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?!

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/23/19 (425 raptors)

Bob reports 425 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 157 Swainson’s Hawk 10 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 Cooper’s Hawk 3 Mississippi Kite 246 American Kestrel 3 Merlin 1 Bald Eagle 1 (adult) Despite the southeast winds, the birds came through today.

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/22/19 (59 raptors)

Bob reports 59 migrating raptors today. Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 Mississippi Kite 50 Swallow-tailed Kite 3 American Kestrel 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Osprey 1 Lots of hummers! It is unheard of that there were no Broad-wings this late in September. Where are they?

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/21/19 (50 raptors)

Bob reports 50 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 27 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Cooper’s Hawk 2 Mississippi Kite 12 Swallow-tailed Kite 3 American Kestrel 2 Merlin 1 Osprey 1 Northern Harrier 1 Lots of hummingbirds in the morning, a gator sighting, and a visit from a Houston Audubon group rounded out the day.