcon
2 unidentified raptors

One of the Swain'son's hawks was a dark-morph.  

October 5, 2003: 

Ricky has Sunday's report:

Here are the results for today's count:
Black vulture= 2
Turkey vultures= 11
Osprey= 2
Mississipi kite= 2
Northern harrier= 2
Sharp shinned= 5
Cooper's= 9
Broad winged= 1445
Swainson's= 12
Red tailed= 1
American Kestrel= 21
Merlin= 1
Peregrine falcon= 3
Unid. accipiter= 1
Unid. buteo= 1

There were also two dark morph broadies today. Birds are flying very low in the last three days so. 

Thanks, guys! Sorry for the late report (October 4 & 5 filed together to newsgroups). Bill and I were out of town this past weekend, visiting one of our Texas partner sites, the Smith Point hawk watch. We had a great time, and it was quite a treat to see low fly-bys of nearly every accipiter and falcon that passed the site's tower. If you haven't been to Smith Point, you need to make a point of checking it out. Great folks out there, a really nice tower and great views of migrating hawks. Thanks so much to Dane, Dan, Sumita, Bill, Winnie and the rest of the crew for making us feel so welcome! And yes, in case you're wondering, chocolate hawk bait works just as well at that watch as ours! Dane noted the watch logged its largest single kettle for the season on Sunday, about 20 minutes after a liberal application of chocolate we brought from Hazel Bazemore's watch and from the stash that Dane and other visitors brought to the tower. Another site brought into the chocolate fold ... we love it! <grin!>  

October 6, 2003:

Taylor files today's report:

Today was hot and muggy. We got our first kettles of Swainson's hawks, and several streams of migrating vultures. The Swainson's hawks were mostly around 11 HWT (that's 12 o'clock current daylight time). In non-raptor news, the gnats and no-see-ums are back after their too-brief hiatus.

105 Turkey vultures
1 osprey
1 harrier
8 sharpies
5 cooper's
1 red-shouldered
8 broadwinged
214 swainson's
4 peregrines
1 unidentified falcon

348 total

Thanks, Taylor! Ugh, the biters are back, eh? Keep that bug juice handy. That will at least keep the mosquitoes away. Fellow birders have noted pure vanilla extract (the clear kind, like the stuff from Mexico) will keep the no-see-um's at bay. At least that smells better than our deep woods bug juice. 

Good to see those Swainson's numbers picking up. Right on late schedule (about like everything else for this fall migration). Our friends in Kansas sent notice that a huge flight of 4000+ Swainson's hawks whirled their way overhead a group of Kansas Ornithological Society field trippers this weekend. Quite considerate of the Swainie's to afford the birders such a sweet view. Thanks to Chuck and Irwin for the heads up. We'll sure be keeping a sharp eye out for that group, and thousands of their closest friends sharing those thermals. 

October 7, 2003:

Ricky files today's report:

Black vulture= 1
Turkey vulture= 9
Mississipi kite= 2
Northern harrier= 2
Sharp-shinned= 15
Cooper's = 9
Broad winged= 12
Swainson's= 2
American kestrel= 17
Crested caracara= 1
Unid. Accipiter= 4
Unid. Buteo= 2

Total= 76 birds

It's slow but still very interesting. It was a pretty rainy day out there at the site, but we stayed for pretty much all day long. No dark morphs today! You see, we are still having Mississippis and few Broadies. Today we saw something weird, a few Swainson's going South and few minutes later, coming back North, I bet probably because of the bad weather conditions.

Thanks, Ricky. Yep, when the weather lays in, those birds will sometimes circle back if they haven't gotten too far away from the hill. I'm amazed any viewing was possible yesterday morning, It was flat pounding rain throughout the area. 

We're still on the lookout for those Swainson's kettles we know are en route. Weather is a factor today, but on a much smaller scale; scattered storms instead of the blanket we experienced yesterday.  

October 8, 2003:

Ricky files today's report, and it's a shortie ... no watch, lots of rain! 

October 9, 2003:

Taylor files today's report:

Hawk watch was cut short on both ends today by the rain, only 5 good hours. It was a good day to watch the local sharpie, red-shouldereds, and kestrels do their things. 125 birds total:

61 turkey vultures
1 osprey
7 sharp-shinned hawks
4 cooper's hawks
39 broadwinged hawks
10 swainson's hawks
1 american kestrel
1 peregrine falcon
1 unidentified raptor

Thanks, Taylor. Wow, a day with no Mississippi kite. I was kinda getting used to seeing them come through so late. <grin!> 

Migration's great, but the locals really do keep us going sometimes. We've watched the red-shouldered hawks skydance; the kestrel bop the other passing raptors for fun and games and seriousness when it gets close enough for a really good thump; and watched the sharpie shoot out of the brush and across the watch site as if it were shot from a 30-30 rifle, then cut and dart right back down the bluff again and slam back into other trees, targeting an avian snack. The black vulture pair still spoon each other on the wooden telephone pole on the east bluff (too cute for words ... yes, vultures can be darned cute). The local white-tailed pair take turns spiraling up thermals when conditions allow, or kiting lower over the valley when potential prey sticks its furry or scaly head out of cover a bit too far. There's always something to see or a drama being played out, if we only remember to cast about and look for it. 

October 10, 2003:

Taylor files today's report:

Today started off muggy and slow with a slight breeze from the south, but around noon HWT the wind changed directions and we had a decent north wind the rest of the day. This lowered the humidity and brought a little bit of cool air, and some accipiters. Today's numbers (136 total):

10 turkey vultures
1 osprey
30 sharpshinned hawks
10 cooper's hawks
58 broadwinged hawks
5 swainson's hawks
15 kestrels
1 merlin
4 unidentified accipiters
1 unidentified falcon
1 unidentified raptor

Thanks, Taylor. Good thing the watch is west of the city. Right on the coast, our house got nearly five inches of rain this afternoon in the span of just a few hours. Gotta love that spotty hit-miss coastal effect. The mugginess is a bit of an unwelcome surprise. Very tropical-like and energy-sapping, but with the weather moving through over the weekend, hopefully we won't have too many more days like that left this season.  

October 11, 2003:

Ricky files today's report:

Turkey Vulture= 49
Osprey= 9
Mississipi Kite= 1
Sharp shinned Hawk= 75!
Cooper's Hawk= 21
Broad winged Hawk= 28!
Swainson's Hawk= 26
American Kestrel= 24
Peregrine Falcon= 4
Unid. Accipiter= 5
Unid. Buteo= 2
Unid. raptor= 6


It seems that sharpies are starting to come down, we got so many in just few seconds, it was exciting; and we are still having few broadies, actually today was a small stream. Good stuff!

Thanks, Ricky. Boy, how about those sharpie numbers? Those guys were pounding through today. And the lone Mississippi kite, too ... definitely a late migration this fall. Sure makes it fun; you never know just what's going to come through from day to day! 

A quick Hazel salute to HWI counter Dane Ferrell of Smith Point Hawk Watch who dropped by on Friday to visit us on his day off. Good to have you by! Our crew really enjoyed meeting you! 

October 12, 2003:

Rained out today. 

Ocotber 13, 2003: 

Rained out today. 

October 14, 2003:

The numbers are still being tallied for October 14th (does that tell you something? <grin!>) ... yep, the storm of hawks hit before the weather front, and as expected, the flights were good. Taylor reports about 13,000 on the count, including around 5,000 Swainson's hawks, and another 5,000 turkey vultures. We'll post exact numbers once the audit is completed.

.... Okay, got the numbers in for the 14th ... boy, oh boy! I do believe we broke the Hazel record for accipiters! Falcon numbers were pretty healthy, too. Here's the lowdown from Taylor: 

6 Black vultures 
5164 turkey vultures
7 ospreys
9 mississippi kites!
4 harriers
221 sharp-shinned hawks!
162 cooper's hawks!
5 red-shouldereds
2021 broadies
4899 swainson's hawks
23 red-taileds
2 white-taileds
184 kestrels!
8 peregrines
3 prairie falcons
79 unidentified accipiters
5 unidentified buteos
5 unidentified falcons
18 unidentified raptors
12,825 birds in all.

What a great day! Lots of mixed kettles, thank goodness we have had 2 months to practice. We also had a prairie warbler at the site. Is this a record accip day? (Editor's note: I believe it is!) Anyway, a good time was had by all, it was almost more than we could handle until Vicki S. and Bob C. showed up to help. Too many vultures, and everything else mixed in! Also, we have moved to a NEW SITE for a few days. The new site is the observation platform at the end of the nature trail, which starts at the bottom of the hill if you go straight instead of turning right at the parking area for the park office. Look for the beige van and/or green station wagon and park there, then go up the trail.

Thanks, Taylor! Can you believe it; Mississippi kites are STILL coming through. Those mixed kettles are very common this time of year, too, and can be a lot harder to count than just straight kettles. What fun, though! 

The new temp site for the watch is due to the state finally getting around to fixing that busted guy-wire on the state police's microwave tower at the top of the hill. The observation tower is just around the bend, up the bluff (at the end of the east bluff trailhead, if you're planning on coming to the watch). Coupled with the flooding yet again of the bottomlands at the river. The river is over banks again from area runoff of the most recent wave of rain deluges over the past few weeks. We're all going to be very glad to see an end to the rain and the beginning of more consistent cool weather. Although it is a bit of a kick to see green grass everywhere instead of the usual brown thatch we're more accustomed to in the fall. 

October 15, 2003:

Ricky brings us the report for October 15: 

Black Vultures= 2
Turkey Vultures= 224
Osprey= 1
White tailed Kite= 1 !!!
Mississipi Kite= 1
Northern Harrier= 4
Sharp shinned Hawk= 131
Cooper's Hawk= 136
Red shouldered Hawk= 1
Broad winged Hawk= 521
Swainson's Hawk= 36
Red tailed Hawk= 8
Zone tailed Hawk= 1 !!!!
Golden Eagle= 1 !!!!
American Kestrel= 47
Merlin= 3
Peregrine Falcon= 3
Praire Falcon= 1
Unid. Accipiter= 35
Unid. Buteo= 20
Unid. Falcon= 2
Unid. Raptor= 14

Total= 1193
(Back to the thousands!)

So, it was pretty good as you see, mostly for the rarities and new birds. I couldn't see the Zone tailed H. but man!, the Golden Eagle was just awesome, I didn't even see one that close at HMS like the one we saw this morning! And the WT Kite was not that low but you could see it by naked eye, it was good as well. It was funny cause Joel came up few minutes before the kite appear, to ask for one of those to Bob and me (to the corner you know!) and suddenly, after 30 minutes that he asked for one... there it was, really pretty, small, bright White tailed Kite, flying with two cooper's and three sharpies. Just deadly COOL!!!!

Thanks, Ricky! GREAT report! The numbers may not have been as high today, but holy smokes, that's a VERY nice spread of species!! And, it was an incredibly beautiful day (Finally! No rain!) and cool and comfortable ... a great day to be out counting hawks and visiting with friends on the hill. 

Bill and I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Bay City Nature Club folks for their warm hospitality and interest in hawk watching. We really enjoyed our visit there yesterday and today. All you Texans who haven't been to see their brand new state-of-the-art Nature Center, please make plans to do so as soon as possible. It'll knock your socks off! Everyone else, consider dropping by there on your next tour of Texas. It's one of the more impressive nature centers we've seen for birding and education. A good model for future facilities. Some construction is still in progress in some habitats, but the majority is up and running. The site has some fabulous setups, including separate environments for many different habitats (wetlands, brush, herb and butterfly gardens, river and riparian habitats, and even a cactus garden, to name a few). Check it out at http://www.mcbnc.org/index.html for more info and photos of the sanctuary.  

October 16, 2003:

Today's report comes from Taylor: 

We moved the watch to a new spot today (the platform at the end of the nature trail), the view is just as good but it is a bit of a walk. The day was pretty quiet, except for one kettle of 750 broadwingeds that came through around 3pm, a very large kettle for this late in the season. Other high points were another golden eagle, and 3 merlins! 1,227 total for today.

75 turkey vultures
4 ospreys
2 northern harriers
27 sharpies
43 cooper's hawks
1025 broad-winged hawks
23 swainson's hawks
1 red-tailed hawk
1 golden eagle
11 kestrels
3 merlins
1 peregrine falcon
10 unidentified accipiters
1 unidentified falcon

Thanks, Taylor. I've always thought that tower had potential, but if you're gonna being seeing golden eagles from it, we might need to think about manning it more often! <laugh!> Wow, that's excellent! Speaking of eagles, Bill and I got an eagle thrill of our own earlier this week coming back from Bay City. We stopped off on the way home at the eagle habitat on the Dupont property at their wildlife refuge and were rewarded for our patience by the sight of the two resident adults. The skies were just beautiful. The front had passed through, so temps were wonderful as well; in the low 80's, with broken cumies and blue sky. Just perfect for picking out those flying plank wings. The eagles' first pass was quite vocal, which thrilled Bill even more than I, as he had never heard eagles vocalizing in the wild before. The second pass, about 30 minutes later, brought the eagles overhead again, and this time, they engaged in some really entertaining sky-dancing ... chasing each other and flying in tandem, then breaking off and flying at each other and inverting on engagement ... even locking talons during one pass. It was quite a treat for me, too, as it had been *** years since I'd seen and heard eagles in the wild. (never mind how long, let's just say it's been awhile, <grin!>) 

October 17, 2003:

The report for October 17 comes from Taylor today: 

Today was our first full day in the new spot, it is sunny but has a great view. The main drawback is that there is nowhere to pace on that little platform. No cold front yet, so a regular day... 1032 total. Still getting some small broadie kettles, but the expected Swainson's kettles did not arrive.

531 turkey vultures
2 ospreys
2 northern harriers
22 sharp-shinned hawks
20 cooper's hawks
404 broadwinged hawks
27 swainson's hawks
10 kestrels
2 peregrines
4 unidentified accipiters
3 unidentified buteos
2 unidentified falcons
4 unidentified raptors

Thanks, Taylor! My total count came to 1033; we'll double check the tallies and make any corrections in a future report. 

October 18, 2003:

The report for October 18 comes from Taylor: 

Today we got our "cold" front but not too many birds. It was a beautiful day though, not a single cloud all day. We are still at the new site, and will be for a few more days. It is nice getting unexpected visitors walking the nature trail. The totals (920 in all):

304 turkey vultures
3 ospreys
3 harriers
38 sharpies
39 coops
467 broadwings, including one dark morph
10 swainson's
6 red-taileds
18 kestrels
2 peregrines
15 unidentified accipiters
5 unidentified buteos
3 unidentified falcons
7 unidentified raptors

Thanks, Taylor! 

October 19, 2003:

The report for October 19 comes from Joel: 

Basically no clouds again today making the skies very tough on the eyes. Libby was back from her trip to Veracruz, the top day while she was there was only 60,000, but the Margaritas on the hotel roof were great!!

Turkey Vulture...........201
Sharp-shinned............13
Cooper's....................10
Red-shouldered...........1
Broad-winged............215
Swainson's..................1
Red-tailed....................2
Am. Kestrel.................7
Unid. Accipiter.............4
Unid. Buteo.................4
Unid. Falcon................1
Unid. Raptor................1
Today's total- 460

Thanks, Joel!  

October 20, 2003:

The report for October 20 comes from Joel: 

Oh so slow for most of the day, only 40 after six hours. Thank heaven for the residents and dickie birds. One Groove-billed Ani perched within eight feet of us this morning. Ended with 186 for the day.

Turkey Vulture..........123
Sharp-shinned............11
Cooper's ...................12
Broad-winged.............22
Swainson's.................5
Red-tailed...................7
Unid. Accipiter............4
Unid. Raptor...............2

Thanks, Joel! Boy, those slow shifts seem to go on forever, don't they? Happily, when you get something like a groove-billed ani on scene to distract, it sure helps to pass the time. Dicky birds are always good around Hazel, but that tower and trailhead are good in their own right for some great thicket birding.  

October 21, 2003:

The report for October 21 comes from Ricky: 

Turkey vulture= 118
Northern harrier= 1
Sharp shinned hawk= 7
Cooper's hawk= 6
Broad winged hawks= 34
Swainson' hawk= 8
Red tailed hawk= 1
American kestrel= 2
Unid. Accipiter= 3
Total= 181 (possibly 180; totals are being verified)

As you see we are still having broadies. I got an email from a friend of mine who is a birder in El Salvador. He told me he has already seen groups of about 500 Swainson's H. which means they made the half of the trip already. Great!

Thanks, Ricky! 

Groups of Swainson's continue to push through to our west as well; with any luck and a good norther, we might yet see a few more over Hazel before season's end. In the meantime, vultures and red-tails continue to come through with falcons. Accipiters wax and wane these days, though the majority of those may now be through as well. Or not. They do so keep us guessing from season to season. I have also noticed "my" winter peregrines arriving on Mustang Island, the barrier island east of Corpus Christi Bay. I saw three of my winter five today as I drove along the island on the way to work. White-tailed hawk residents are shuffling around their territories, preparing for their avian winter Texan visitors. Kestrels are moving into their winter territories on the islands and mainlands and migrating monarch butterflies are now being seen in little batches here and there instead of the singles we've seen the past few weeks. They gather and feed, hovering around nectar-laden plants throughout our coastal bend counties. Dragonflies are still in good abundance too, and a good thing they are. The mosquitoes just haven't taken the hint and continue to use recent rains as an excuse to hatch out crops of new young ones each week, despite our best efforts to shoo them away. 

UPDATE 10/22: found the missing bird. A Harris's hawk flew off the log sheet and didn't make it to my desk. Add one to your count; and I'll add it to ours! 

October 22, 2003:

The report for October 22 comes from Ricky: 

Well, today we got just few birds and pretty long hours, God it was a long day! Thank God we had the company of Bob (Creglow) for around 3 hours and Jimmy (Swartz) showed up at the end. It's good to see old friends (JA!)

Anyway, here are the results for today,

Turkey vulture= 138
Sharp shinnes hawk= 4
Broad winged hawk= 4
Unid. Buteo= 2
Unid. raptor= 2
Total= 150 

Thanks, Ricky! With the park flooded over with water again thanks to upriver runoff and reservoir releases, I'm not at all surprised to see the smaller numbers right now. We're all waiting for that front to come in this weekend ... the forecasters promise us a significant change in temps and weather, which also means hawks will hopefully push through in larger numbers. We're going to hold those forecasters to it. <grin!>  

October 23, 2003:

Today started slow but finally paid off (those birds OWE us... yeah....). 

After a six-bird morning we got some good streams/kettles of turkey vultures, and ended up with 1,194! Most came thru near the end of the day. 

We also got a couple of good non-raptor birds in the morning, first a black-throated green warbler and then a blue-headed (formerly solitary) vireo shortly after. Earlier in the week we had a lark sparrow and vermillion flycatchers, and we are also seeing lots of new butterflies including queens, zebras, monarchs, sicklewings and those yellow and black ones (dog-faced?). Sandhill cranes are also flying over every day, and the new "lake" created by the flooding Nueces river has attracted many many laughing gulls. These and the huge numbers of dragonflies make for some distracting hawkwatching, which is OK since there haven't been many hawks lately anyway. It is quite a sight to see vermilion flycatchers, scissor-tailed flycatchers, and couch's kingbirds all perched together on the power lines and catching bug after bug, including the parachute spiders that are constantly drifting by. Finally, it is nice to be back at the old site since the construction on the DPS tower is over. That platform was way too cramped, even though it did have the plus of being next to (not under) the black vulture roost. Today's numbers:

1,194 turkey vultures
12 sharpies
9 cooper's hawks
9 broadwings
3 swainson's
7 kestrels
4 peregrines
5 unidentified accips
2 unidentified buteos
1 unidentified falcon

1,246 in all

Thanks, Taylor! Great report!  

October 24, 2003:

The report for October 24 comes from Taylor: 

Today was so-so, we saw a Nashville warbler, and I forgot to mention yesterday that we had a yellow-bellied sapsucker 2 days ago. That's about all the news... we are still getting more and more butterflies and dragonflies, new species all the time. If you are into these animals, especially dragonflies, please come by and tell us about them. All we know is that they can look like hawks for a second when seen thru binoculars at great distances. We've also got a nice flood to look at if you are into floods, and who knows, maybe we will get a snail kite one of these days, it is one of the 3 US nesters the site hasn't had yet. Camera... good idea... if anyone wants to send me a camera with a high power zoom lens, I'd be happy to photograph the rarities from now on, I take pretty good pictures. 

Next year, if it is that important to everyone, chip in for nice cameras for your hawkwatches, we'd love to have them. HawkWatch International rightly has other priorities that require its limited funds. Just a suggestion from the Floridian counter who has seen more birds than he had ever imagined he could before coming to south Texas. Today's numbers:

7 brave black vultures
261 turkey vultures
1 osprey
3 sharpies
3 cooper's hawks
2 broadwinged hawks
12 swainson's hawks
6 unidentified accipiters

295 in all, not too many (ha! one becomes jaded about the birds down here pretty fast, I admit) but maybe the front this weekend will pick things up a bit.

Thanks, Taylor! Excellent report! 

October 25, 2003:

Today's report comes from Ricky: 

Well, it was a long day again at the hill. Pretty slow during the 
mourning but few birds after noon. Here are the results:

Turkey Vulture= 498
Osprey= 3
Harris's Hawk= 1
Cooper's Hawk= 2
Swainson's Hawk= 8
Peregrine Falcon= 1
Total= 513

Definitely today the best birds were the Harris's Hawk and the Peregrine. Nevertheless, the HH was kind of far. It got very high, interesting cause was flying with TVs, though. And the Peregrine, ohhh!!! was so pretty, is the lowest one we have had in the season, it was a pretty juvenile bird, it was pretty low, we could see every feature of it. NICE!!!

Orale, we are expecting for a very good day tomorrow with NW wind, besides it's supposed to rain during the mourning, we'll see.

Thanks, Ricky. NEXRAD shows the oncoming front to be a good one. We might actually get those cooler temps this time that the forecasters are threatening. We'll see what's been backed up 

October 26, 2003:

The report is not in yet for October 26th. We'll publish those numbers when they're released. In the meantime, we do have Monday's report.

Here we go. Today's report comes from Taylor: 

Here is the belated info from the cold front day:
It was completely overcast, windy, and drizzly all day, we all wore jackets and it felt quite chilly. No big wave of birds today, no vultures at all. It was interesting, however, to see 14 northern harriers coming through! Until now they had been uncommon, not any more! They come over one by one, not in groups. We also got a good number of accipiters compared to what we had been seeing recently. Lesson of the day: Wind chill is a powerful force on The Hill.

14 harriers
30 sharp-shinned hawks
11 cooper's hawks
1 red-tailed hawk
1 american kestrel
12 unidentified accipiters
2 unidentified buteos
4 unidentified raptors
That's 75 hawks for Sunday.

Thanks, Taylor! Hard to believe it can feel so chilly up there after so many days of sweltering, melting heat the past two months, isn't it? Welcome to Texas weather! One good thing, the mosquitoes have finally called uncle and aren't swarming as much, though the forecasters promise us temps will be warming up again later this week. They're also promising another front; we're hoping its a nice dry one to desiccate those little bloodsuckers for good for the season.  

October 27, 2003:

Today's report comes from Ricky: 

Today was a good day for turkey vultures, we saw a lot, and actually some of them where coming back at the end of the day, probably they had no wind to keep going. Anyway, it was entertaining though! Here are the results:

Black Vulture= 1
Turkey Vulture= 5859
Osprey= 1
Nothern Harrier= 9
Sharp shinned hawk= 39
Cooper's hawk= 18
Swainson's hawk= 11
Red tailed hawk= 8
Harri's hawk= 1
American Kestrel= 7
Unid. Accipiter= 12
Unid. Buteo= 2
Unid. Falcon= 1
Unid. raptor= 3
Total= 5972

Thanks, Ricky. We're enjoying the first truly cold front of the season this week, with temps dropping to well below normal ranges (though still probably considered quite warm to our friends up north). Highs today were only in the upper 70's ... heaven! Get the jackets out! Hey, at least we don't have to keep the chocolate in an ice chest in these temps (as long as it stays out of the direct sun). Tomorrow (28th) promises clear cloudless skies, yikes! We all know what fun those are. But the air will still be temperate. Along with getting to sleep an hour later since the time change of last weekend, these cooler temps are a real treat! 

October 28, 2003:

Today's report comes from Ricky: 

Well, it's warming again. We got few birds today, not as many as yesterday though.

Turkey Vultures= 650
Nothern Harrier= 5
Sharp shinned Hawk= 40
Cooper's Hawk= 18
Broad winged Hawk= 3
Swainson's Hawk= 3
Red tailed Hawk= 8
American Kestrel= 5
Peregrine Falcon= 1
Crested Caracara= 2
Unid. Accipiter= 22
Unid. Buteo= 1
Unid. Falcon= 3
Unid. raptor= 7
Total= 768

Thanks, Ricky! Ricky notes some warblers are still coming through and can be seen at the watch. With more temperate weather rounding out the rest of the week it's perfect weather to be outside doing pretty much anything. Ricky also noted there was a liftoff this morning of some 700 turkey vultures that apparently decided to overnight in the area yesterday evening. What fun!  

October 29, 2003:

Today's report comes from Joel: 

A really pleasant day!! And a few hawks as well. Now that we hear the calls of the Sandhill Cranes every morning as they fly over it really feels like Fall.

Turkey Vulture........983
No. Harrier................2
Sharp-shinned.........15
Cooper's..................3
Broad-winged...........3
Swainson's..............8
Red-tailed................1
Unid. Accipiter.........3
Unid. Buteo.............1
Unid. Raptor............4
Total- 1023 

Thanks, Joel. Fall is definitely in the air! The peregrine falcons on Mustang Island know it, and are reveling in the weather, too. There are few things more thrilling than happening upon a couple of raptors sky-dancing with each other for the sheer joy of it. With the increase in peregrine populations overall, we've seen a concurrent increase in overwintering peregrines on Mustang Island (a strip barrier island 19 miles long, about two miles wide at max; a mile on average, running east of Corpus Christi along the Gulf of Mexico). From a rare single winter peregrine seven years ago, we're now up to at least five each winter, and a few more come sit and visit a few days before moving onward to their own wintering grounds; some no doubt heading to neighboring Padre Island to the sort-of south (allowing for the curvature of the coast line). My time commuting home along Mustang Island from work into the setting sun is spent just trying to avoid the glare of the setting sun, which with the time change, of course now falls far below the range of windshield's sunshades and right into the eyes of west-bound drivers. Imagine my joy last night on glancing out the passenger window and discovering two raptors sky-dancing, and in the next heartbeat realizing these weren't one of my usual resident white-tailed hawk pairs (which enjoy a fair bit of cutting the sky rug in their own right throughout the year). These were peregrine falcons! Of course, the commute got interrupted, my Highlander got whipped off the road and tucked into a nearby parking lot and the digital camera came flying out of the car with me. The peregrines chased each other to a nearby structure, hid behind it from me for some long coy seconds, then one at a time, came gently soaring over the structure on the roof's ridge lift in the stiff coastal evening breezes. The first headed for a perch for a little breather before taking off eastward on the wing for a last evening hunt. The second wasn't quite ready to light yet, and after the first departed, soared up over into the ridge lift, and just hung in the air for long seconds, stretching its long, pointed wings to balance in the ridge lift, flexing its wingtips and turning its head left and right to calmly scan the skies for its partner and a possible evening snack. No prey appeared, so after a few light turns in the lift and a few more kiting rounds, it eased off the ridge lift, dropped down towards me and followed its partner out towards the Gulf to no doubt see what it turned up. I wouldn't blame any passing motorists at that point for thinking the lady near the green Highlander who was dancing and whooping in the parking lot and doing one-person high fives with herself was just plumb crazy! Those wonderful sky dancers (juveniles both, by the way) gave me one of the best and closest views I've ever had of peregrines on the wing, and I was never so glad to have had a camera in my hand in my life as I was for those few minutes. Isn't it funny how when we're in the middle of something so breathtaking, time seems to suspend like the peregrines' flight in ridge lift? I know I forgot to breathe for a little while when the one peregrine first soared majestically into sight and hung motionless in midair as if pinned by some magical finger against a gentle blue sky. Sure hope they're feeling frisky again tonight when I head home. 

October 30, 2003:

Today's report comes from Joel: 

Slow day hawk wise but some good looks at local birds. Wood Storks have thinned out but the four that came by less than 50 feet overhead put on a show. We usually have been having 3 to 5 Green Jays at our feeder on site, today there were eleven!

Turkey Vulture.......98
Sharp-shinned.........2
Swainson's.............1
Red-tailed...............2
Total- 103 

Thanks, Joel! 

Today's report comes from Joel: 

Boooo! Boooo! Boy was today ever scary. Not because it was Halloween but because for the first four hours we were skunked! We NEED north winds.

Turkey Vulture.......147
Swainson's.............1
Red-tailed...............3
Total- 151

Thanks, Joel! Yikes! And here we sit with one front that pooped out on us yesterday, and another one due in next week but not even anticipated to make it anywhere near to us. Let's hope those forecasters are wrong. We've gotta get rid of this mugginess and get some cooler north breezes blowing in! Well, I think we all ate enough chocolate and other Halloweenie treats today to bring in a good batch of birds for the weekend, <grin!>.