Tough Day Today-No Migrants-3/31/14

Leader:
Hal, assisted by Joe and Wes

Migration:
0

Discussion:
After several very nice migration days we had a 0 day. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of last season-very few hawks after this date. A very sunny day with WNW wind blowing up to 12mph.

March totals and highlights: We ended March with 3,869 Swainson's Hawks. The total for the season thus far is 4,032 SW's. We had several days in triple digits in March. Five days of 100-200; 2 days with 200-300; 3 days with 300-400; 1 day over 400 and a big day of 701.

Sorry for the error yesterday-forgot to put the Dragon in-See below. Yesterday evening we had no birds so the dragon was the big event.

Question: Where are Sunset and Indianhead peaks? Below see photo's of Indianhead and San Ysidro Mtn's. Both to the West of the count site. Sunset Mtn. is South of the count site. Often we have kettles forming in the direction of Sunset and Indianhead

Evening Watch:
Apparently no Swainson's Hawks in the valley this evening. Several Turkey Vultures were observed over the Roadrunner Club.

Prediction:
The current wind conditions continue. We are expecting more strong wind tomorrow. We are still hoping for another wave of hawks in the next few days. A front will be moving through the valley in the next few days with the possibility of rain on Wednesday.

The West View-San Ysidro to the left and Indianhead to the right. The line of trees in the foreground are old Tamarisks that are now dying off as the water has been cut off. The Tamarisks were used for wind breaks for the grape orchards. 

The South View-Sunset Mtn. to the left and Whale Peak to the right-The stakes in the foreground are old redwood grape stacks from the 50' and 60's. The white pipes are standpipes for some of the old irrigation (before pvc). 

Australian Bearded Dragon At The Hawkwatch March 30, 2014

Very Windy Today With An Early Departure-Sunday March 30, 2014

Leader:
Wes, assisted by Hal and Pam

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-101

Discussion:
Hawks were on the move very early (6:45A). Migration was in progress when we arrived near the solar field. Hawks were moving low and sideways to the west. During the next 3 hours hawks struggled past the watch. This evening we said goodbye to Wes Hetrick and Pam Albers, both essential to the hawkwatch for their dedication. They are off to other birding experiences-until next year. Check out the youtube from yesterday: http://youtu.be/L_gNspjazvU

Evening Watch:
For the first evening in a few weeks, we had no Swainson's Hawks at the evening site. Nine Turkey Vultures made an early appearance.

Prediction:
Hopefully we will have a surprise tomorrow with arrivals from other roost sites.

A light morph SW from the Hill today-March 30, 2014

Swainson's Hawks Go To Ground-Saturday March 29, 2014

Leader:
Pam, assisted by Wes, Rose, Joe and Hal

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-160
Turkey Vultures-9

Discussion:
We discovered that most of the SW's went to ground from the Date Farm. They were sitting in the sand and on grape stakes (redwood stakes from the 50's and 60's when grapes were a major crop in Borrego Springs). This is the first observation of Swainson's Hawks on the grape stakes. At 8:50A hawks began to power flight to the northwest one at a time. They did not kettle until they reached the mountains to the west. They moved out of the valley through Henderson Canyon and the ridge behind. The initial count was 129 SW's. After 10A 2 kettles of SW's were spotted along with some stragglers that brought the morning count up to 160. Nine Turkey Vultures appeared to be migrating. Check out the youtube from yesterday evening at: http://youtu.be/MIzXjpCqsS4 This evening we said goodbye to our "Eyes". Rose Leong has moved on. She has been responsible for finding well over 75% of the distant hawk kettles this season. She will be sorely missed.

Question: How do the hawks choose a roost site? We are not certain of what motivates the hawks to select a specific roost site. Over the years we have seen some trends however. The hawks almost always select the Date Farm February and most of March. By the last few days of March through April 15, the hawks begin to roost at Ellis Farm and east of the potato fields. For instance, this evening we had hawks drop into Tamarisk trees to the east near the potato fields. Different groups of hawks have affinity to certain sites? They probably are hot wired to seek out roost sites from past years.  

Evening Watch:
At 5P we spotted a kettle of 55 SW's and TV's and followed them northwest. Another small kettle (around 20 SW's) was found at 6P. At 6:45P a group of around 30 Swainson's Hawks was found to the east. In total around 100 Swainson's are in the valley.

Prediction:
The wind is predicted to pick up late tonight into tomorrow. If it is windy early tomorrow, the hawks will take off by sun up. The SW's are spread out throughout the valley in probably more than one roost site. It is hard to predict where they will kettle up tomorrow. We will be out early to try and intercept them.

Swainson's Hawks on the ground-3/29/14

Using a grape stake for a perch-3/29/14-taken through a scope

Light Morph SW through a scope-3/29/14

Finally The Wind Settles Down-More Hawks-150 Dropped In Tonight-Friday March 28, 2014

Leader:
Joe, assisted by Hal, Wes, Rose, Pam and Herb

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-25
Turkey Vultures-1

Weather:
Mostly clear with a very light breeze from the west and temperatures from mid-50's to 70's.

Discussion:
We were surprised by the number of SW's in trees near the day site. Swainson's Hawks came up from several locations today. Apparently the wind dispersed the SW's in the valley. We are now hoping that the settled weather will bring in lots of SW's this weekend.

Evening Watch:
Nice views of at least 4 waves of hawks coming in finally coming together as one big kettle. Around 150 hawks have landed in the Date Farm. Some TV's came in with the Swainson's Hawks.

Prediction:
Light wind tomorrow so lift-off around 8:30-9A. Beat viewing form DiGiorgio Rd about 1.5 miles north of Palm Canyon Rd.

Streaming in above us-March 28, 2014

Dropping into the Date Farm-March 28, 2014

Wind Continues With Lots of Blowing Sand and Dust-Thursday March 26, 2014

Leader:
Judy Davis, assisted by Joe and Wes.

Migration:
Turkey Vultures-2

Discussion:
A windy day with gusts up to 16mph and increasing through the day. Temperature range from 60's to low 70's. Two TV's streamed past the hill heading north. We believe that migration continued throughout the windy period. Historically we are in the middle of the best migration. It is very possible that the poor observing conditions were ideal for migrating raptors. Strong wind from any direction will put the hawks high and moving fast.

Evening Watch:
Once again wind was a factor this evening although not as bad as previous days. At least 3 Swainson's came in to roost at the Date Farm.

Prediction:
Wind should be much lighter tomorrow. We are due for a big migration in the next few days. Expect only a few birds tomorrow early but watch out for hawks that have roosted further south. Check in at the day site on DiGiorgio Rd.

Dark Morph Swainson's Hawk

Very Windy Today With Blowing Sand-Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Leader:
Laura, assisted by Rose, Wes and Joe

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-1

Discussion:
Windy conditions from the W/NW, 65 degrees early with a high of 72. At 9:40A a light morph Swainson's Hawk headed NW against the wind. This hawk might have been one spotted in the sink area to the south earlier today.

Question:
How far do Swainson's Hawks fly in a day? A journey of around 100 miles per day is typical.   A lot depends on weather conditions including wind speed and direction. Transmitters placed on Swainson's Hawks a few years ago indicated that some days a SW could fly as much as 150 miles. The journey from Argentina to here takes 50-60 days.

Evening Watch:
The sand storm that has been in Borrego Springs all day drove the evening hawk watchers away. The photo below is just a sample of the weather. It's actually 10 times worse. Four SW's were observed above the Springs RV park at 2:30P today. A few hardy watchers braved the sand storm to no avail.

Prediction:
There are hawks in town and the wind will continue through tomorrow morning. Winds of 58Mph have been observed in Borrego Springs. Most of the hawks, if any, will depart at first light. Let's hope for an evening filled with hawks.

A Raven playing in the sand storm 3/25/14

Masked People watching for hawks on a windy day-3/25/14

Ready to Go

Another Surprise Migration Today-Tuesday March 25, 2014

Leader:
Steve assisted by Wes, Pam and Rose

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-67
Turkey Vultures-5

Discussion:
Calm wind, sunny and hot today. Lift-off at 8:50A from Henderson Canyon Rd near the count site. More SW's in small kettles began to arrive from an area southeast of Ellis Farms and the Date Farm. Also seen from the watch site was a Prairie Falcon and Kestrel carrying a snake.

Evening Watch:
We observed only 1 Swainson's Hawk this evening. The wind (20mph) from the west made watching very difficult. The next few days should produce some big hawk numbers.

Prediction: Not much to predict unless several SW's came in late.

Nice Light Morphs courtesy of Susie Nishio-3/25/14

A View From The Hill-Not Bad Today With Few Swainson's Hawks-Monday March 24, 2014

Leader:
Hal, assisted by Wes, Rose and Joe

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-27

Discussion:

Weather was partly cloudy and temperature from 60-80 degrees by 11A. The wind was calm to slight breeze from the south. We watched a fire at 9A and wondered if our hawks from last night would be attracted to it. Only one Swainson's Hawk went to the smoke plume. At 9:10A we had lift-off from Ellis Farm and the Date Farm. A kettle formed on the east side of the Date Farm and this drew hawks from Ellis. Eventually the SW's streamed toward us, kettled close by and streamed directly overhead. At 10:30A 3 more Swainson's came in high and moved through Coyote Canyon.

A question today: Do the Swainson's Hawks spend more than a day in Borrego Springs? Most often they do not. They have stayed in the past when food is available. This year, no caterpillars, grasshoppers or ants. So we see the hawks move on to their next stop after spending the night. 

Photo's today from Ernie Cowan. 

Evening Watch:

A beautiful evening with only 15 Swainson's coming in at 6:45P. When I left only one SW had descended. The solo bird landed in Ellis Farm. The remaining 14 SW's were still above the Date Farm.

Prediction:

Once again tomorrow the wind should be light. Check in at the day site to find out where the hawks have roosted. The day site is on DiGiorgio Rd, 2.8 miles north of Palm Canyon Drive. Look for parked cars on the the right side. The hawks will begin to kettle up around 9A. 

A comparison of a TV and SW-Courtesy of Ernie Cowan

Taking Off-Courtesy of Ernie Cowan

Sunset This Evening-HC

Wonderful Kettling and Streaming Displays For Everyone Today-Sunday, March 23, 2014

Leader:
Pam assisted by Rose, Hal and Wes

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-134
Turkey Vultures-13
Northern Harrier-1

Discussion:
Weather ranged from 60-80 degrees with calm wind. A late lift-off at 9:12A from the Date Farm and Roadrunner Club. Two nice kettles of Swainson's were joined by 24 SW's from the airport area to the east. It took an hour for the hawks and TV's to depart the valley. At 11:05A a kettle of 49 SW's was sighted to the south. These hawks flew directly over the watch site. Turkey Vultures were found in all of the kettles. A Northern Harrier migrated early today. It appears that all or the raptors departed through Coyote Canyon. The stream photo below sprung a surprise! The plane was not observed until the shot was looked at in iPhoto. Was it streaming with the SW's?

Evening Watch:
Lot's of viewers and 19 Swainson's Hawks finally made an appearance at 6:45P. The number may be a bit higher as some of the SW's moved from the Date Farm to Ellis Farm. Also 2 Harriers were seen at a distance.

Prediction:
Wind should be calm to very light tomorrow morning. Expect some kettling activity to begin between 8:45A and 9:15A. Best viewing from either the evening site on Borrego Valley Road-1.8 miles north of Palm Canyon Drive, or Borrego Valley Road and Henderson Canyon Rd. Henderson Canyon Rd is located north of the night site at a stop sign. Today we had 134 SW's and we only saw around 40 last night. So anything could happen tomorrow.

A Dark Morph SW along Palm Canyon Drive-3/23/14

Northern Harrier-3/23/14

Surprise! TV and SW's streaming and when blownup a commercial jet was found at the bottom of the photo-3/23/14 

Turkey Vultures roosting at Roadrunner Club-3/23/14

The Swainson's Hawk Migration Continues-March 22, 2014

Leader: 
Rose, assisted by Steve, Hal, Wes, Pam and Joe

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-206
Turkey Vultures-25
Unidentified Raptors-10

Discussion:
Lift-off at 9A after aborted attempts in still air. Clear sky with a temperature range from 65-80 degrees. The wind was light and variable from the S-SW and West. At lift-off a few large kettles were observed taking off from the Date Farm and Roadrunner Club. All of the raptors streamed west and then north. I finally went to a new observation site near De Anza. From the roof of a home I spotted 34 Swainson's and 6 TV's lift-off from De Anza. Most of the Swainson's observed form the day site passed directly over the new site and left the valley by way of Henderson Canyon. The circle of hawks below may be indicative of a circular air mass rising faster at the edges. Almost looks like an inner core. I will ask my nephew (a meteorologist about this phenomena)

To this date we have counted 3,462 Swainson's Hawks migrating through Borrego Valley.

Evening Watch:
We began to see arrivals as early as 5:10P of a few hawks. By 5:45P around 30-40 Swainson's Hawks appeared to the south. They finally put down for the night near the Roadrunner Club.

Prediction:
Wind tomorrow should be light. Expect lift-off of the 30+ SW's around 9A. The best viewing spots include the southeast corner of Roadrunner Club on Palm Canyon Drive and along DiGirogio Rd in the open fields past The Springs RV Park.

Lift-off from the Date Farm

Interesting circle around a thermal?

A closer look at the circle-lots of light morphs visible

Closer view-look at the tail used as a rudder

Not a Lot of Hawks But Great Looks!-Friday March 21, 2014

Leader:
Joe, assisted by Wes, Pam, Rose and Hal

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-74
Turkey Vultures-16
Red-tailed Hawk-1

Discussion:
The Swainson's Hawks form yesterday evening came out of Ellis Farm today and flew to the ground near the solar field. They remained in the field and an adjacent tree until 8:35A. They took off singly flew low to the north. Counting was easy today and photographers got some nice shots. See the Youtube showing the hawks on the ground. http://youtu.be/3leKKvqur-Y

Evening Watch:
At 5:10P around 50 Swainson's Hawks were observed very high. They drifted west out of sight. At 6:10P around 150 Swainson's were found directly overhead. They all descended into the Date Farm. We are not sure if the earlier group joined the later group. We estimate 150-200 Swainson's are in this evening. Over 40 Turkey Vultures also flew in and landed in the Roadrunner Club.

Prediction:
Once again the wind forecast for tomorrow morning is west wind at 6mph. The SW's will probably depart between 8 and 9A. Best viewing from DiGiorgio Road. around 1.5 miles north of Palm Canyon Drive. If the wind picks up the hawks might leave earlier. A west wind sometimes pushes the hawks east a bit before they move north.

Dark Swainson's Hawk-3/21/14

Turkey Vultures with solar in the background

Jet that scared us and may have flown through a large kettle of SW's

Another Amazing Shot by Iris Kilpatrick

Over 300 Swainson's Hawks Migrate Today-Now Over 3,000 For the Season-Thursday March 20, 2014

Leader:
Herb, assisted by Judy, Rose,Wes, Joe, Laura, Pam, and Hal

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-326

Discussion:
A very calm wind day so the SW's lifted off a little late, around 8:50A. The Date Farm hawks moved north then northwest and eventually out Coyote Canyon. There were many stragglers moving until 10A. Observations made from Coyote Canyon indicated that the hawks continued out of the area in small kettles. Check the you tube from yesterday evening. http://youtu.be/jVZsQP3QvnY The White-tailed Kite from yesterday evening was not observed migrating.

Evening Watch:
Two nice kettles totaling around 75 came in today. They were last observed near Ellis Farm on Borrego Valley Rd.

Prediction:
It looks like the wind might pick up a little tomorrow. It's best to go to the day site on DiGiorgio Rd, 2.8 miles north of Palm Canyon Drive. If the wind doesn't pick up tonight the Swainson's Hawks will depart between 8 and 9A. There are Turkey Vultures mixed in with the SW's

Perched Swainson's Hawks ready to lift-off today-by Iris Kilpatrick

Large Kettle-by Iris Kilpatrick

50 Swainson's Migrate Today-Wednesday March 19, 2014-ALERT-Over 300 Swainson's Hawks in Tonight

Leader:
Laura, assisted by Rose, Wes and Pam

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-50
Turkey Vultures-5
Also observed: a Merlin and Osprey

Discussion:
No cloud cover and temperature 60-70 degrees and wind almost calm. First lift-off from Ellis Farm. There was a fire to the Northwest that attracted 8 SW's. More Swainson's came up from the Date Farm. The smoke obscured our vision to the north. Late hawks were sighted that brought the total to 50 SW's.

Evening Watch:
What a marvelous evening. After giving a hawk talk in town we went out to the evening site. At 6P a large kettle of hawks came in from the south. They streamed overhead and a larger kettle came in from the south again. The two groups came together over the Date Farm where they settled in. It was a tough count but estimates range from 300-400 hawks. One raptor looks like a White-tailed Kite, see below. Also check out the youtube. http://youtu.be/jFrQjT78oIU

Prediction:
Once again we have a huge mass of Swainson's in town. The wind should be calm to light tomorrow morning. We will be out early but the hawks will probably fly between 8 and 9A. They are mostly located in the Date Farm but some may have peeled off and landed elsewhere. DiGiorgio Rd about 1.5 miles north of Palm Canyon may be the place to be. Be prepared to move further north as the kettle forms. Watch out for soft sand.

First Large Kettle 3/19/14

A Closer Kettle 3/19/14

White-tailed Kite

Interesting Migration Today-March 18, 2014

Leader:
Wes, assisted by Rose, Pam and Hal

Migration:
Swainson's Hawks-140
Unidentified Buteo-1

Discussion:
The weather was cool and windy with heavy haze. The haze challenged us to pick up birds from a distance. Three kettles formed just before 9A with a total of 110 SW's. They all kettled up from the Date Farm. At 10:05A another kettle arrived with 30 SW's. Several folks had good looks at the first group of birds. A few of us chased the hawks to the beginning of Coyote Canyon to watch them leave the valley.

A question has come up concerning the number of hawks we have observed so early. Are we experiencing evidence of climate change? Let's see what happens over the next 2 weeks. Will we run out of hawks? The shots below taken by Iris Kilpatrick. This is the first photo's taken of a Swainson's Hawk with a branch in it's talons in Borrego Springs. Early nest construction?

Evening Watch:
This evening we had 19 Swainson's fly in from the south. The hawks were very high and some landed at Ellis Farm and the rest at the Date Farm.

Prediction:
Wind should be calm to light in the morning. Departure probably around 9A. Best viewing again from DiGiorgio Rd.

A nice shot of a Swainosn's Hawk with a branch-Iris Kilpatrick

 

Another shot of the same SW-Iris Kilpatrick

Great Swainson's Hawk Views Today and a Surprise Stream-Monday March 17, 2014

Leader:
Hal assisted by Wes, Rose, Pam and Joe

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-224
Turkey Vultures-10
Red-tailed Hawk-1

Discussion:
The weather was in the mid 50's to begin the day and mid 70's at the end. Calm wind at the beginning stalled the SW's but a breeze from the north shifting to the south stimulated them. We counted 107 birds from the first lift-off at 9A. Viewing from DiGiorgio was fantastic. A large cloud formed above us at 10A and we watched for hawk dots very high. At 10:15A we caught sight of a big stream of SW's. For the next 15 minutes we counted 127 Swainson's Hawks and 4 TV's. This second group of Swainson's Hawks probably roosted 15-20 miles to the south of Borrego Valley.

We are now entering the height of our migration season. We often see huge kettles of Swainson's Hawks sometime between March 18-March 30. If you would like to be on the ALERT LIST, email me your address. I always post the ALERT before the blog. It will automatically be in your inbox when I send it. The blog doesn't show up until the following morning (if you subscribe to it). I send blind copies so you never have your email address shared with other folks. Below check out the number of Swainson's Hawks observed migrating from the beginning of the season to March 17.

Interesting Statistics: February 15-March 17: What does this mean? More discussion later.
2004-575 SW's
2005-1,170
2006-667
2007-339
2008-1,086
2009-865
2010-98
2011-1,704
2012-1,220
2013-1,771
2014-2,721

Evening Watch:
Very windy conditions this evening so an accurate count of incoming hawks was difficult. We had counts as high as 114 Swainson's Hawks. However we believe that this number is on the low side. The hawks were spread out from west to east.  It appears that most of the hawks flew into the Date Farm. Some my have set down in other locations. The hawks remained aloft from 5:30P to 6:30P.

Prediction:
The wind should be light tomorrow so take-off normally should be between 8 and 9A. DiGiorgio Rd continues to be the best place to view the hawks.

Getting Ready to Lift-Off-Iris Kilpatrick

What a View!-Iris Kilpatrick