Hazel Bazemore Hawk Watch

Corpus Christi, Texas (Nueces County)

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

Libby's report:

Golden Eagle: 1
Broadwings: 118
Redtails: 2
Swainsons: 5
White-tailed Hawks: 3
Zone-tailed Hawks: 2
Unid buteo: 2
Turkey Vultures: 34
Black Vultures: 1
Miss Kites: 2
Sharp-shins: 11
Coopers: 3
Kestrels: 5
Peregrines: 24
Unid falcons: 1
Ospreys: 12
Harriers: 1

Total: 227

The Golden Eagle came in just as the Indian blessing ceremony began - other raptors came by throughout the blessing which invoked our best hour of the day with 85 birds from 2 - 3:00. I believe the record for Peregrines through the site was broken today with another 24 - what an incredible raptor. One of the last Peregrines stooped on a White Ibis twice - unsuccessful but what a superior treat for our visitors and faithful volunteers.

Huge groups of White Pelicans went through today and the pair of Green Kingfishers perched nicely for our morning bird walk participants. We also had another siting of the Red Fox which came out of the grasses just to the right of the feeder for all to have a short look.

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Thanks, Libby. Actually, the highest peregrine season count so far in my files was in 2005 at 230 peregrines. At 186 through today's count, we're at quite a respectable number, and with six weeks to go as we enter our peak falcon migration time of the season, anything is possible!

A very special thank you to Ron Walks In Smoke of the Gulf Coast Indian Confederation for making the trip out to the hill to lead us in the blessing ceremony. This year, for the first time since the ceremonies began, we opted to do a shorter version of the blessing, as many of our People were away at gatherings, powwows, and other events, earning their livings with their art and crafts. Since it would be a shorter blessing ceremony, we also opted to do it at the hawk watch site itself for the first time, rather than at the original oak grove clearing a little ways downhill from watch central, since we didn't really need the room of the circle this year. I thought it was a good thing to put the blessing in the watch zone this year to bring it even closer to the folks involved in the watch since it would be a smaller and shorter ceremony. But since the original site had been chosen by the elders with the help of a red-tailed hawk that identified the place to them when they originally scouted the park for the first gathering, I admit, I also kind of wondered in the back of my mind about changing the site. If I were looking for any signs (which I really wasn't, consciously, at least), I'd have to say the timing of the arrival of the golden eagle overflying the watch site, twice, as we began the blessing answered that query! Golden eagles, of course, are very sacred to the People. We always seem to have good response by our wingeds during these blessing ceremonies, with low to decent flights picking up to a smart pace with a subsequent large increase in numbers while the ceremonies are in progress, often resulting in kettles directly over the circle as the ceremony progresses. Don't ask me. Maybe it's the drum. Maybe it's the prayer and honor songs. Maybe it's just an affirmation of all of that warmth and positive energy that suffuses our watch and all of its participants. Dane later told me after today's blessing that the failing winds of the warm day suddenly picked up and raptors began coming through at a steady pace as we began singing honor songs during the ceremony. Shortly after it ended, the winds sank back to their previously near-calm states, and the count of hawks likewise thinned out, back to its previously sparse level.

I should probably add a foot note - this morning, I wasn't sure what to wear for the watch and the blessing. For the watch, of course, any old thing goes. But for participating in the blessing, I first had to decide if I was going to change or just keep on my watch togs. I could have worn regalia. Too hot. (My regalia is buckskin.) I could've worn a powwow shirt; I have any number of native motif shirts to choose from. I could have worn a ribbon shirt. I eventually chose one of my favorite t-shirts, and decided I would make do with it for the blessing as well. I didn't think any more about it until I sat down tonight to write this report and one of our kittens jumped in my lap to snuggle and purr as I thought over my wording. I looked down at him to pet his silky head, and realized I'd ended up going to the hill for today's watch wearing my golden eagle and warrior Native American t-shirt along with eagle earrings. I chose that attire early this morning because it was one of my favorite shirts and seemed appropriate for a day that would bring blessings to one of Bill's and my favorite activities, the appreciation and monitoring of our beloved raptors.

I guess it's just another one of those things that makes you go "hmmmmm......"

And thanks to that golden eagle, we are now up to 25 species this fall ...

Cheers,
Patty

October 2, 2006:

Libby's report:

Broadwings: 73
Redtails: 1
Swainsons: 2
Red Shouldered: 1
Turkey Vultures: 78
Black Vultures: 10
Sharpshins: 5
Coopers: 8
Unid Accip: 1
Kestrels: 6
Peregrines: 8
Osprey: 2
Harriers: 3
Caracara: 1
White-tailed hawk: 1
Unid raptors: 2

Total: 202

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Thanks, Libby.

John Economidy's been a busy man, continuing to pore over the watch archives for us, and digging up some more neat tidbits! More fun fax:

• Your 40 Peregrines on Friday, Sept. 29, 2006 set a new one-day record, beating out 29 on September 22, 2003.
• You are ready to smash the season record for observed Ospreys.
• -- Record: 241 in 2005
• -- Present Count: 231 as of September 30.
• You have a limited statistical chance to get a single STK on October 4 based on past records.

I love this stuff! Thanks, John!!

Cheers,
Patty  

October 3, 2006:

Joel's report:

Broad-winged Hawk 895
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Swainson's Hawk 1
Unidentified Buteo 2
Turkey Vulture 9
Black Vulture 14
Mississippi Kite 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 34
Cooper's Hawk 14
Unidentified Accipiter 7
American Kestrel 20
Peregrine Falcon 17
Merlin 2
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 6
Golden Eagle 1 Immature
Unidentified Raptor 1
Total 1029

Slow start to the day with poor visibility. The best bird was an immature Golden Eagle that came from the west. After two days with almost no broadies a single group of 478 came in low and overhead just after 2pm. A front is projected to come in on Sunday. The two days after should be good.

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Thanks, Joel!

It's good to see the northern sites picking up. Looks like the earlier passages are hitting Veracruz now, too.

Very nice to see our eagles picking up. Ferrugies shouldn't be too far behind. I'm still thinking we'll have a decent western show this season as the fronts begin coming in on a more regular (and hopefully strong) basis.

Cheers,
Patty 

October 4, 2006:

Libby's report:

Broadwings: 3214
Redtails: 5
Swainsons: 8
Redshouldereds: 7
Harris Hawk: 1
Unid Buteos: 1
Turkey Vultures: 54
Black Vultures: 18
Sharpshins: 70
Coopers: 39
Unid Accipiters: 29
Kestrels: 35
Peregrines: 17
Merlins: 3
Unid Falcons: 1
Osprey: 13
Harriers: 11
Bald Eagle: 1
Unid raptors: 5

Total: 3532

Raptors today decided to fly despite the east winds. What a great day for accipiters! They're starting to come in mixed groups from every direction which makes an exciting day for the counters and observers. A very good falcon day as well and one more Bald Eagle - this one an adult. Love the October diversity!

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Thanks, Libby.

And a big thanks and nod to Tim Smart for catching a boo-boo in the tallies. Thanks to Tim's eagle eye (okay, yeah, corny, but true in this case!) an error in the tally of merlins and prairie falcons was corrected. I inadvertently marked a prairie falcon on September 21st as a merlin on my spreadsheet, which threw season-to-date counts for both species off by one. If you're tracking dailies along with us, change the 21st's merlin back to a prairie falcon (reminds me a little of Harry Potter here; just wave your wand mouse and change the hawk!) ... and that should now bring us to the correct season-to-Oct 4 total of 7 prairies and 21 merlins. (Now it sounds like a sports score!) Have I confused everyone thoroughly yet? <laugh!> Good! Thanks again, Tim!

Cheers,
Patty  

October 5, 2006: 

Joel's report:

The bird of the day showed up early when a Prairie Falcon came during the first hour of the watch. It was low and provided a long, excellent look. Also, a peregrine came by early at only 30 feet overhead.....smashing!!!! Between 2 and 3 pm the two largest kettles of broadies were recorded, 780 and 333. Accipiters and kestrels provided fun all day.

Broad-winged Hawk 1714
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Swainson's Hawk 10
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Unidentified Buteo 2
Turkey Vulture 44
Sharp-shinned Hawk 32
Cooper's Hawk 27
Unidentified Accipiter 11
American Kestrel 39
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 5
Prairie Falcon 1
Osprey 6
Northern Harrier 9
Unidentified Raptor 3
Total 1908  

October 6, 2006:

Joel's report:

Finally....at last...we got northwest winds and they brought a ton of Swainson's, the total of 4506 may even be a one-day record. At one time I had five clickers going in some of the mixed kettles! Although the largest hour was between 11am and noon (9356) the most exciting hour was between 1 and 2pm. Of the hour's total of 4731 a single kettle of 4625 included 3310 Swainson's, including one dark morph!!!!!

Broad-winged Hawk 12299
Swainson's Hawk 4506
Unidentified Buteo 1
Turkey Vulture 264
Black Vulture 101
Sharp-shinned Hawk 34
Cooper's Hawk 17
Unidentified Accipiter 18
American Kestrel 28
Peregrine Falcon 6
Osprey 3
Northern Harrier 15
Merlin 1
Unidentified Raptor 5
Total 17298

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Thanks, Joel!

So there I was today, sitting at my desk at my lab, noticing the winds were a little different, blowing in a constant cloud of red tide emissions from our northward ship channel into our open-door wet labs and the air exchange systems of our buildings (we've just been hit with a major red tide bloom). In between clearing my throat every few minutes from the red tide irritation, I got to wondering if the wind change might at least be doing the hawk watch some good. I cranked up the nexrads and ohhhh, yes, there they were ... nice little strings of incoming movement! I followed those puppies the rest of the afternoon, and waited anxiously for the watch report to see how many made it over the watch site. A pretty decent amount did find their way over the park! Joel's thoughtfulness in listing peak passage times paid off for me, too. He notes peak passage time over the site ran from 11am-2pm (10am-1pm Texas time). I started monitoring nexrads at 1:30pm Texas time and came in just in time to catch some of the major action (click here to view an animation of the movement). (If you're wondering about the differences in time, it's a Hawk Watch International thing; all their sponsored watches must keep time in HWI local time, regardless of what time zone the watch is actually located in.) I then got to scouting around some of the other nexrad sites I like to peek in on every now and then, and I noticed some action around Detroit/Lake Erie Metropark. I see their count is now in and they had a fairly decent day, too, with a little over 9,000 raptors today (and over 10,000 yesterday; not bad!). Fun stuff, this radar tracking! But still not as fulfilling as being underneath the actual flights! Pass the chocolate, please; we've all still got some more good days coming!

Cheers,
Patty 

October 7, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 3992
Red-tailed Hawk : 1
Swainson's Hawks : 23
Turkey Vultures : 11
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 70
Cooper's Hawks : 65
Unknown Accips : 9
American Kestrels : 33
Peregrine Falcon : 1
Osprey : 5
Northern Harriers : 17
Merlin : 3
Unknown Raptor : 1
Total = 4231

Blue-headed Vireo on Site ... nice race between Sharpies and Cooper's Hawks today ( Sharpies beat Cooper's , 70 to 65 ! ) ... about 3800 Broad-winged Hawks kettling and streaming just after noon ...

Thanks, Dane! And another big thanks to John Economidy, who looked over the Swainson's counts for us:

Swainson’s Hawk flight of October 6, 2006 of 4,506 was not a daily record.

Top daily records:

8,756 on Oct. 14, 2001
5,627 on Oct. 9, 2004
4,899 on Oct. 14, 2003
4,626 on Oct. 6, 2001 (same date)
4,506 on Oct. 6, 2006

Look out on October 14!

I agree with Patty that there are thousands of BWs still out there.
Good luck on this incoming cold --real cold front--about Wed-Thursday.

Thanks, John! We're all looking to the upcoming front to bring in good flights. And hopefully knock down the mosquito and red tide populations.

Cheers,
Patty   

October 8, 2006:

The total count for today from the hill is ten more than my spreadsheet total. Hang with us and we'll get it sorted out for the next report.

Libby's report:

Turkey vulture: 153
Osprey: 2
Northern harrier: 17
Sharpshinned: 54
Cooper's: 66
Red-shouldered: 1
Broadwinged: 4880
Swainson's: 18
Red-tailed: 3
Ferruginous hawk: 1
Harris's hawk: 1
American kestrel: 23
Merlin: 1
Peregrine falcon: 1
Unid Accipiter: 24
Unid Buteo: 1
Unid Raptor: 2

Total: 5258 (my total came to 5248)

Finally! Our first Ferruginous Hawk added for the season today. Came in at the end of a mixed kettle (a little over 700) with BWs, SWs, TVs, and accips. Busiest hour today was from 10 to 11 this morning with 7 or 8 kettles mixed and all the other species coming by at the same time - really woke us up and had us moving well into the next hour without sitting down. And, I am informed that today's Peregrine ties the all time season record for our site - you know we were looking for the record breaker but I guess it will come through tomorrow - we'll see.

P.S. Weary counters going to bed early tonite!

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Thanks, Libby. The mini-front today brought in cooler and drier air and easterly/northeasterly winds. A relief from the usual humidity. Butterflies continue to swirl around the area like leaves falling off a tree at season end. Mostly still snouts but lots of others mixed in now, too.

Cheers,
Patty 

October 9, 2006:

(Editor's note: the count for Sunday, 10/8 was ten short for kestrels. That count should have been 33 instead of 23. The total count for yesterday is finalized at 5258. Also, there were two dark-morph broadwinged hawks in the batch from yesterday as well.)

Monday 10/09 - Libby's report:

Turkey vulture: 60
Osprey: 3
Northern harrier: 8
Sharpshinned: 64
Cooper's: 51
Red-shouldered: 1
Broadwinged: 749
Swainson's: 12
Red-tailed: 1
American kestrel: 26
Peregrine falcon: 4
Unid Accipiter: 8

Total: 987

Before I forget again - two of our broadwings yesterday were dark morphs. Today was a little slower than yesterday but still busy with the accipiters and kestrels coming through every few minutes. Our record breaking Peregrine was found today a little after noon by Vicki Simon after she had been there at least four minutes. We following that one up by getting 3 more later in the day. East winds and rain affected the raptors today - we were rained on twice for about an hour total but still had sharpies moving through the rain even when we had to move up to the shelter for a short time. Once the last larger storm moved through and blocked the north the only remaining flyers were Peregrines. 

October 10, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 829
Swainson's Hawks : 9
Unknown Buteo : 1
Turkey Vultures : 98
Sharp-shineed Hawks : 18
Cooper's Hawks : 25
Unknown Accipiters : 4
American Kestrels : 5
Peregrine Falcon : 1
Osprey : 7
Northern Harriers : 3
Zone-tailed Hawk : 1
Unknown Raptor : 1
Total = 1002

Zone-tailed Hawk was with a kettle of Broad-winged Hawks - a little too high to sex and/or age ... cancelled Watch at 3:45pm , due to storms ... Yellow-throated Warbler showed off it's beauty - really awesome !

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Thanks, Dane! Those storms were pretty awesome, too, especially up coast at Smith Point near Houston. Wowsa ... and that wasn't even the front we'd been expecting, just a low trough that brought some welcome rain and some even more welcome cooler air, even if only for a little while. The "big" front is still due in on Wednesday. Temps expected later this week to get into the *gasp!* 50's and 60's! Hey, that's a South Texas cold front down here, guys! Hawking this week should be good in between systems.

Cheers,
Patty  

October 11, 2006:

Libby's report is in:

Broadwings: 2290
Redtails: 6
Swainsons: 201
Turkey Vultures: 110
Sharpshins: 157
Coopers: 92
Unid Accipiters: 13
Kestrels: 43
Peregrines: 9
Merlins: 5
Osprey: 6
Harriers: 11
Unid raptors: 1

Total: 2944

What a fun day. Started the morning with about 600 broadies lifting off from everywhere plus everything else shooting by here and there - 9 species the first hour! Broadies slowed a little but the accipts and falcons never really stopped. Buteos picked up again around 3: with mixed kettles coming through - largest kettle was just after 4: and included 775 broadies, 162 swainsons and 49 turkey vultures. That hour also brought 33 sharpies, 17 coops, 12 kestrels, 3 peregrines, 5 osprey and 2 harriers. The most fun was from 5: to 6: when we saw (amongst other things) 75 sharpies - that's a sharpie every 45 seconds! - and 22 coops, another 12 kestrels and FOUR merlins. Lots of excitement on the hill.

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Thanks, Libby. Nice to see the flights on the books. The radars were looking pretty nice for us and the valley once again from my lab in Port Aransas and I wondered just what the count would turn out. I'm a virtual hawk watcher during the week, LCD radar screens are my only fix from work, heh! Our weather trough has backed up (and warmed up, of course, this IS the Gulf coast) but the first big "real" cold front of the season that the local meteorologists are all excited about is due in tonight. We'll see what it brings once the rains move through and out into the Gulf. Another good note; the passing trough from two days ago did smack down the red tide around our lab; for the moment. Hopefully this "real cold front" will finish the job and knock it out of near-coastal waters.

Cheers,
Patty 

October 12, 2006:

Joel's report:

Here's the report for today, not as good as the past two days and surely not as good as tomorrow!
Hot, humid and in a hurry for the front to get here. The reports from several people in the Austin area say that the hawks are on their way. All three White-tailed Hawks we had today were escorted south by one of our resident White-tails. One was an adult, one a subadult, and one a juvenile. Dane spotted a falcon at a good distance that just didn't look right, he felt it might be a Prairie. After finding it in bins I agreed, luckily things were not busy and was able to get it in the scope to confirm the ID. It was the most distant look that we have ever ID'ed this species.

Broad-winged Hawk 95
Swainson's Hawk 20
Turkey Vulture 110
Black Vulture 12
Sharp-shinned Hawk 26
Cooper's Hawk 18
Unidentified Accipiter 2
American Kestrel 5
Peregrine Falcon 2
Merlin 1
Prairie Falcon 1
Northern Harrier 2
White-tailed Hawk 3
Unidentified Raptor 1
Total 298

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Thanks, Joel! A four-falcon day ... sweet! The front is coming in as I write tonight's report. Lightning is flickering all across the northern sky. Makes me wish I lived in the country so I could see the full palette of patterns. It's heat lightning right now. Until the hail moves in! Our weather gurus are now backing up and saying the big, fast-moving, hard-hitting front they've been touting all week will now fizzle down, poop out on us and back up right over us, bringing lots of rain tonight; easing tomorrow and then backing up and dumping on us for Saturday and Sunday. We'll see. You guys know how Texas weather is ... don't like it? Just hang around another ten minutes, it'll change!

Cheers,
Patty 

October 13, 2006 (FRIDAY!): 

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 148
Swainson's Hawks : 4
Turkey Vultures : 53
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 91
Cooper's Hawks : 46
Unknown Accips : 3
American Kestrels : 23
Peregrine Falcons : 4
Merlin : 3
Osprey : 4
Northern Harriers : 9
Harris's Hawks : 2
Unknown Raptor : 1
Total = 391

No huge numbers - but the first 4 hours were fun - Accips, Falcons flying over from every direction ... including a Merlin that flew thru the East side of our site (low, of course) going about 90 miles an hour; and an immie Peregrine that circled over the site - all of 60 feet above our heads - what a treat (both Birds spotted by Joel Simon) ... luckily we had some Ace spotters on-site, including Jimmy Swartz, Bob Creglow, Vicki and Joel Simon - as the entire sky had to be covered - thank you all .....

Lots of Geese flyovers, mostly Greater White-fronted - but also some Snow Geese ... lots and lots of Ducks - Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails ... Sandhill Cranes were heard (3 were seen by one of our Guests, when she was away from the site) ... good numbers of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers flying over ... impressive Couch's Kingbird action - 18 were counted by Jimmy and Bob as they sat on the telephone wires (the Kingbirds were on the wires - not Jimmy and Bob) ... Vermilion Flycatchers are arriving (male and female seen yesterday) and also Eastern Phoebe ...

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Thanks, Dane! That "big" front fizzled, unfortunately, and will spend the weekend backing up over us and allegedly dumping large amounts of wetness around the Coastal Bend. Haven't seen as much yet as promised yet; don't think the weather folks really know what this little movement's going to do other than annoy everyone. It did bring some northerly winds for a bit, though. Not a total loss, <grin!>!

Jimmy and Bob on the wires; yeah ... I had a flash of a mental image there for a second! With those two, you never know!!!

Cheers,
Patty 

October 14, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 10
Red-tailed Hawk : 1
Swainson's Hawks : 7
Turkey Vultures : 8
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 66
Cooper's Hawks : 28
Unknown Accips : 2
American Kestrels : 39
Peregrine Falcons : 2
Merlin : 3
Osprey : 5
Northern Harriers : 18
Harris's Hawk : 1
Unknown Raptor : 1
Total = 191

First of all - I may have said that yesterday, we had a Merlin fly thru the East side of our site, when actually this awesome Bird zoomed thru the West side of said site ... also forgot to mention a large flock of Franklin's Gulls that flew by in the West ...

Now for today's news: Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Brown Thrasher, Baltimore Oriole, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Warbling Vireo - all were seen from our site (several species with more than one individual - for instance: 4 Northern Parulas ! way cool ... )

Also: 10 Sandhill Cranes flying low ( and calling ) ... 60 Wood Storks flying together - and then 10 more flying together a little later ... Roseate Spoonbill fly-by at about 60 or 70 yards - way cool ...very nice flights of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers , and Couch's Kingbirds are still present in larger than normal numbers ...

Thanx to our most-awesome Friends : Jo, Lila, Paul, Mike, Dave, and of course Jimmy and Bob ...

Hazel rocks ...

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Thanks, Dane! Hazel rocks, right on! So do our really fabulous hawk watchers ... thanks a million, guys, for all you all do! Bill and I didn't make it to the hill today; we had to head up to San Antonio. In the pouring rain, yet. Don't know how much rain the watch got all told, but we cleared the weather as quickly as we safely could, and anticipated running into more bands of it, from the looks of the skies above. The precipitation radar, interestingly enough, when we left the house, didn't show the storm that descended on us as we closed the garage door, heading out! At any rate, our efforts were well rewarded with the sight of thousands of migrants heading south, practically following every bend of Interstate 37. The majority of the raptors we encountered were in one clear band between us and SA, and they were taking advantage of every breath of thermal they could find. The majority we actually counted for the trip began at 11:00am at mile marker 50 until 11:30am near Oakville at mile marker 80 or so:

Turkey vultures: 1,300
Broadwinged hawks: 90
Swainson's hawks: 3,016
Sharpshinned hawk: 2
Cooper's hawk: 2
Unid accipiters: 5
American kestrel: 4

All but one of the broadies were mixed in kettles of vultures and Swainson's hawks. Quite a few of the Swainson's were also mixed in vulture kettles. We also saw 2 roseate spoonbills, 12 sandhill cranes, and a flock of teal; ducks and geese are coming in as well. (No, no whooping cranes yet; that's another report for another web site, but they are starting to move around and prepare for their migrational jump as well.)

John Economidy has some more prognostications for us, too ... lots of good stuff for ya tonight!

With 839 American Kestrels to date as of
yesterday, you should be able to beat the
prior season record of 860 SKs in a season today.
Best single day in watch history is October 14.
______________________________________________

Other Season records already broken in 2006:
* Peregrine at 255 besting old record of 241.
* Osprey at 291 besting old record of 241.
* STKs at 99 besting old record of 57.
* MKs at 14,071 besting old record of 10,040.

See if you can finally get both Bald and Golden Eagles on the same date.

Good luck on this weekend with the cold front working its way through Texas tonight.
______________________________________________

Thanks, John! The cold front wasn't even cold by the time it brushed up against us (can't say it hit because it barely did even that!). But the birds are still coming and there are more yet to come. We've got counters on the hill through November 15th ... plenty of time for more fun!

Cheers,
Patty

October 15, 2006:

Libby's report:

Broadwings: 240
Redtails: 2
Swainsons: 273
Turkey Vultures: 123
Black Vultures: 9
Sharpshins: 36
Coopers: 20
Unid Accipiters: 2
Kestrels: 20
Peregrines: 9
Osprey: 5
Harriers: 18
Unid raptors: 3

Total: 760

Today started a little slowly - lots of rain in the area. The 11:00 noon hour brought 12 Harriers - coming in groups of 3 to 5 - and our first mixed kettle. Largest kettle came between noon and 1:00 with Broadwings, Swainsons, TVs and accips. We had a short rain between 1:00 and 2:00 which slowed things down. The rain storms quickly surrounded us running off the raptors - we waited it out until 2:45 when the rain on the hill finally ran off the counters too.
Hundreds of White Pelicans today and a couple small groups of storks and sandhill cranes.

Extra note: on Oct. 14th, Dane says they also saw 283 moving monarchs through the watch site.

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Thanks, Libby! Nice to see raptors breaking through all the on-again, off-again rain this weekend. Snout butterflies were flooding San Antonio again; this time going north. Those are some confused little guys. The ones that didn't kamakaze into every passing car, that is. We got covered yet again heading home tonight. Then a deluge north of Corpus washed the car clean. Mother Nature has a really odd sense of humor. But I guess we already knew that!

Cheers,
Patty  

October 16, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 13
Red-tailed Hawk : 1
Swainson's Hawks : 42
Unknown Buteos : 8
Turkey Vultures : 95
Black Vultures : 4
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 48
Cooper's Hawks : 30
Unknown Accips : 4
American Kestrels : 22
Merlin : 2
Northern Harriers : 6
White-tailed Hawks : 2
Ferruginous Hawk : 1
Total = 278

What a day! First of all, Bob gets Libby and I, on a female Scarlet Tanager ... what a beauty! We also had some Warblers: Black-throated Green, Magnolia, Black and White, Northern Parula ...

Now for the highlights: the Ferruginous Hawk was a light-morph immie ... this majestic creature was spotted by Libby as it came in from the East ...

Bird proceeded to fly directly overhead! Maybe 400 feet up ... we watched in awe, as this Buteo/Eagle then took a perch on the radio tower directly behind the count-site! We got the scope on said Bird (thanx for scope use, Joel!) - and had a visual feast ... of course we forgot to bring our cell phone - we were praying that some Birders would show up, as Ferruginous Hawk stayed perched for 20 to 30 minutes! We noticed this Bird immediately started scanning the ground in the surrounding area ... hungry, perhaps? Anyway, at one point, I checked the tower again - this humongous Raptor (without a single flap), went into a descending power-glide directly to the ground (the Ferruginous Hawk's version of a "stoop" , I guess!) - onto the golf course behind us - we lost sight , due to some trees - and did not see this Bird again (yet) ... sorry squirrels and rabbits , we hope Ferruginous Hawk scored (maybe it will hang around a couple days!) ....

Also: a female Prairie Merlin (awesome!) - fairly close on the East side ... spotted by Libby ...

And last, but never least; a dark-morph Broad-winged Hawk (flying solo!) ... spotted by - yes , you guessed it, Libby ...

A magical day ... October can be so fun ... thanx Patty ! Dane

p.s. 309 Monarchs were counted moving thru on 10/15/06 (5 hours of counting ) ... and massive movements of Lyside Sulphurs, American Snouts, Common Buckeyes, and Monarchs flew thru today (too busy to click them today - lots of sky to scan ...) these 4 species literally covered the skies ...

-----------

Thanks, Dane! Wow, what a cool ferrugie sighting! I hope it sticks for a day or two; you guys that can get out to the watch, be sure to do so ... that's an awesome bird to observe. One of my personal favorites. What a great variety for the day, too ... considering more thunder boomers were all over and around the area; looks like the coastal rains definitely pushed migrants around to the watch site. And a dark-morph broadie ... awesome!

Man, you ain't a'kidding, those butterflies not only swarmed in, but it looks like a number of them might've swarmed back up north! We left San Antonio last night to come back to Corpus, and the snouts especially were layers thick in the skies, all seemingly heading back north. Well, with those massive storm waves blowing in from offshore, and the remnants of a Pacific hurricane spilling over the mountains, pushing back up northeast, and that tropical conglomeration in the Yucatan all converging along the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana, I guess it was understandable that the butterflies might not have been able to tell which way was up. We sure didn't know what was going to happen until the thunder boomers went off overhead! All's I know is, those suckers plastered my car once again tonight ... it appears the millions of snouts that got lost in San Antonio yesterday found their way 150 miles south back to Corpus this eveninga and nailed everyone out on the roads, <laugh!>! There were literal flurries of them along the causeway, on the ground and in the air, like little brown snow swirls. Quite a sight!

Cheers,
Patty

October 17, 2006:

Libby's report:

Broadwings: 84
Redtails: 2
Swainsons: 706
Red-Shouldered: 1
Harris' Hawk: 1
White-tailed Hawk: 1
Unid Buteo: 1
Turkey Vultures: 629
Black Vultures: 28
Sharpshins: 131
Coopers: 141
Unid Accipiters: 11
Kestrels: 58
Peregrines: 7
Merlin: 1
Osprey: 3
Harriers: 23

Total: 1828

A fun and exciting day on the hill with raptors steadily coming through from opening time until about 4:00. A nice battle between Swainsons and TVs - with Swainsons winning in number as well as putting on a good show for the counters with stupendous looks at 5 dark morphs and 5 intermediate. Also a great showing by accipiters and not to shabby from the falcons as well. October diversity can't be beat!

We had 8 more Sandhill Cranes fly by and the dickey bird of the day was a female Chestnut-sided Warbler. 

October 18, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 2
Red-tailed Hawk : 1
Swainson's Hawks : 2
Unknown Buteo : 2
Turkey Vultures : 52
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 14
Cooper's Hawks : 34
Unknown Accips : 3
American Kestrels : 12
Peregrine Falcon : 1
Merlin : 1
Osprey : 1
Northern Harriers : 8
Total = 133

South and East winds limited our Raptor action - but 3 Falcon species in one day speaks for itself ...

Non-Raptor action was outstanding : Rose-breasted Grosbeak , Eastern Phoebe , and : Vireos - White-eyed , Red-eyed , and Yellow-throated : Warblers - American Redstart , Magnolia , Nashville , Tennessee , Chestnut-sided , Black and White , Hooded ( adult male ) , Northern Parula ... also several Ruby-crowned Kinglets , Blue-gray Gnatcatchers , and Indigo Buntings ...

Want to send a heartfelt Thank You to Bob Creglow and Jimmy Swartz - two Volunteers that we could not do without ... 

October 19, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 36
Red-tailed Hawks : 7
Swainson's Hawks : 604
Red-shouldered Hawks : 3
Turkey Vultures : 6249
Black Vultures : 115
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 39
Cooper's Hawks : 33
Unknown Accips : 5
American Kestrels : 13
Merlin : 1
Osprey : 1
Northern Harriers : 17
Harris's Hawk : 1
Total = 7124

Fun day - Raptors moving every hour ... 3 adult-male Harriers - awesome ! lots of Swainson's Hawks - always a good thing ... at least 19 Sandhill Cranes ... 2 Roseate Spoonbills ...  

October 20, 2006:

Libby's report:

Broadwings: 263
Redtails: 29
Swainsons: 146
Red-Shouldered: 17
Ferruginous Hawk: 1
Unid Buteo: 5
Turkey Vultures: 4093
Black Vultures: 10
Mississippi Kite: 1
White-tailed Kite: 1
Sharpshins: 137
Coopers: 259
Unid Accipiters: 39
Kestrels: 52
Peregrines: 5
Merlin: 3
Osprey: 3
Harriers: 60
Bald Eagle: 1
Unid raptors: 8

Total: 5133

Holy Cow!

Vultures and Buteos were moving through as soon as we stepped out of the car this morning. Accipiters and falcons were soon right in there too with never a lull until between 5: and 5:30. What a workout we had running from one end of the hill to the other. Was great to finally see a good showing by Red-Shouldereds and Red-tails. The Bald Eagle was a juvenile and came through just after noon, flew right down the road about 100 yards up; between 1: and 2: was the Ferruginous (a molting adult light morph) followed by a very late adult Mississippi Kite. The Missie was so late and so unexpected that the ID took a little while - he was sited as a distant dot, appearing peregrine-like but with an improper wing beat for any peregrine - as it came closer it began hawking dragonflies and the lightbulb finally lit - HELLO! Mississippi Kite - of course. The White-tailed Kite was another surprise between 4: and 5: What an excellent day - 17 species. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Still having nice flights of Pelicans, Anhingas, Sandhill Cranes, various Geese - no chance to find any passerines today - never time to take our eyes off the skies. Everyone is invited to come see Nature's show on the hill.

I forgot to comment on the whopping number of Harriers - they were coming through every hour - from 4 up to 14 each hour!

Also - you can check me on this cuz I hate to brag (not). But I believe today another all time high record came crashing down - the winner today is Cooper's hawks with a previous record high of 1083. Economidy sent me the info so you know it's right!

-----------

Thanks, Libby! Heck of a nice spread, all right! Yeppers, John's data works for me! Now, if I can just figure out which little specks of all the southbound migrating specks I watched all day on radar at my lab represented the ferrugie and the eagle! <laugh!> And kites, yet ... wow, what fun! Don't worry about those passerines, the cold front (yes, folks, it actually really cooled off this time, for two days ... alas, tonight it's already warming back up ...) ... those guys showed up all over the area today. Fallout from the front passage, no doubt. This afternoon I even had a number of warblers and migrating sparrows tooling around the dozen or so maturing huisache trees I'm cultivating at my lab. Fun stuff!

Cheers,
Patty  

October 21, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 119
Red-tailed Hawks : 6
Swainson's Hawks : 63
Unknown Buteos : 3
Turkey Vultures : 261
Black Vultures : 31
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 33
Cooper's Hawks : 78
Unknown Accips : 4
American Kestrels : 6
Merlin : 2
Osprey : 5
Northern Harriers : 20
Crested Caracara : 1
Harris's Hawks : 2
White-tailed Hawk : 1
White-tailed Kite : 1
Bald Eagle : 1
Unknown Raptors : 3
Total = 640

Bald Eagle was a juvenile - and was spectacular ... we had 2 dark-morph Broad-winged Hawks , 1 intermediate and 1 dark-morph Swainson's Hawk ... White-tailed Kite for 2nd day in a row ( Wow ! ) ... 2 gorgeous adult Harris's Hawks ...

Really cool female Rose-breasted Grosbeak spotted by our friend Rick - then we saw her on our Bird-feeder several more times ...

Had some essential assistance from our friends and volunteers today ( as usual ) ... thank you , Patty , Mary , Bill , Mike , Jimmy , Bob C . , Bob F . , Cliff , Rick ... in case we have not made it clear in the past - You All are Awesome ....

If you enjoy reading about Hazel and Her Hawks - please remember to thank Patty Beasley ...

Peace .... Count Staff 2006

-----------

Thanks, Dane! What a great day! The diversity really keeps us on our toes, and this week is no exception!

That baldie immie came in at 3:15pm, to the literal cheers of everyone once we all got on it. Interestingly enough, Bill and I had stopped in across the highway from the watch to spend the morning at opening of the 3rd Annual Native American Heritage Festival. You know how we natives honor eagles and hawks. I wore my eagle ribbon shirt and bald eagle earrings to the event, just in case an eagle happened to fly over. Go ahead and laugh! But the site of the festival is the Cherokee Accents Gallery, right in the flight line of Hazel migrants. So eagles and hawks and other migrants passing the watch actually do fly over the store as well. And in this weekend's case, the festival!

No eagle showed while we were at the festival, but when we got to the watch after lunch, Cliff and Mary also came in a little later, and one of the first things Mary mentioned was that she'd like to see an eagle. I was chuckling about dressing for one, when here came the bald eagle! Whoo-hoo! We got awesome looks; one of the closest encounters yet ... nice and low and slow and lots of time to eyeball it before it went on its path. We just never get tired of seeing these guys, even on days like today when we fought spiraling humidity and heat ('member, I told you guys that front was gonna boogie out fast!), gnats and no wind. And how rare is a no wind day on the hill? Very!

Good news (we hope) is that another front is coming in tonight, and should put temps back down to the mid-upper 60's tomorrow, and more importantly, spin those winds back out of the north, our prime-time migrational wind direction. The Festival also continues tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed; we're looking for more eagles! Come on out and help us look!

If you need any more motivation ... check out John Economidy's latest tallies below:

------

The watch actually set four records at the hawk watch on Friday, October 20, 2006:

* Harriers with a daily record high of 60, replacing the prior daily record high of 35 on 29 Sept 99.

* Red-shouldered Hawks with a daily record high of 17 replacing the prior daily record high of 14 of 26 Sept 06.

* Cooper's Hawks with a daily record high of 259 replacing and absolutely blowing away the prior daily record high of 162 on 14 Oct 03.

* Broad-winged Hawks set a record for the latest three-digit daily flight with 263, replacing the prior latest three-digit flight of 142 on 1 Nov 2002.

Now, you did not say if you had a resident White-tailed Hawk (Ed. Note: there is a resident pair), if so you may have tied the prior daily record of most species.

Here are the present records:

* Days with Most Different Species Observed:
* 18 on October 15, 2003 and October 9, 2002.
* 17 on September 26, 2003.
---
* Still need a record of Bald and Golden Eagles in same day. You can get this. Eyes up. Watch is far from over. Twenty five days left to have blood-shot, sun-scorched eyeballs.

- John
_________________________________

John, you are amazing! We are really blessed with so many wonderful folks willing to spend so much of their time to help in every way possible, near and afar! Thanks so much to all of you!

Cheers,
Patty 

October 22, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawk : 1
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 5
Cooper's Hawk : 1
Total = 7

Rain forced Count closure after 1.25 hours of operation.

-----------

Thanks, Dane! Blessed coolness ... that front did indeed "make" yesterday, and the cooler temps it brought in still persist, but so did the rains today, unfortunately. If tomorrow remains rain-free, as it appears it will ... it should be an awesome day! More rain is due in on Wednesday with yet another frontal system, with promises the wetness will continue into the weekend. We'll see; our weather folks haven't had a very good track record with prognostications this month! <laugh!>

When we can't observe hawks in the wild, the databases of counts are there to fill the gap. Hawk watcher and Hazel Bazemore watch co-founder John Economidy continues his analysis of data and brings in some more nuggets tonight for our perusal:
_____________________________________

In light of Joel's confirmation of resident Harris's Hawk and White-tailed Hawk
and his permission to add those two to the official count record for
October 20, the watch has now set two new records for the watch:

* Days with Most Different Species Observed:

* 19 on October 20, 2006
* 18 on October 15, 2003 and October 9, 2002.
* 17 on September 26, 2003 and October 20, 2006

* Days with Most Different Buteo Species:

7: October 20, 2006: RSH/BW/SW/RTH/HH/WTH/FH

besting a long list of days with only six buteos

Let me also state that it blows my mine that Native American activity at and near the watch have now produced both Bald and Golden Eagles!

- John
_________________________________

<laughing!> Ours, too, John! Ours, too!

Cheers,
Patty  

October 23, 2006:

Libby's report:

Broadwings: 238
Redtails: 29
Swainsons: 15
Red-Shouldered: 6
Harris' Hawk: 1
White-tailed Hawk: 1
Unid Buteo: 6
Turkey Vultures: 472
Black Vultures: 37
White-tailed Kite: 1
Sharpshins: 45
Coopers: 93
Unid Accipiters: 9
Kestrels: 13
Peregrines: 3
Paririe Falcon: 1
Crested Caracara: 1
Osprey: 1
Harriers: 32
Bald Eagle: 1
Unid raptors: 7

Total: 1012

18 Migrating species of raptors today - what a treat!
The 11: to noon hour today brought another White-tailed Kite, the Caracara, an Immature White-tailed Hawk, an Immature Harris' Hawk, and the Subadult (Basic 1) Bald Eagle. This hour also brought us an adult Harlan's (Red-tail) Hawk. With all the other birds at that time we had 15 migrating raptor species in that hour alone. The Prairie Falcon was just after noon. All to the joy of Bob Creglow who has missed many of these rarities on the very few days he is not on the hill. One of our late Broadwing kettles of the day brought us a gorgeous dark-morph broadie right overhead and rather low. A respectable number of accipiters still going through and another WOWSA Harrier day (one of which was an adult male).

Still groups of Pelicans, Anhingas, Storks, Sandhills Cranes and Geese - one flock of Greater White-fronted Geese contained one Snow Goose.

-----------

Thanks, Libby! Hey, John ... another eagle!! <laughing!> ... yeahhhhh, this season is ROCKIN'! Hawks flying ... eagles soaring ... whoopers are starting to arrive at Aransas NWR ... life is good!

Cheers,
Patty 

October 24, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 4
Swainson's Hawk : 1
Unknown Buteo : 1
Turkey Vultures : 45
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 2
Cooper's Hawks : 3
Ferruginous Hawk : 1
Unknown Raptors : 2
Total = 59

Winds from the East and South, limited action ....

Thanks to the Blucher Park Maintenance Crew for the excellent pizza ...

-----------

Thanks, Dane!

Cheers,
Patty

October 25, 2006:

Libby's report:

Turkey Vultures: 25
Black Vulture: 1
Crested Caracara: 1

Total: 27

Yep - that's all folks! Very strong southeast winds, rain to the north, and drizzle off and on at the site until 4:00 when the rain picked up enough to close us down. Not much of anything moving today, hardly any swallows, a few butterflies. Counted 64 Scissor-tailed Flycatchers moving through - they proved to be the most determined migrant today.

-----------

Thanks, Libby!

John's verified it ... we've now broken yet another record for the watch. This one's the bald eagle record ... whooo-howdy! This season just keeps getting to be more and more fun! Check out John's latest number crunching (hugs and mega-hugs to John for all his hard work!):
_______________________________________________________

Monday's 5th Bald Eagle of the season sets a new fall record for the species, besting 4 Bald Eagles for the seasons in 2005 and 1999.

BALD EAGLE
 

2006	5	Adult with three Broad-winged Hawks on September 20; adult on October 4; immature on October 20, immature on October 21 [amazingly enough it appeared during the 3d Annual Native American Heritage Festival], one subadult basic I on Oct. 23.
2005	4	Two on September 22, one on October 5, one on October 28 (adult)
2004	3	October 10 (immature) & 14 (immature) and November 2 ("black belly")
2003	1	September 26 (age not stated)
2002	1	October 21 (adult)
2001	2	September 21 (age not stated), and October 1 (both immatures)
2000	0
1999	4	August 29 (adult); September 22 (immature) and 30 (2 immatures)
1998	2	October 30 (both adults)
1997	0

* Sightings by Date

* August: 29
* September: 20, 21, 22, 26, 30
* October: 1, 3, 4, 5, 20, 21, 23, 28, 30
* November: 2

* Veracruz: 1 on March 2, 2004
_______________________________________________________

Awesome!! Thanks again, John! I have a feeling we've got one or two more records that might tip over before this season is over!

Cheers,
Patty

October 26, 2006:

Libby's AND Dane's dual report:

Broad-winged Hawks: 10
Red-tailed Hawks: 2
Swainson's: 2
White-tailed Hawks: 3
Unid Buteos: 2
Turkey Vultures: 382
Black Vultures: 106
Sharp-shins: 3
Coopers: 12
Unid Accip: 2
Kestrels: 2
Peregrines: 3
Harriers: 3

Total: 531

First bird of the day was a Peregrine - a nice start. Vultures were steady all day long - all the broadwings were before 1:00. We had two White-tailed Hawk adults being escorted out by our 2 resident adults. A little later in the day the 3rd White-tailed Hawk came in and attempted to hunt over the river bottom for a short time before drawing the attention of our residents, and this Immature bird was quickly escorted out as well.

Two new dickey birds for the day - a nice Yellow-bellied sapsucker messed around the top of "The Pole" then flew to the "East-enders" tree for great views by all.

The second bird, for the first time I can recall, is the best bird of the day that is not a raptor.

Can you say : Gray Kingbird ??!!

Let me repeat : Gray Kingbird !!!

Bird was first seen by Libby Even and Dane Ferrell ... kind of a tough look back into the Sun - so we were not sure on ID ... had our suspicions: a big Flycatcher, large-billed, and very pale ... we mentioned Gray Kingbird and maybe a very pale Ash-throated Flycatcher ... after consulting Sibley - Libby immediately mentioned that the Ash-throated's bill was noticeably smaller than our Mystery Bird . I agreed, and again Gray Kingbird was mentioned ... but because of the rarity factor on Gray Kingbird - and the tough look, we figured we were dreaming , and that it must have been, as I mentioned, perhaps a pale Ash-throated ... shows what we know ...

So Bob Creglow arrives ... we tell him of our Mystery Bird ... and then Jimmy Swartz arrives ... we settle into a few hours of counting Vultures and a few Peregrines ... at around 4:30pm, Libby says " look on the wire !". Gray Kingbird was back! Bob even got it in his scope ... Libby, Bob, Jimmy, and I, all got to see Bird in scope ... plus Bird was only maybe 100 feet away !!! Awesome, just awesome ... Hazel Rocks !!!

Gray Kingbird

Bird was first seen by Libby Even and Dane Ferrell at approx. 10:00am ... seen again by Libby Even, Bob Creglow, Jimmy Swartz, and Dane Ferrell at approx. 3:45pm ...

Distance from Bird : (all distances approx.) - 1st sighting = 30 feet ; 2nd sighting = 100 feet

Following info will refer only to 2nd sighting ...
light was good ... winds out of South ...

Bird was facing us ... Bird was 8 to 10 inches in length from tail-tip to head ... large billed ... dark-billed ... front of Bird white ... back of Bird , and top side of wings gray , except for some ' whitish scalloping ' on top side of wings ... strong contrast between white front, and well-defined gray head ... darkish line running over the eyes from base of bill to back of head ... tail also gray ...

Bill larger in all ways than Couch's, Eastern and Western Kingbirds ... no yellow chest or belly like Couch's and Western ... crown lighter gray than dark crown of Eastern ... ' hood' has even bottom edge, as opposed to more curved bottom edge of Eastern's ' hood' ... tail uniform gray, as opposed to darker tail of Eastern ... no white tip on tail, like the Eastern has ...

Libby, Jimmy, and Dane have seen Gray Kingbirds in the past ... it was a "lifer" for Bob ... all four observers have much experience with Couch's and Eastern Kingbirds and Myiarchus Flycatchers.

Equipment used : Libby Even - Bausch & Lomb Elites 8x42; Bob Creglow - Bausch & Lomb Elites 8x42 and his scope - Swarovski ST80HD; Dane Ferrell - Kahles 8x42 .

Bird seen in Hazel Bazemore County Park, off CR 69 in Corpus Christi, Texas on the Hawkwatch Site - first left after park entrance, approx. 1/4 mile in.

Bird seen 0n 10/26/06 ... multiple sightings at approx. 10:00am, 3:45pm, and after a quick phone call to Joel and Vicki Simon (who probably broke some speed records getting there) at about 4:30pm.

-----------

Thanks, Libby AND Dane! There's just not a whole lot more to add to this report, except ... WOW! The detailed field notes and observations are VERY much appreciated!! We'll keep you posted as to its presence ... this one's a goodie!

Cheers,
Patty

October 27, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 20
Red-tailed Hawks : 29
Swainson's Hawks : 80
Red-shouldered Hawk : 1
Unknown Buteo : 1
Turkey Vultures : 3829
Black Vultures : 26
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 21
Cooper's Hawks : 21
Unknown Accips : 2
American Kestrels : 4
Merlin : 1
Osprey : 1
Northern Harriers : 3
Crested Caracara : 1
Harris's Hawks : 4
White-tailed Hawk : 1
Zone-tailed Hawk : 1
Total = 4046

2 dark-morph Harlan's Hawks ... 1 female Prairie Merlin ... 1 Fuertes Red-tailed Hawk ... Zone-tailed Hawk was adult male ...

Gray Kingbird was seen many times - i believe photos and video were both taken ...

What an awesome day !!! Hazel rocks ...

-----------
Thanks, Dane and gang! Man, it was just bee-ooo-tiful today! Post-frontal fall days are awesome and today was no exception. The winds could have been a little calmer, but hey, I will trade out our normally humid days for a few wild hair days in a heartbeat as long as that mercury drops down to cooler levels! The front flashed on through overnight, leaving a little dampness in its wake, but those brisk winds soon dried out most of the pavement, if not the grasses. The winds aloft did provide a nice track for the migrants, too; just as we hoped! Winds should stay out of the north through tomorrow, turning back to the more typical SE sometime Sunday.

One slight adjustment; subtract one Swainson's hawk from yesterday's numbers. The total as shown was correct (531), though the individual numbers added up to 532. On looking back over the logs, the staff sez there is just one Swainie for Thursday; not two as originally shown.

Don't forget; time change weekend is here ... Saturday night, shift the arms back an hour. Those of you who don't have to mess with this daylight savings nonsense, you have my admiration and envy.

Cheers,
Patty 

October 28, 2006 (turn clocks back one hour overnight):

Libby's report:

Broad-winged Hawks: 34
Red-tailed Hawks: 28
Swainson's: 9
Red-shouldered Hawk: 7
Harris' Hawk: 1
Turkey Vultures: 5083
Black Vultures: 8
Sharp-shins: 36
Coopers: 41
Northern Goshawk: 1
Unid Accip: 3
Kestrels: 4
Osprey: 2
Harriers: 12
Crested Caracara: 1

Total: 5270

Another exciting day on the hill! Out of the redtails seen, one was an adult Krider's and another was an albino. The albino simply glowed in the sunlight - we saw no color at all on this bird. Absolutely gorgeous. Our second Goshawk of the season was spotted by Dane who quickly put me on the bird. It was simply HUGE - buteo-like but definitely an accipiter. What a massive bird - looked like he could have eaten a sharpie and a coop with no problem.
Our first Golden-crowned Kinglet was heard, spotted and shown to us by our friend Linda. The Gray Kingbird did not come to its usual perch on the wires yesterday, although one couple thought they had it sited on the wires just outside the park entrance. There was a noticeable absence of Couch's Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers yesterday leading us to believe they gorged the day before and then took advantage of the north wind that night.

-----------
Thanks, Libby!

Some thoughts from John about that gray kingbird:

FYI, Texas Bird Record Committee has only five accepted records of Gray Kingbird, according to the TBRC webpage.

Only photograph on its webpage is one photographed by Martin Reed at Packery Channel in Corpus Christi on May 31, 1992. This photo represented the third accepted record.

Thanks, John. If ANYONE got photos of that bird and is willing to put them on line for everyone else to view ... please email me with the link(s).

Re the all-white redtail (I use the term all-white in the absence of any genetic confirmation - I'm guessing the pink eyes were not seen at distance) ... could be leucistic, could be geneto-leucistic. Biologists have all kinds of designations for all-white birds these days. <grin!> Not to mention the sun helping to white out all features in a back lit sky like yesterday's. We've had a few sightings of all-white red-tails in the past ... even knowing the all-whites are the first to fall or die young due to their genetic aberrations, I do wonder if some don't survive long enough to make the trek south year after year. I guess the odds are that it isn't the same bird each season, but then again, knowing of several in our general Coastal Bend area that have survived for many years (until morons with guns eventually found them), the odds also are it could be the same bird from one year to the next. Fun stuff, statistics and genetics! Good catch by the staff on that bird!

Likewise the goshawk ... another species we've always suspected comes through the area each season more often than has been catalogued. Nice to see a second one actually make it over the watch site this season. Good catch!

Cheers,
Patty 

October 29, 2006:

Dane's report:

Broad-winged Hawks : 20
Red-tailed Hawks : 2
Swainson's Hawks : 7
Turkey Vultures : 966
Black Vultures : 21
Sharp-shinned Hawks : 7
Cooper's Hawks : 19
Unknown Accip : 1
American Kestrels : 2
Northern Harriers : 8
White-tailed Hawks : 4
Ferruginous Hawk : 1
Total =1058

Ferruginous Hawk was a light-morph immie .... a truly awesome beauty ...

-----------

Thanks, Dane!

Some thoughts from John about northern goshawks and white hawks:

____________________________________________
Prior Northern Goshawk Records at Watch:
NORTHERN GOSHAWK: 4

* 2006: 2: 1 Adult on Sept. 21; one on Oct. 28.
* October 1, 2002: 1 Immature
* October 10, 1999: 1 Adult
_____________________________________________
* Days with All Three Accipiter Species: 3
* October 28, 2006: (36 SS, 41 CH, 1 NG).
* October 1, 2002: ( 1 SS, 1 CH, 1 NG).
* October 10, 1999: (65 SS, 68 CH, 1 NG).
_____________________________________________
* Albinistic Red-tailed Hawk: 2
* October 8, 1998
--Jo Creglow pointed out to other observers that this
as not an ordinary Red-tailed Hawk, and albinism was
then confirmed.
* October 29, 2006
-Spotted by Dane Ferrell and Libby Even.
* Also, an almost perfectly white RTH was resident in Bee County before
someone illegally shot it shortly before Christmas 2000.
Photos of this beautiful raptor are in the photo section of
this webpage.
_____________________________________

Thanks, John!!

Cheers,
Patty 

October 30, 2006:

Libby's report:

Swainson's: 1
White-tailed Hawk: 1
Unid Buteos: 2
Turkey Vultures: 168
Black Vultures: 23
Coopers: 1
Unid Accip: 1
Peregrine: 1
Total: 198

Strong winds from the south and southeast are back shutting down most of the flight. First bird of the day was an immature White-tailed Hawk who got up early and got out before our residents were up. The Peregrine put on a nice show for us, flew around for a nice long look in the scope, an adult, subspecies anatum. 

October 31, 2006: 

Joel's report:

No tricks, no treats just lots of Turkey Vultures. Several large groups of White Pelicans but little else to spice up our day.

Red-tailed Hawk 7
Swainson's Hawk 4
Turkey Vulture 763
Black Vulture 9
Sharp-shinned 4
Cooper's 5
Unid. Accipiter 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
Unid. Falcon 1
No. Harrier 4
Total 800