Bob reports 812 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 588 Red-tailed Hawk 3 Swainson’s Hawk 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 110 Cooper’s Hawk 66 Mississippi Kite 27 American Kestrel 8 Peregrine Falcon 6 Merlin 1 Highlights include three Peregrine Falcons in the air at once and two having a tussle right over the tower.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/3/19 (1687 raptors)
Bob reports 1687 raptors today. It just keeps getting better! Broad-winged Hawk 1518 White-tailed Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 76 Cooper’s Hawk 33 Mississippi Kite 18 American Kestrel 30 Peregrine Falcon 2 Merlin 1 unidentified small falcon 2 Osprey 1 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 1 Two hours of north east wind gave the flight some boost but then it switched … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/2/19 (1339 raptors)
Bob reports 1339 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 1143 Red-tailed Hawk 4 Swainson’s Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 107 Cooper’s Hawk 44 Mississippi Kite 4 American Kestrel 20 Peregrine Falcon 5 Merlin 5 Osprey 1 Bald Eagle 4 Nina Sitra, Mark Swanson and Linda Hoffman all helped out today. Esteemed visitor’s included Bob Mitchum and his daughter Ann as well as … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/1/19 (1306 raptors)
Bob reports 1306 migrating raptors today. Now you’re talking! Broad-winged Hawk 1156 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 88 Cooper’s Hawk 29 Mississippi Kite 10 American Kestrel 10 Peregrine Falcon 2 Merlin 5 Osprey 3 Northern Harrier 2 Four local Crested Caracaras provided extra entertainment throughout the day and a 5th grade class came and showed off their birding skills.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/30/19 (851 raptors)
Tad reports 851 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 743 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 Cooper’s Hawk 40 Mississippi Kite 52 American Kestrel 2 Peregrine Falcon 3 Merlin 6 Nothing else noteworthy except the persistent strong southerly winds that tend to push the birds north of us but fortunately we had plenty of birds that lasted all day long. Probably the best Broad-winged … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/29/19 (531 raptors)
Bob reports 531 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 327 Sharp-shinned Hawk 77 Cooper’s Hawk 28 Mississippi Kite 81 American Kestrel 9 Peregrine Falcon 2 Merlin 5 Osprey 2 Lots of hummers still! Veda Hackell, Nina Sitra and Mark Swanson helped out today.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/28/19 (150 raptors)
Bob reports 150 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 13 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 48 Cooper’s Hawk 6 Mississippi Kite 43 Swallow-tailed Kite 4 American Kestrel 20 Peregrine Falcon 4 Merlin 5 Osprey 4 Northern Harrier 2 Three groups visited today – Galveston Ornithological Society, Houston Audubon and Golden Triangle Audubon. Volunteers include Joe Kennedy, John Whittle, Nina Sitra and … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/27/19 (53 raptors)
Bob reports 53 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 9 Sharp-shinned Hawk 10 Cooper’s Hawk 4 Mississippi Kite 25 American Kestrel 2 Merlin 2 Osprey 1 We had visits from the Nature Discovery Center and Harris County District 4. The Nature Discovery Center folks got to see a Merlin take down a passerine for dinner.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/26/19 (207 raptors)
Bob reports 207 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 186 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Swainson’s Hawk 2 White-tailed Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 Cooper’s Hawk 3 Mississippi Kite 7 Peregrine Falcon 2 Merlin 1 Also a growling gator and lots of White Ibis.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/25/19 (181 raptors)
Bob reports 181 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 148 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 10 Cooper’s Hawk 8 Mississippi Kite 3 American Kestrel 5 Merlin 1 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 1 (adult) Not much else happening. There’s a cold front forecast for late next week. I’m betting it brings a lot of raptors!
GCBO September Bird of the Month – Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Geography/Habitat: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris) is an uncommon to common migrant throughout the eastern half of Texas. In the western half of Texas, the bird is either rare or casual. West of Abilene, there are only a few records. Spring migrants predominantly pass through in May with a few beginning during the last week of April. Fall migration is predominantly … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/24/19 (18 raptors)
Joe reports 18 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 7 Swainson’s Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper’s Hawk 4 Mississippi Kite 3 American Kestrel 1 Lots of hummers but not much else. Where are the raptors?!