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Greetings from the Corpus Christi Hawkwatch
Platform!
The Corpus Christi Hawkwatch is a
local, non-profit organization created to support local on-going
hawkwatch efforts and to bring educational programs on raptor migration
and conservation to Coastal Bend Area schools and community groups.
Part of that education program includes
gathering information on all aspects of raptor migration at our watch
site. As part of that effort, the Corpus Christi Hawkwatch has initiated
a formal spring hawkwatch.
The spring hawk watch runs from March
25th through April 25th. Counters led by Fall Watch Co-Coordinators Dane
Ferrell and Libby Even will man the platform 9am to 5pm every day of the
spring watch.
We're all very excited over the
potential for accumulating new spring data and we hope you'll join us on
the hill and be a part of the watch! We'll post the daily reports below
so you can keep up with us from afar.
March 21, 2009 (PRE-WATCH ADVANCE
SCOUTING):
Broad-winged Hawks = 2399
Swainson's Hawks = 7
Turkey Vultures = 133
Cooper's Hawks = 2
Swallow-Tailed Kites = 1
Total = 2542
Wow! I was just doing a little advance work for our Spring
Hawkwatch (which runs from 03/25/09 through 04/25/09). Had a single
Broad-winged Hawk go through at maybe 12:45 pm (all times listed are
Texas times), followed soon after by a single Swainson's Hawk. I was
pumped up, as these two Birds were both FOS for me. At this point, I
figured I would stay for another hour or so, and go home happy. Then at
1:10pm, it happened. A kettle of 220 Broad-winged Hawks, directly
overhead! Just a few minutes later, another kettle/stream of 160
Broad-winged Hawks! After I finished my cartwheels, I made some hurried
calls. James showed up at about 2:30 pm. No more than 10 minutes after
showing up, James spotted an adult Swallow-tailed Kite, and we were off
to the races. Our largest kettle/stream of the day consisted of 680
Broad-winged Hawks; we also had a flight of 440. Excellent spotting
James!
Before the day was over, we were joined by James' family (Lisa and
Caleb), Libby, and our new friend Trey whom lives in Amarillo. Awesome
spotting one and all - and thanks for the tater tots Caleb!
Non-raptor highlights included Northern Parula, Blue-headed Vireo,
Hooded Warbler, Summer Tanager, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, a pair of
bathing Long-billed Thrashers, and a flight of 192 American White
Pelicans.
Other than that, we didn't see much. Oops - almost forgot one of our
local Red-tailed Hawks diving on a Northern Harrier female that
apparently wandered into the Red-tailed Hawk's yard.
Hazel Rocks!
Dane
March 22, 2009 (PRE-WATCH ADVANCE
SCOUTING):
Turkey Vultures: 25
Broadwings: 1354
Swainsons: 8
Red-tail Hawk: 1
Swallow-tailed Kite: 1
Total: 1389
Another fun day of hawkwatching. Thanks to Mike, Lynn, Bob & Jo, Lila &
Paul for visiting and helping with the spotting. About 95% of these
birds were between 12:15 and 1:30. Very exciting to have a 3 days in a
row with a Swallow-tailed Kite. Reports from Veracruz show a huge
movement of raptors last week (400,000+) that will hit Hazel any day
now. We are "officially" starting the watch on Wednesday the 25th but
with these numbers you know Dane will be on the hill now. Don't miss it.
Libby
March 23, 2009 (PRE-WATCH ADVANCE
SCOUTING):
Broad-winged Hawks = 59
Unknown Buteos = 3
Turkey Vultures = 6
Unknown Accips = 1
Peregrine Falcons = 1
Northern Harriers = 1
Unknown Raptors = 1
Total = 72
Peregrine on the 23rd was an adult that buzzed the Birds on Hazel Pond.
Northern Harrier was an adult male. High winds and cloudy skies
obviously impacted the count on the 24th.
Hazel Rocks!
- Dane
March 24, 2009 (PRE-WATCH ADVANCE
SCOUTING):
Total = 0
Peregrine on the 23rd was an adult that buzzed the Birds on Hazel Pond.
Northern Harrier was an adult male. High winds and cloudy skies
obviously impacted the count on the 24th.
Hazel Rocks!
- Dane
March 25, 2009 (FIRST DAY OF SPRING
WATCH):
Broad-winged Hawks = 4731
Red-tailed Hawks = 2
Swainson's Hawks = 70
Unknown Buteos = 2
Turkey Vultures = 11
Cooper's Hawks = 2
Osprey = 3
Crested Caracara = 1
White-tailed Kites = 2
Unknown Raptors = 1
Total = 4825
One countable Bird in the first three
hours. My, how things change in the course of one day!
First off; great spotting by Lisa and James Witten, Libby Even, and Mike
Clifford. Awesome work one and all! Also; we were very happy to say
hello to Pat and Larry Botkin - hurry back folks!
We started to see some breaks in the cloud-cover a little after noon,
and the Raptors soon followed. Between noon and 5 pm (Texas time), we
tallied 4822 Birds. Well over 4400 of these migrating Birds of Prey came
between 3 and 5 pm.
Not much else to say except - we sure had a lot of fun!
Come out to Hazel Bazemore County Park, and see it for yourselves,
because:
Hazel Rocks!
- Dane
March 26, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 2103
Red-tailed Hawks = 2
Swainson's Hawks = 45
Turkey Vultures = 85
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 2
Cooper's Hawks = 5
Unknown Accipiters = 1
Osprey = 1
Northern Harriers = 3
Harris's Hawks = 1
Unknown Raptors = 3
Total = 2251
A storm moved in at 3:30 pm and shut us down until about 5:00 pm. Thanks
for hanging tough James!
Looks like we might have a lift-off tomorrow morning, as we counted
about 400 Broad-winged Hawks that sat down West of Hazel Bazemore late
in the day.
Coffee and Broad-winged Hawks - an excellent combo to start the day!
Hazel Rocks!
- Dane
March 27, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 44
Red-tailed Hawks = 1
Swainson's Hawks = 9
Turkey Vultures = 124
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 2
Cooper's Hawks = 4
Unknown Accips = 3
American Kestrels = 2
Unknown Raptors = 1
Total = 190
Very strong West winds affected our afternoon. Several Accipiters and a
couple of American Kestrels were nice to see.
Hazel Rocks...
Dane
March 28, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 3859
Swainson's Hawks = 21
Turkey Vultures = 166
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 2
Cooper's Hawks = 1
Unknown Accips = 2
Ospreys = 2
Total = 4053
Fierce West winds during the early part of our day; and thus zero
Raptors. It appeared a shutout was imminent. Wrong! Around 3 pm we
started seeing some Broad-winged Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, and Turkey
Vultures. All of these Raptors were struggling mightily, and we had to
admire their efforts. We also started picking up distant flights to the
East of us. These Birds were barely visible though, and so Libby and I
decided to move our Watch in an effort to better see these hardworking
migrants. We ended up on a ridge behind the Chicken Shack, which is
located right where Violet Rd. meets the 37 Freeway. We were incredibly
fortunate, as this new location put us directly under thousands of
migrating Raptors! These Birds were flying over us at three different
altitudes - simultaneously! It was truly a sight to behold! Of course,
this kind of movement makes counting Birds a little tricky; but also
incredibly fun!
Hazel(and the Coastal Bend) Rock...
Dane
March 29, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 951
Red-tailed Hawks 2
Swainson's Hawks = 10
Unknown Buteos = 1
Turkey Vultures = 303
Mississippi Kites = 1
Swallow-tailed Kites = 1
Cooper's Hawks = 4
Unknown Accips = 1
American Kestrels = 2
Peregrine Falcons = 1
Ospreys = 2
Northern Harriers = 3
Crested Caracaras = 1
Harris's Hawks = 1
Total = 1284
First off - thanks to all of our guests and volunteers. We were very
happy to see Patty and Bill Beasley, Jo and Bob Creglow, the Witten
Family(Lisa, Caleb, and James), Lynn Guerra, Mike Clifford, and Steve
Clark. Steve is from Australia - enjoy the Valley Steve, and hurry back
to see us!
Numerous highlights, in approximate order of occurrence: we started with
a liftoff of over 1000 Broad-winged Hawks between 9:00 and 10:30 am.
These Birds were not put on today's tally sheet, as we figured they were
counted during our 03/28 late-day push.
Nice spot on a Verdin by Bill Beasley - awesome!
Then, we had an excellent look at a dark morph Swainson's Hawk; what a
beautiful Buteo!
Libby spotted our first-of-spring Mississippi Kite - yes!
Jo Creglow found us a dashing Peregrine Falcon, and while watching this
Bird we found a nice stream of Broad-winged Hawks. Way to go Jo!
James Witten spotted another Swallow-tailed Kite; what an awesome Bird!
We also had a great look at a dark morph Red-tailed Hawk - excellent!
As you may have gathered,
Hazel Rocks...
Dane
March 30, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 524
Swainson's Hawks = 2
Turkey Vultures = 194
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 1
Cooper's Hawks = 3
Total = 724
We want to thank Lisa and James Witten, as well as Jo Creglow for their
excellent help. And also a big thanks to Libby Even, as she covered for
Dane; great work (or is it play?!) everyone...
Hazel rocks...
Corpus Christi Hawkwatch Crew, Spring 2009
March 31, 2009:
Total = 0
That is no misprint; zero countable migrating Raptors!
However, we did have some excellent highlights.
First Least Tern of the Spring; this diminutive beauty was working Hazel
Pond in the morning hours - awesome!
Also; a flyover by an adult male Indigo Bunting; nothing like an Indigo
Bunting to cure my "no-migrating-Raptor Blues"!
Talk about surprises: a covey of 10 Northern Bobwhites using our
Birdbath and feeding on seed, just yards from our Platform; absolutely
incredible!
Perhaps the Bird of the day however, was a White-tailed Kite seen
hunting not once, but twice, just West of Hazel Pond. First sighting was
at 10:50 am, and second sighting was at 4:30 pm. Could we once again
have breeding White-tailed Kites in the Hazel Bazemore area? Please stay
tuned. Needless to say, we sure hope so!!
Hazel rocks...
Dane
April 01, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 1
Swallow-tailed Kites = 1
American Kestrels = 1
Total = 3
Can someone tone the winds down, please? The preceding Raptors were
tallied in the Pollywog Ponds area, as we continue to search for viable
alternate Hawkwatching spots. Several hours at Hazel Bazemore produced
zero migrating Raptors. Thus, Libby Even, James Witten, Lynn Guerra, and
myself spent the early evening at Pollywog Ponds, hoping for a setdown.
Well, the single Broad-winged Hawk we spotted did setdown at Pollywog,
and I doubt the Swallow-tailed Kite moved very far either, as it was
after 5 pm when we saw this awesome Bird.
It is quite possible that the Raptors are backed up somewhere, waiting
for better flying conditions. With any luck at all, this will make for
some interesting Hawkwatching days ahead.
I want to thank Art Olsen for his numerous visits (many on very slow
days!); and also a big thanks to Gil Miller. Gil hails from Laurel Hill,
North Carolina, and is a regular visitor to our Fall Hawkwatch. Thanks
for stopping by this Spring, Gil, and good luck in the Valley.
One more note; the White-tailed Kite seen on 03/31 was spotted again
yesterday(04/01). Awesome!
Even on slow days, Hazel rocks!
Dane
April 02, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 47
Swainson's Hawks = 4
Turkey Vultures = 183
Peregrine Falcons = 1
Total = 235
The surprise of the day was that I counted any migrating Raptors at all.
With the West wind gusting up to 50mph, and averaging about 35mph for
several hours, it was all I could do to keep standing. The Raptors that
moved through were without a doubt, the hardst working Birds that I have
observed. All I can say is, these Raptors had an incredibly strong
desire to reach their homes.
I want to thank our friend, Lila Vaughan for stopping by; you are a
trooper, Lila!
Hazel rocks in the wind...
Dane
April 03, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 14,180
Swainson's Hawks = 39
Unknown Buteos = 2
Turkey Vultures = 187
Mississippi Kites = 4
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 7
Cooper's Hawks = 7
Unknown Accips = 2
American Kestrels = 5
Ospreys = 4
Northern Harriers = 2
Prairie Falcons = 1
Harris's Hawks = 1
Total = 14,441
First off - a huge thanks to our excellent Volunteers and Guests. Great
job, everyone!
Amongst a kettle/stream consisting of 2180 Broad-winged Hawks flew one
dark morph Broad-winged Hawk. Awesome!
We also tallied 1 intermediate morph and 2 dark morph Swainson's Hawks.
These beautiful Buteos flew over between 11 am and 12 pm. Obviously the
West winds from 04/02 brought us a few delicious treats!
Speaking of delicious treats; thanks to everyone that brought goodies to
share. Amongst the delectables were tater-tots, bacon-cheeseburgers,
Oreo Blasts, Hershey kisses, and homemade brownies. As you can see, we
are on a health food kick.
Our FOS Prairie Falcon was another fantabulous Western visitor. Keep on
coming, Westies!
On a local note; our resident (permanent we hope), White-tailed Kite put
on quite the show as it hunted in the late afternoon.
Hazel rocks...
Corpus Christi Spring Hawkwatch '09
April 04, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 12,678
Red-tailed Hawks = 2
Swainson's Hawks = 58
Red-shouldered Hawks = 2
Unknown Buteos = 1
Turkey Vultures = 525
Mississippi Kites = 105
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 5
Cooper's Hawks = 9
Unknown Accips = 6
American Kestrels = 4
Ospreys = 1
Northern Harriers = 2
Crested Caracaras = 1
Harris's Hawks = 1
White-tailed Kites = 1
Bald Eagles = 1
Unknown Raptors = 6
Total = 13,408
Once again, awesome teamwork by our Volunteers, and excellent
participation by our Guests. Thanks to one and all!
First Bald Eagle of the Spring was an immature Bird. We could not
precisely age this magnificent creature, as it was quite a distant look;
but it was thrilling to see, nonetheless.
The Western influence was present once again, as we had 4 dark morph
Broad-winged Hawks, and 1 each of intermediate and dark morph Swainson's
Hawks. Excellent!
Our best Mississippi Kite action of the Spring (so far); including a
kettle/stream of 53 Birds. Yes!!
Late in the day, we were thrilled to see a second White-tailed Kite
acting local. The Kite that we have been seeing on a daily basis has
some obvious molt action happening in it's left wing outer primaries.
The Kite we observed late yesterday is perfectly feathered. We strongly
hope that soon we see these 2 Birds together.
Hazel rocks,
Dane
April 05, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 2164
Swainson's Hawks = 10
Turkey Vultures = 2
Mississippi Kites = 24
American Kestrels = 1
Ospreys = 1
Total = 2202
Heavy North winds cut a promising day short (we shut down at 3 pm. The
North winds kicked up in a major way right after Libby counted a nice
stream of 805 Broad-winged Hawks. The next few hours were tough on both
the migrating Raptors, and their counters. The migrants did everything,
but move directly through. These Birds struggled against 40 mph gusts.
It became quite difficult to discern whether or not we were seeing a new
group of Birds; or was it a group we had counted a few minutes earlier?
So, to maintain what little sanity I had left, we quit at 3 pm.
Hazel still rocks...
Dane
P.S. Thanks to our excellent Volunteers and Guests!
April 06, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 4218
Red-tailed Hawks = 2
Swainson's Hawks = 25
Turkey Vultures = 95
Mississippi Kites = 10
Cooper's Hawks = 2
American Kestrels = 1
Ospreys = 4
Total = 4357
Highlights included 2 dark morph Swainson's Hawks and 2 dark morph
Broad-winged Hawks. The Western Influence continues...
Hazel Rocks...
Dane
April 07, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 1682
Red-tailed Hawks = 1
Swainson's Hawks = 86
Unknown Buteos = 4
Turkey Vultures = 135
Mississippi Kites = 31
Swallow-tailed Kites = 3
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 1
Cooper's Hawks = 3
Unknown Accips = 5
American Kestrels = 3
Merlins = 1
Unknown Raptors = 2
Total = 1957
Careful what you ask for...The wind died down, the clouds disappeared,
and the thermals rocked. Until 4 pm we were basically picking up
singles; and we were fortunate to be seeing any Birds, quite frankly.
Around 4 pm we started picking up on some streams and kettles; the
kettles did not last long, and the streams were incredibly high. By the
time our last stream was counted (at around 5:30 pm), all counters and
observers were begging for mercy. In other words, we had a blast!
Excellent work as always by our Volunteers and Guests...
The Western flavor continues: 1 intermediate morph Swainson's Hawk, and
3 dark morph Broad-winged Hawks. Also, our first Merlin of the Spring
Hawkwatch; and our first multiple Swallow-tailed Kite day.
Hazel Rocks...
Dane
April 08, 2009:
Greetings, all!
Spring is turning out to be a fun time to watch hawks in the Coastal
Bend. As noted previously, it's been a long time since we've mounted any
kind of spring watch, but in times past, we've gotten anywhere from
20,000 to 500,000 countable raptors within the area. This season we're
getting good numbers for the platform at Hazel Bazemore County Park, and
lots of new data to update the old database. We couldn't have done it
without the support of the local hawkwatch non-profit, the Corpus
Christi Hawkwatch, along with our spring sponsor, Hogan Homes.
Continuing thanks to both organizations. Without community support, we'd
have an even harder time maintaining and reinstating these programs. Our
volunteers have been just awesome, too; coming in from all corners and
lending hands and eyes every day. It's really been like old home week
around the platform this week, with a lot of the fall regulars coming
out to check out the spring numbers. And while we've had to work hard
some days to catch them winging over, most days we get enough good
flights and variety to keep everyone super-excited! Good example;
today's report! Check it out! ...
cheers,
Patty
04/08/09
Broad-winged Hawks = 1871
Red-tailed Hawks = 1
Swainson's Hawks = 40
Unknown Buteos = 1
Turkey Vultures = 117
Black Vultures = 6
Mississippi Kites = 4
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 8
Cooper's Hawks = 3
American Kestrels = 3
Ospreys = 2
Northern Harriers = 2
White-tailed Hawks = 1
Unknown Raptors = 7
Total = 2066
Pretty much a zero cloud day. Great for migrating Raptors; not so great
if you want to count them. The vast majority of our counted Birds came
in the last 3 hours of our day. The winds increased, knocking the
thermals down, giving us a chance to actually see some of these movers.
Even so, the streams we picked up in the latter part of our day, were
still incredibly high. However, we were extremely grateful to see these
awesome Birds, and a great time was had by all involved!
Hazel rocks...
Dane
April 09, 2009:
Greetings, all!
The clouds today really deserve some recognition, too. I know, it's out
of our control, but Mother Nature really went to some extra effort today
in the wake of an incoming dry line to bring in some of the most
beautiful cloud formations I've seen in ages. Mostly high cirrus, they
curved and dipped and wisped out into fairy-like gossamers. I could have
photographed clouds all day if I hadn't been so busy behind the binos
and clickers. After the bluebird skies of late, it was a real treat to
have clouds, even high ones, to push down the hawks a bit for better
visibility. None of us would be surprised to find many hawks stills
soaring above those delicate wisps. Forecast for tomorrow is for a more
solid cloud cover, preceding two incoming fronties (little fronts, not
the big strong guys), one coming in on Friday; the other more hefty
coming in on Easter Sunday with the promise of some decent rain
(finally!). To the hill!
cheers,
Patty
04/09/09
Broad-winged Hawks = 1071
Swainson's Hawks = 60
Unknown Buteos = 1
Turkey Vultures = 85
Black Vultures = 1
Mississippi Kites = 143
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 11
Cooper's Hawks = 9
Unknown Accips = 6
American Kestrels = 7
Northern Harriers = 1
Unknown Raptors = 10
Total = 1405
Highlights included our largest Mississippi Kite stream to date, for the
Spring Watch: 104 Kites - excellent!
Also, a beautiful adult male Northern Harrier; go Grey Ghost, go...
Nice battle between Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, with Sharpies
prevailing 11 to 9. Highlights on your local news at 11.
Hazel is definitely rocking...
Dane
April 10, 2009:
Greetings, all!
White pelicans have been moving through in really nice large groups this
week. Lots of fun to watch, especially against the blue skies with any
kind of clouds. Probably had 3,500 or so in the past few days. Be sure
to check on your favorite local sites and see what raptors are moving
through your areas! - Patty
04/10/09
Broad-winged Hawks = 332
Red-tailed Hawks = 1
Swainson's Hawks = 11
Turkey Vultures = 14
Mississippi Kites = 253
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 3
Ospreys = 1
Northern Harriers = 1
Unknown Raptors = 1
Total = 617
Although Broad-winged Hawks outnumbered Mississippi Kites, it feels like
we may be moving into the Kite peak period. We had 2 streams of 90 or
better Mississippi Kites (albeit with some Broad-winged Hawks in the mix
as well). Obviously, we are hoping some more Swallow-tailed Kites grace
us with their presence as well.
It appears that there may be more than one breeding pair of Swainson's
Hawks in the Hazel Bazemore vicinity; as more than once on 04/10, we
observed 6 of these awesome Buteos in the sky at one time. These Birds
were not heading North, and they showed no acrimony towards one another.
We will see what develops as we get later into Spring.
On a non-Raptor note: we have been seeing some pretty nice flights of
Franklin's Gulls these past few days. These Birds often kettle and
stream much like Raptors, and are quite fun to watch.
Thanks to our awesome Volunteers and Guests...You'all hurry back now!
Hazel rocks...
Dane
April 11, 2009:
A rain day with no birds, thanks to an
incoming front and wacky winds.
April 12, 2009:
Ya just gotta love storm fronts!
Passerines and whatnot fell out all over the south Texas area overnight,
thanks to Mother Nature's latest storm shows, and the raptors did
themselves proud by blanketing the area, too. This was one of the most
fun hawkwatching shifts I've had in a looooong time! They just kept
coming, and coming, and coming ... and if the numbers weren't enough
fun, check out the species spread! Ohhh yeah ... THAT'S what I'm talkin'
about!! A superb job by the entire crew. You couldn't have pried us off
that site with a crowbar. We were out until it was starting to grow dark
since the raptors were still coming in flights almost into sunset. We
really put that chocolate to work today, and found out fried apple pies
were no slouch in the role of late afternoon/early evening hawk bait as
well! (Thanks, Jo!) - Patty
04/12/09
Broad-winged Hawks: 10,956
Swainson's Hawks: 681
Red-shouldered Hawk: 1
White-tailed Hawk: 1
Harris' Hawk: 1
Short-tailed Hawk: 1
Turkey Vultures: 949
Black Vultures: 18
Miss. Kites: 948
Swallow-tailed Kites: 3
Sharp-shinned Hawks: 6
Cooper's Hawks: 4
Unid. Accip.: 1
Amer. Kestrel: 4
Peregrine: 1
Merlin: 1
Osprey: 6
Northern Harrier: 2
Total: 13,584
First off; a huge thanks to Jo and Bob Creglow, Patty and Bill Beasley,
and Libby Even. Often, the sky was literally covered with Raptors, and
it took a true team effort to put a good count on these awesome Birds.
Great job, one and all!
Many highlights on the day, but the Short-tailed Hawk was obviously the
biggest surprise. This Bird was a light morph. It is fitting that this
excellent Buteo was spotted just moments after our second Swallow-tailed
Kite of the day. I say this not only because Short-tailed Hawks are
experts in the art of kiting; but also because I have been fortunate
enough to see a Short-tailed Hawk scuffle with a Swallow-tailed Kite. I
witnessed this event in Florida, and quite frankly, it is something I
will never forget.
Of course, this was a day filled with Hawkwatching highlights: the
numbers above speak for themselves, but also:
We counted on this day, 22 dark morph Swainson's Hawks, 15 intermediate
morph Swainson's Hawks, and 9 dark morph Broad-winged Hawks.
Falcon highlights included an extremely pale Merlin, and a stunning
adult Peregrine. Four American Kestrels passed low enough for us to sex,
and they were split evenly - 2 females and 2 males.
Our 3 Swallow-tailed Kites all gave us extended excellent looks, and
that fact alone is enough to make a Hawkwatcher's day!
Feeling very fortunate to be living in South Texas,
Dane
P.S. The Coastal Bend Rocks!
April 13, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 5725
Red-tailed Hawks = 2
Swainson's Hawks = 2229
Unidentified Buteos = 43
Turkey Vultures = 715
Black Vultures = 2
Mississippi Kites = 902
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 6
Cooper's Hawks = 5
American Kestrels = 7
Peregrine Falcons = 1
Ospreys = 9
Northern Harriers = 1
Harris's Hawks = 1
White-tailed Hawks = 4
Unidentified Raptors = 3
Total = 9655
First off, we had a liftoff of around 2000 Broad-winged Hawks. Kettles
across the horizon - something everyone should see at least once...
Excellent diversity - 15 species counted. Awesome!
The Western trend continues: 15 dark morph Swainson's, 3 intermediate
morph Swainson's, and 1 dark morph Broad-winged Hawk.
Bird of the day however was not a Raptor; we were all surprised by a
Chihuahuan Raven that flew over us - no more than 30 feet in the air!
Amazing, simply amazing!
The Coastal Bend Rocks...
Dane
(The raven was such a cool catch!! It sailed in over the bluff and
buzzed six of us around 20 feet or so away from Bill and I. We could
almost reach out and touch it. Talk about a close encounter - that one
was a keeper! - Patty)
April 14, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 787
Swainson's Hawks = 5
Turkey Vultures = 15
Mississippi Kites = 10
Sharp-shinned Hawks = 1
Cooper's Hawks = 1
Unidentified Accipiters = 1
Unidentified Raptors = 5
Total = 825
We had an A.M. liftoff of 774 Raptors(772 Broad-winged Hawks, and 2
Mississippi Kites). Afterwards, the floodgates were pretty much closed.
Numerous Indigo Buntings and a very handsome male Northern Parula at
Hazel Bazemore, eased the pain somewhat.
Hazel rocks...
Dane
April 14, 2009:
Broad-winged Hawks = 3
Swainson's Hawks = 6
Unidentified Buteos = 1
Turkey Vultures = 25
Black Vultures = 1
Mississippi Kites = 1
Unidentified Raptors = 2
Total = 39
Officially, the Corpus Christi Hawkwatch for Spring 2009 is closed. Once
in a while during the next couple of weeks, we will do some spot checks
for late movers.
We will do a synopsis covering our three week season; and after Patty
edits out some of the adult language, perhaps she will share it on
Texbirds.
Seriously; thanks to all whom participated; awesome job everyone!
Excellent numbers; once again - more details later.
On a personal note; I want to thank the male Orchard Oriole that landed
and stayed for a few seconds today, just yards from the Platform.
Hazel rocks...
Dane
P.S. Happy Spring everyone!
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Thanks Dane!! And best wishes from us, too, to everyone! It's been an
absolute gas being able to do a spring watch after so long, and our
sincere gratitude and admiration go to Dane and Libby for organizing the
non-profit Corpus Christi Hawkwatch and Hogan Homes for making this all
possible. We know we have good potential for spring migration counts.
Nothing like fall, of course, we're strictly a fall-heavy watch. But we
do get good spring flights; in the past, we've racked up to half a
million broadies during extraordinary weather conditions. We've always
thought a spring watch effort would be more than justified, and now, we
have one, thanks to our local supporters and volunteers. Our Audubon
Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi regulars were a daily fixture at the
site, too; and we thank everyone who came out to help and lend moral and
chocolate support! As Dane says, we'll all continue to keep a close eye
on traffic as time and schedules allow. We want to know what these guys
are doing in spring, and where, and when. And thanks to all of our
wonderful hawkwatchers and vollies - we're gonna find out!! cheers, from
Patty and the entire hawk watch crewe! See ya on The Hill!
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