Winnie reports 78 migrating raptors today. Red-tailed Hawk 2 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Turkey Vulture 70 American Kestrel 1 Northern Harrier 2 White-tailed Kite 1 Bald Eagle 1 Lots of birds in the sky but most weren’t going anywhere. Interesting observations included a flock of over 300 migrating Killdeer and a crow (unusual at Smith Point).
Smith Point Hawk Watch 11/11/19 (5 raptors)
Bob reports 5 migrating raptors today. Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Northern Harrier 4 Lackluster day ahead of a major cold front. We’ll see what tomorrow will bring.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 11/10/19 (59 raptors)
Bob reports 59 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 12 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 Cooper’s Hawk 1 Turkey Vulture 34 Merlin 1 Northern Harrier 4 White-tailed Kite 1 Bald Eagle 2 A flock of 63 Red-breasted Mergansers flew out over the bay today. Neat. Marvin Masters helped out today.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 11/9/19 (999 raptors)
Bob reports 999 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 189 Red-tailed Hawk 11 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 15 Cooper’s Hawk 12 Turkey Vulture 749 American Kestrel 3 Osprey 2 Northern Harrier 12 Bald Eagle 5 (2 adults and 3 juveniles) One dark Red-tailed Hawk wowed everyone and there were lots of Anhinga, White Ibis, and American White Pelicans to keep … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 11/8/19 (11 raptors)
Bob reports 11 migrating raptors today. Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 Mississippi Kite 1 Northern Harrier 6 The strong north winds and damp conditions kept everything down I guess. The late Mississippi Kite was interesting. Three local caracara and three local kestrels also added to the entertainment.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 11/3/2019 (190 Raptors)
Bob reports 190 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged hawk 54 Red-tailed hawk 2 Red-shouldered hawk 1 Sharp-shinned hawk 12 Cooper’s hawk 4 Turkey vulture 92 Black vulture 14 American kestrel 2 Peregrine falcon 1 Northern harrier 8 Bob saw lots of American White Pelicans today and reported a strong East wind.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/28/19 (202 raptors)
Bob reports 202 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 34 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Swainson’s Hawk 5 Sharp-shinned Hawk 25 Cooper’s Hawk 7 Mississippi Kite 2 Turkey Vulture 96 American Kestrel 7 Peregrine Falcon 1 Merlin 2 Northern Harrier 21 One of the Merlins was a male prairie which was quite beautiful. Winnie Burkett helped out today.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/27/19 (131 raptors)
Bob reports 131 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 37 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Swainson’s Hawk 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 Cooper’s Hawk 5 Turkey Vulture 66 American Kestrel 1 Osprey 2 Northern Harrier 11 Not many birds for the day after a cold front. A local White-tailed Kite and White-tailed Hawk provided some entertainment.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/26/19 (192 raptors)
Bob reports 192 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 53 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 10 Cooper’s Hawk 2 Turkey Vulture 115 Northern Harrier 10 Highlight of the day was four different flocks of Franklin’s Gulls totaling 475 birds and a flock of 60 Wood Storks. Lot of help today with Winnie Burkett, Joe Kennedy, Marvin Masters, Nina Sitra and Marci … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/25/19 (0 raptors)
Bob reports no migrating raptors today. It rained all morning and he got in four hours late in the day but no birds flew through.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/24/19 (92 raptors)
Bob reports 92 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 36 Swainson’s Hawk 5 Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 Cooper’s Hawk 4 Turkey Vulture 24 American Kestrel 6 Merlin 2 Northern Harrier 8 One of the Broad-wings was a dark bird, our first of the season. Mary Ann Weber brought a group from Harris County Precinct 3 and Bob was joined by a family … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 10/23/19 (29 raptors)
Bob reports 29 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 12 Cooper’s Hawk 1 American Kestrel 6 Northern Harrier 7 Bald Eagle 1 Strong south winds kept the flight down today. Highlights were a Pied-billed Grebe and lots of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.