The Hawk Season Begins Tomorrow 2/15/13

The Hawkwatch is located in Borrego Springs, CA

Tonight we will begin watching for incoming Swainson's Hawks and Turkey Vultures. The evening site is located on Borrego Valley Road, 1.8 miles north of Palm Canyon Drive. From Christmas Circle drive east 1 1/2 miles on S-22 (Palm Canyon Drive) to a 4 way stop at the elementary school. Turn left on Borrego Valley Road and drive the 1.8 miles to the dune on the right side of the road. Hawkwatchers will be at the site about 1 hour before sunset, around 4PM this evening. Our watch site is unique, with hawks flying in, roosting and departing the following day.

The official count takes place at the morning site. To reach the morning site take Palm Canyon Drive east 1/2 mile from Christmas Circle to Di Giorgio Rd. Turn left (north) and drive 2.8 miles to the morning site. The "Hill" is located on the east side of  the road. We meet every day beginning February 15 through April 15th at 8A. Most often the hawks and vultures depart the valley around 9A on days without wind. As the season progresses and we have a time change, so does the flight. On windy days the hawks will fly just after sun rise.

You can access information about the site and data for the past 11 seasons at Hawkcount.org.  We began the watch in 2003. To see past data for our watch and most hawkwatches across North America, scroll to a site or look at the map. For our watch scroll to Borrego Valley Hawkwatch. Hit monthly summaries and take a look at the data. Most of our big hawk days occur in Mid-March to early April. However we have had February and early March big days as well.

I will blog most evenings and will include photo's as they become available. If we have hundreds of hawks descending into the valley to roost, I will put post an alert. This will give watchers an opportunity to come out early the next morning to view the splendor of  hawks kettling up for the flight north.