March 26, 2013

Leader:
Steve Bier
Assisted By: Wes Hetrick and Rose Leong

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-42

Discussion:
A warm day from 60's into the 80's. We know that at least 16 Swainson's were roosting probably at Bill Wrights home next to The Springs RV park.

We have another youtube from Sicco Rood. This time you can see the Swainson's Hawks as they descend into Tamarisk trees along Henderson Canyon Rd on Saturday evening March 23th.
http://youtu.be/7Hqc1bD5mRc


Evening Watch:
A beautiful evening with a full moon. Hopefully hawks are flying in with the moon. Only 1 Swainson's and 12 TV's came in this evening.

Prediction:
Hopefully some SW's snuck in late. A few Swainson's will probably be observed. Windier conditions are expected tomorrow AM.

Adult light Intermediate Swainson's Hawk-3/26/13-HC

Some Swainson's moving today-March 25, 2013

Leader:
Hal Cohen
Assisted by: Wes Hetrick, Rose Leong, Richard Yates, Joe Hopkins

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-50

Discussion:
The sky was clear with temps ranging from 60's-70's. The wind was calm. Lift off from the Date Farm at 9:05A. Some of the SW's moved directly west and shortly after the first lift off around 40 SW's kettled up and streamed west. All of the TV's appeared to be locals.

Question: Why is the logo for Anza Borrego Foundation at the bottom? Our major sponsor is the Anza Borrego Foundation. They foundation supports the state park in many ways. We are part of the research wing. They help us with publication of the brochure and equipment.

Here is another look at the nice kettles on March 24  http://youtu.be/yq5aykgdtBg

Evening Watch:
A disappointing evening. At 5:30P a large stream of Swainson's was observed. They continued flying northwest and may have departed the valley. Estimates of around 70 in this group. Another small group came in (another 10 or more) and they flew out of the valley the same direction. It is possible that the birds will backtrack and roost for the night. We did not see them. Around 8-10 Swainson's did fly into the Date Farm.

Prediction:
Once again calm wind is predicted for tomorrow. We hope for the larger group to show up. Around 8 Swainson's are in the Date Farm

Where and When:
Check in at the day site on Di Giorgio Rd south of Henderson Canyon Rd. Scouts will hopefully find the Swainson's Hawks.

Swainson's Hawks sitting in the field adjacent to the solar field-3/24/13-HC

Amazing day for viewing-March 24, 2013

Leader:
Herb Stone
Assisted by: Judy Davis, Hal Cohen, Rose Leong, Wes Hetrick, Laura Webb, Steve Bier

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-379
Turkey Vultures-3

Discussion:
Warm with temperatures in the 70's and a clear sky. Calm wind with some light breezes. A remarkable day for viewing many aspects of Swainson's Hawk behavior. The hawks that flew in last night came down to the ground just after 6A today. Many flew into trees to the east of the day watch site. At least 75 SW's could be found sitting on the cleared ground near the Solar field. Lift off a 9:04A as more than a hundred SW's began to kettle close to the day site. Within a few minutes more than 200 hawks were kettling up and streaming back and forth. Watching from Henderson Canyon Road was mesmerizing. The hawks streamed to the northwest, kettled up at the mouth of Coyote Canyon and then disappeared. Another group of 15 SW's flew by at 10A.

Here is a link to a youtube of today's hawks. Youtube from today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le-si8ee3h4

Evening Watch:
At 6:30P a small kettle of Swainson's came in to roost at the back of the Date Farm. We counted around 35 hawks.

Prediction:
The wind should be calm to mild tomorrow AM. At least 35 Swainson's will leave the roost and migrate.

Where and When:
The best spot for viewing the hawks is probably Di Giorgio Rd directly across from the Date Farm. The hawks will be airborne between 8:15 and 9:15A.

I've included a look at two test shots of a morph study.

A growing kettle 3/24/13-HC

24 Swainson's-Looks like 10 light; 5 intermediate; 9 dark hawks-3/24/13-HC

Very close view-Looks like 4 light, 3 intermediate and 3 dark morphs-3/24/13-HC

                            

ALERT-Interesting Behavior Today-March 23, 2013

Leaders:
Rose Leong and Wes Hetrick
Assisted by: Steve Bier, Laura Webb, Hal Cohen

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawk-127
Turkey Vultures-26
Rough-legged Hawk-1
Osprey-1

Discussion:
The air was still early with no clouds. Temperatures ranged from low 70's-80. Most of the SW's were lined up in Tamarisk trees on Henderson Canyon Rd. Lift off from a few different roost areas including Ellis Farm, Date Farm and De Anza as well as Henderson. Lift off at 8:40A but not the usual kettling. Most of the hawks used powered flight to fly to Coyote Canyon. We never had the typical large kettles associated with lift off.

Evening Watch: ALERT
Counts ranging from 350 to 600 Swainson's this evening. They were almost directly over the day count site on Di Giorgio Rd. I watched over 75 stream into Coyote Canyon. The rest descended into Tamarisk trees west of Di Giorgio Rd and north of Henderson Canyon Rd.

Prediction:
Calm to light wind is predicted for tomorrow AM. The hawks will probably ring up and head toward Coyote Canyon.

Where and When:
It is best to come to the day site to find out the best place to watch the hawks. The number of hawks tomorrow will probably exceed 400. Many of the hawks are directly west of the count site. They will depart the valley between 8 and 9:30A

Coming into the Tamarisks-3/23/13-HC

Landing in the Tamarisks-3/23/13-HC

A few Swainson's Today-ALERT Tonight-March 22, 2013

Leaders:
Pam Albers, Rose Leong and Wes Hetrick

Migration:
Swainson's Hawks-3

Discussion:
A quiet day with light wind and few hawks. Only 3 Swainson's observed at 9:05A.

Question:
Why Borrego Valley? We don't know for sure. We can only surmise based on the past. The Valley provides great roost sites, food in abundance some years and thermals, updrafts, and wave lift (all associated with open fields, asphalt and the mountain ranges. The air movement provides an elevator to higher altitude and a gliding range with low caloric use. Evidently, Borrego Valley has been a traditional staging area for Swainson's Hawks at least in recent history. We have records that date back to 1957.

Evening Watch:
This evening we had a group of around 30 Swainson's Hawks descend into the Date Farm at 6:30P. At 6:55P we watched a huge kettle of Swainson's Hawks low to the north dropping into Tamarisks near the day count site. Estimated of 120-150 hawks in this group

Prediction:
Tomorrow the wind should be very light to calm (hopefully). If so the 150-200 or more Swainson's will depart the valley between 8-9:15A. Because we have two groups at two locations you might want to go to the day count site on Di Giorgio Rd just south of Henderson Rd.

When and Where to Watch:
Additionally there should be good viewing of the Date Farm birds from both the evening site on Borrego Valley Rd. and Di Giorgio Rd near Big Horn.

Coming in to roost-3/22/13-HC

The first kettle of the evening-3/22/13

Some wind and early lift off-March 21, 2013

Leader:
Joe Hopkins
Assisted by: Pam Albers, Hal Cohen, Rose Leong, Wes Hetrick

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-176
Turkey Vultures-6
Unidentified Buteo-1

Discussion:
Some gusty wind early then settling down. Temperature range from 71-90. Becoming quite hot. A large kettle formed above the Date Farm at 7:25A. This group rose very high before disappearing to the southeast. Later these birds reappeared and moved out of the valley through Coyote Canyon.

Question?
Why are the hawks staying high instead of coming in to land on windy days? Our birds are "Wind Birds". They love wind and will stay up as long as they have some lift. Some studies also suggest that it takes more calories to sit and stay on a perch in the wind (constantly keeping steady) than kite and glide without flapping.

Evening Watch:
Not much happening this evening. 3 Swainson's and 19 TV's were observed.

Prediction:
Tomorrow hopefully will have some surprises however few birds came in this evening.

Where and When to Watch:
Check in at the day site with the sign below on Di Giorgio Rd south of Henderson Canyon. The leader will help you locate birds if they are present.

The Sign on Di Giorgio Rd

A TV on a dead coyote-3/21/13-HC

Watching the SW's early today take off-3/21/13-HC

A Few Hawks Today-March 20, 2013

Leader:
Laura Webb
Assisted by: Wes Hetrick, Rose Leong, Anne Reilly and Pam Albers

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-12

Discussion:
An overcast day with temps around 75-80 and a bit more humid. At 8:35A lift off was from the east, probably near the potato fields. Some of the SW's began to aerial feed on flying ants.

Evening Watch:
An early fly-in  at 5:30P as around 100 Swainson's Hawks showed up from the east. They remained airborne for at least 45 minutes before descending into the Date Farm.

Prediction:
Tomorrow once again the prediction is for strong NW wind. If this does happen, the hawks will probably be airborne by 6:30 or 7A. A strong westerly wind will blow them east before they leave the valley. We might be lucky and they will return to fields near Borrego Valley Road before flying out.

When and Where to Watch:
As indicted above, the wind might come into play tomorrow early. We will have the leader and scouts out around 6:30A or earlier. Yesterday the hawks did get up early but began to fly east before returning to the count area after 8A. Watching lift-off early from the night site would work if the sand from the new solar fields doesn't get in your eyes. Check in at the day site on Di Giorgio Rd to find out where to watch.

The group this evening watching-3/20/13

Little Dots this evening-3/20/13