Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/28/21 (54 raptors)

Randy and Fran report 54 migrating raptors today. Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Mississippi Kite 54 American Kestrel 1 Merlin 1 Lots of local raptors flying about and 13 frigatebirds. Thunderstorms chased them off the tower in the afternoon.

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/27/21 (531 raptors)

Bob reports 531 migrating raptors today. Mississippi Kite 151 Northern Harrier 5 Sharp-shinned Hawk 27 Cooper’s Hawk 6 Broad-winged Hawk 338 American Kestrel 1 Merlin 2 Peregrine Falcon 1 East wind all with 50% cloud cover. Doesn’t make for a good flight. Other birds of note were a couple of frigatebirds.

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/26/21 (216 raptors)

Bob reports 216 migrating raptors today. Turkey Vulture 95 Osprey 3 Swallow-tailed Kite 1 Mississippi Kite 58 Northern Harrier 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 17 Cooper’s Hawk 20 Broad-winged Hawk 19 American Kestrel 1 Well in Bob’s own words “it wasn’t yesterday”! Moderate east winds and fairly clear skies made for tough counting. Other birds of note include Brown Thrasher, two frigatebirds … Read More

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/25/21 (18,296 raptors)

Bob reports 18,296 migrating raptors today! Osprey 2 Swallow-tailed Kite 3 Mississippi Kite 437 Northern Harrier 7 Sharp-shinned Hawk 39 Cooper’s Hawk 48 Broad-winged Hawk 17,746 Swainson’s Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Kestrel 8 Merlin 3 Birds started coming in the 1-2 hour with more in the following hours. NE winds all day aided this flight! Other birds of … Read More

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/25/21 (509 raptors)

Bob reports 509 migrating raptors today. Swallow-tailed Kite 1 Mississippi Kite 369 Northern Harrier 11 Sharp-shinned Hawk 12 Cooper’s Hawk 7 Broad-winged Hawk 97 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 7 Merlin 2 Peregrine Falcon 1 Other birds included a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the first frigatebird since the front.

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/23/21 (490 raptors)

Bob reports 490 migrating raptors today. Osprey 1 Mississippi Kite 40 Northern Harrier 13 Sharp-shinned Hawk 25 Cooper’s Hawk 18 Broad-winged Hawk 387 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Kestrel 4 Clear skies and winds shifting to the south made for a somewhat slow day. Other birds of note included two Olive-sided Flycatchers, one female Summer Tanager, a young Red-headed Woodpecker, and … Read More

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/22/21 (12,699 raptors)

Bob reports 12,699 migrating raptors today! Mississippi Kite 226 Northern Harrier 19 Sharp-shinned Hawk 182 Cooper’s Hawk 22 Broad-winged Hawk 12,234 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Kestrel 9 Merlin 9 It was quite a day with large kettles of Broad-wings circling, circling, circling! There wasn’t much time to note other species but an avocet was unusual enough to … Read More

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/21/21 (576 raptors)

Tad reports 576 migrating raptors today. Osprey 2 Mississippi Kite 19 Sharp-shinned Hawk 39 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Broad-winged Hawk 512 Merlin 1 Bald Eagle 2 It was a blue sky day with birds far out and hard to find. There weren’t many passerines. The birds of the day were the two adult Bald Eagles that came over side by side … Read More

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/20/21 (465 raptors)

Bob reports 465 migrating raptors today. Osprey 1 White-tailed Kite 1 Mississippi Kite 82 Sharp-shinned Hawk 31 Cooper’s Hawk 8 Broad-winged Hawk 340 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Merlin 1 A Vermilion Flycatcher was a nice surprise! Sara Harrison helped out today.

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/19/21 (1023 raptors)

Bob reports 1023 migrating raptors today. Osprey 1 Mississippi Kite 216 Northern Harrier 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 Cooper’s Hawk 3 Bald Eagle 1 Broad-winged Hawk 794 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Peregrine Falcon 2 Also 180 Anhinga and 13 Magnificent Frigatebirds.

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/18/21 (975 raptors)

Bob reports 975 migrating raptors today. Osprey 3 Swallow-tailed Kite 13 Mississippi Kite 253 Northern Harrier 4 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper’s Hawk 24 Broad-winged Hawk 671 American Kestrel 5 Peregrine Falcon 1 Other birds of note: Baltimore Oriole, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Wood Stork, and cuckoo species. There was a Peregrine chasing dragonflies much like a Merlin would. Interesting behavior to witness. … Read More

Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/17/21 (44 raptors)

Bob reports 44 migrating raptors today. Osprey 1 Mississippi Kite 17 Northern Harrier 2 Cooper’s Hawk 2 Broad-winged Hawk 16 Swainson’s Hawk 1 American Kestrel 1 Merlin 1 Peregrine Falcon 3 Other critters of notes included over 1,000 very busy swallows darting to and fro, 22 Magnificent Frigatebirds, 4 Dickcissels, 1 Blue Grosbeak, 3 dolphins and Bob’s namesake a bobcat!