[texbirds] Smith Point Hawk Watch yesterday
- From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: 4 Texbirds Maillist <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2014 13:50:51 -0500
I headed down to the smith point tower yesterday with a forecast of nice
northwest winds and plans to count kettle after kettle of kites with hawks
tossed in not to mention lots of land bird migrants. However no one told
the kites about the great migration day and we ended up with a total of 15
hawks.
12 Mississippi kite
1 white-tailed kite
1 osprey
1 swainson's hawk
The swainson's could have been local but I found none in the area on
several trips in the summer and it acted like many of the big buteos that
come by late in the count. Two sets of Mississippi kites went up above the
clouds and all were up high so we may have missed some hawks after the
cloud deck moved in. The white-tailed kite (adult) was the first counted
bird of the day it went directly across toward Texas City.
Before the count started, I had a large female cooper's hawk out at by
Robbins Park that routed all the birds in the area before heading across
the bay by way of the islands there. For the first migrant hawk but not
counted as it was not during the count or at the tower.
On the way down to Smith point, there were a number of hawks perched along
521 after the T including young red-tails (2) and a red-tailed hawk with a
totally clear belly that was there last year too. 2 sets of crested
caracara. Just past white-heron estates there is a large dead tree on the
right and 2 young of the local swainson's hawks were perching right at
sunrise.
A belted kingfisher was on the wires in the tidal wetland just past the
hawks but no kingbird/scissor-tail roost again. Late in the day a
kingfisher was perched on a post in the bay at the tower.
Stopped at some scrubby areas on Brandt Road and Hawkins Camp Road and had
some orchard orioles and alder flycatchers at both. Saw 3 alders at the
tower and more later on Hawkins Camp but did not hear a pip or song from
any. 2 and then 3 did a lot of chasing at the tower.
One yellow warbler came by the tower and a singly unk warbler was out by
the Spoonbill.
The shorebird area on the right on the second long straightaway before
Whiteheads has dried for the 3rd time this summer. The pond by the old red
restaurant as you come into metropolitan smith point had a bunch of egrets,
a single stilt sandpiper and 3 broods of black-bellied whistling ducks of 3
different sizes. It is developing good edge. The marsh out toward Robbins
Park is looking good and there is a good crop of seaside sparrows and a
couple of very fast clapper rails crossing the road. The Hanson's saw a
least bittern.
Lots of shorebirds at the shells late in the day but the cooper's cleaned
out everyone in the am which often happens when a stream of accipiters and
harriers feed through the area. Lots of least terns resting in the park
parking lot but no young of the year. The grassy wetland there remains bone
dry and devoid of birds. A single upland sandpiper was preening out there
early and I heard a single call at the tower in mid morning but it could
have been a mockingbird too.
Lots of bobwhite calling. Watch for them from the tower as they run across
to the next door garden to feed. There are also bobwhite outside Candy
Abshire.
The rocks at the tower had peeps, spotted sandpipers and western willets.
The resident painted bunting that nested next to the tower was not singing
but 2 greenish plumaged buntings were about. A female/young indigo bunting
was glimpsed a couple of times down in the dry gator pond.
The only large flocks of birds were a couple of white-winged dove groups
that headed out to the point but both returned; one made a second trip but
came back that time too. A flock of 60 or so white ibis went across before
2pm for the first of a long string of that species for the season.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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