[texbirds] Smith Point Hawk Watch (10/16/14) 12,355 raptors

  • From: "Susan Heath" <sheath@xxxxxxxx>
  • To: "TexBirds" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 08:46:54 -0500

Now we're talking!

10-16-14 Raptors: 12,355
Black Vulture-13
Turkey Vulture-228
Northern Harrier-5
Sharp-shinned Hawk-30
Cooper's Hawk-4
Broad-winged Hawk-12,058 (at least 6 dark today and at least 17 yesterday)
Swainson's Hawk-3
American Kestrel-10
Merlin-1
Mississippi Kite-2
Unknown Accipiter-1

Where to begin? Even more craziness to this season these past few days. No
buildup of Broad-wingeds, as in pretty much every prior season, but just
instant incredibly huge days. In fact, from a numbers/viewing perspective
these have been the most amazing raptor days I've ever seen. The average
number of birds in view at any one time these past 2 days is probably
somewhere around 2,000 raptors!
These past 2 days have not only resulted in this no longer being by far the
worst raptor count ever here at Smith Point, but it's actually now 'only'
the 3rd worst season ever, surpassing 2 other seasons!!! Yesterday's count
exceeded the previous 75 days, or 555.92 hours of counting in under 4
hours!!! The amount of birds seen these last three days is 3.4x the number
of birds seen in the previous 74 days!!! Today's raptor total is a full 2
weeks later than any other previous season with at least 10,000 raptors seen
in a day.  Last year and in 2001 are the only seasons where raptors have
even reached half the totals of these past two days for this time of the
year. Who knows what the rest of the season will bring? Despite these
amazing Broad-winged totals, there are many species in well-below average to
unbelievably below average numbers. If they started picking up now, some
species would be 3 weeks behind. Is it still possible for them to arrive
even later? Will Broad-wingeds continue in the thousands? We shall see.

Today we reached the 150th species seen from the tower-a House Wren. Some of
the more interesting combined totals of the past 3 days in the non-raptor
department include: Greater White-fronted Geese-258, White Pelican-254,
Anhinga-154, White Ibis-865, Dark Ibis-162, Wood Stork-1, Sandhill Crane-2,
Killdeer-205, Yellowlegs-91, Dowitcher-80, Franklin's Gull-472, Mourning
Dove-219, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher-92 but hundreds reported in the area,
Rough-winged Swallow-1,500+, American Pipit-6, Sprague's Pipit-1,
Yellow-rumped Warbler-6, Common Yellowthroat-2, Savannah Sparrow-a few dozen
at Robbins Park, Lincoln's Sparrow-1 (in mottes), Rose-breasted Grosbeak-2,
Indigo Bunting-31, Dickcissel-24, Red-winged Blackbird-68, Eastern
Meadowlark-11, Meadowlark Sp-76, Brown-headed Cowbird-331, Blackbird Sp-114,
and Pine Siskin-2

Susan A. Heath, PhD
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
103 Hwy 332 West
Lake Jackson, TX 77566
979-480-0999
www.gcbo.org



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  • » [texbirds] Smith Point Hawk Watch (10/16/14) 12,355 raptors - Susan Heath