[texbirds] bexar/comal swainson's hawk 2 Oct
- From: Matt Heindel <mtheindel@xxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2012 12:07:07 -0400 (EDT)
This morning I had an impressive passage of raptors, primarily Swainson's
Hawks, where I live, which is on Cibolo Creek, where Comal, Bexar, and Kendall
counties meet. From 10-1025, 420 Swainson's Hawks were counted (not estimated),
most just a few hundred feet up, but some much higher, moving on a heading of
190 degrees, although the last 50 or so were later and had come from sightly
further east, and were moving more southwesterly.
Also in this passage were 10 Red-tailed, 14 Broad-winged, 1 high-flying
Red-shouldered, and 30 Accipiters, primarily Cooper's, but a few Sharpies were
mixed in, too (I let several unidentified to stay focused on the Buteos). And
there were ~250 Turkey Vultures. At 1025, the spigot shut off and over the next
20 minutes a lone vulture was the only obvious flyover.
I had done my frequent routine of taking a cup of java to the mostly dry creek
and the number/quality of birds had my attention. Most surprising was a
confiding Cassin's Sparrow in the brush and grass. In between sightings of it,
I heard a thrasher, neither species (Long-billed or Brown) had I encountered in
my three years here. I assumed it was a Brown and played its song to no avail.
but, as soon as I played the call, the bird responded and flew across to the
top of a shrub. There were several Nashville and one Wilson's Warbler, kinglets
and the usual suspects. So, I thought I should put on my trash shoes and walk
some of the creek. In the 10 minutes I was gone, it seemed to get much quieter,
but that is when the raptor party started.
On my return to the house, I had my FOS Orange-crowned Warbler, a remarkably
punctual bird!
Matt Heindel
Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
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