Fun Day With Some Close Birds-3/13/13

Leader:
Laura Webb
Assisted by: Steve Bier, Mark Jorgensen, Rose Leong, Pam Albers, Hal Cohen

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-49
Turkey Vultures-28

Discussion:
Clear sky with 70-80's temps and calm wind. At 9:10 lift-off from the Date Farm. The hawks and vultures struggled to get some lift. They finally moved northwest probably picking up some movement near the mountains. Most moved out of the valley through Coyote Canyon. Twelve later Swainson's came very close to the hill.

Evening Watch:
At last report somewhere near 30 Swainson's flew into the Date Farm this evening.

Prediction:
Once again the air will be warm with little wind. Swainson's Hawks will lift-off between 8:45 and 9:30A again.

Watching Swainson's Hawks very high in the evening-HC

Typical view in the evening before the hawks descend into the Date Farm-HC

Hot Still Air and Late Lift Off Again-3/12/13

Leader:
Steve Bier
Assisted by: Rose Leong, Pam Albers, Joe Hopkins, Hal Cohen

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-57
Turkey Vultures-3

Discussion:
Again the weather was warm-60's-80 with calm wind. The Swainson's Hawks began to kettle up in loose groups from the Date Farm at 9:20A. They streamed west and appeared to migrate through Palm Canyon. Later kettles were spotted to the east at the potato fields. We will discuss the potato fields later.
Today we had a mix of light/intermediate and dark birds.

Evening Watch:
We witnessed several Swainson's Hawks as they settled down into the Date Farm. At least 50 were counted along with several Turkey Vultures.

Prediction:
Again the wind should be calm to light in the morning. The Swainson's Hawks will probably lift off around 9-9:30A. A good location to observe lift off is on Di Giorgio Road about 3/4 miles from Palm Canyon Drive.

Light and Intermediate morph SW's streaming to the west-3/12/13-HC

TV Getting ready to stretch on Di Giorgio Rd-3/12/13-HC

Slow Day Today With Only 13 Swainson's Hawks-3/11/13

Leader:
Hal Cohen
Assisted by: Richard Yates, Joe Hopkins, Rose Leong, Pam Albers, Herb Stone

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-13
Turkey Vultures-10
Unidentified Buteo's-3

Discussion:
The weather today was clear with calm wind (less than 3mph) NE. Temps ranged from 57-75 degrees. 

Lift off from the date farm and RR at 9:40AM.  Additionally we had a few Swainson's arrive at 10:53A and 11:10A. These birds probably roosted to points East of Borrego Springs. At 9:56A we felt two jolts (earthquake,and the hill vibrated).  . 

Most of the  of the SW's and TV's migrated west then NW and out Coyote Canyon. A few TV's were found to the north and they moved NW through Coyote as well.

We reached the 500 plateau for Swainson's Hawks. Only 2 years, 2005 and 2011 reached this point earlier. Only 2 years had a higher count at this time, 2010 and 2011. Several years had big days March 12 and 13. We are now entering that period when huge numbers begin to enter the valley. Most of the veteran hawk watchers in town will come out to the evening hawkwatch soon.

Below you can see what we sometimes see when the raptors are far away. The 8 birds/4 Swainson's Hawks and 4 Turkey Vultures flew together all the way out of the valley.

Evening Watch:
At 6P we watched at least 35 Swainson's Hawks drop into the Date Farm. They began to fly south to an unknown roost site by 6:30P.

Prediction:
With continued calm wind conditions the Swainson's Hawk will probably take off between 8:45A and 9:30A. Because their final location could not be found you might want to hang out on Di Giorgio Rd about 1 mile north of Palm Canyon Drive.

8 Raptors-4 Swainson's Hawks and 4 TV's-This is what we often see at a distance-3/11/13-HC

A Closer view of the same birds-can you tell the difference?

Rarely Do Our Numbers Match-Evening/Day-March 10, 2013

Leader:
Assisted by: Rose Leong, Pam Alber, Maryjo Churchwell and Joe Hopkins

Migration Today:
SW's-100
TV's-36

Discussion:
Weather today ranged from 52-73 degrees with a NE breeze becoming stronger as the morning progressed. The sky was clear. We estimated the evening count at 100 Swainson's Hawks and today 100 left. Three distinct groups of SW's (72-24-4) departed via Palm Canyon. They streamed west from the Date farm very low. The roosting site of the TV's was unknown.

The photo today is a blow up of a few Swainson's Hawks. We are trying to determine the % of each morph (genetic color form) that pass through Borrego Valley. At this time we are experimenting with techniques to distinguish the morphs randomly through photo's. Accounts of morph's observed in different parts of Western US suggest that Western Swainson's are predominantly dark morph's (dark and intermediate). Only 10-15% of California SW's are light. However, we seem to encounter a larger proportion of lighter morphs in Borrego Valley. This suggests that many of our birds are moving out of California to breed.

Evening Watch:
Only 8 Swainson's Hawks were observed flying into the Date Farm.

Prediction:
The wind should be calm tomorrow. Look for lift-off around 8:30-9:30A daylight savings time (DST). I will use DST from now on through the rest of the season. Remember however, hawk time is one hour earlier. As the season progresses and daylight increases, the hawks will migrate earlier.

Two Light Morph's and one Dark Morph and one unidentified-HC

100 Raptors in This Evening-March 10, 2013

Leader:
Pam Albers
Assisted by: Rose Leong and Hal Cohen

Migration Today:
TV's-12
Osprey-1

Discussion:
Partly cloudy with a breeze from the northwest and temperature in the 50's. Lift off of TV's from the Roadrunner at 8A.

I was asked a question about the progress of migration so far this season. I will only compare 2013 with 2012 during the same period of time. In 2012 by this date we had 313 Turkey Vultures and 228 Swainson's Hawks. To date this year (2013) we have had 496 Turkey Vultures and 466 Swainson's Hawks. We will continue to compare the data with other years and look at averages for all species in upcoming blogs. Taking only a few figures only tells us that we are now ahead of last season. Most of our Swainson's Hawks show up in the next 3 weeks. Days with several hundred are possible. 

Evening Watch:
At least 100 Swainson's Hawks mixed with Turkey Vultures flew in this evening early. It was difficult to count the birds as they put down very quickly in the Date Farm and unknown roosts to the west.

Prediction:
Remember there will be a time change at 2A tomorrow. The wind may diminish tomorrow morning (predicted 6mph from the west at 7A). It could become breezy by 10A. A good place to observe migration will probably be on Di Giorgio Road about 1 mile north of Palm Canyon Rd. Take off in the new time will be somewhere around 8:30-9:30A. If it remains windy early the hawks will depart by 8A new time.

View From the Hill of Toro Peak With Snow (8719')-3/9/13-HC

Biggest Day This Season Despite Rain- 8A-March 8, 2013

Leader:

Herb Stone

Assisted by: Hal Cohen, Joe Hopkins, Rose Leong, and Judy Davis

Migration Today;

Swainson's Hawks-177

Turkey Vultures-10

Discussion:

The morning started with rain before the watch hours. Temps ranged from 48-60 degrees. The sky was 95% cloudy with strong wind gusts from the N and NW. Observers at the Roadrunner Club watched SW's in Eucalyptus Trees and on the the ground. First lift off was at 8A from The Date Farm. Some of the ground SW's joined this large kettle (96 SW's). Additionally smaller kettles formed. The hawks kettled very high before streaming NW and out of the valley through Coyote Canyon. A few TV's moved with the hawks. Other TV's moved separately out of the valley. A few SW's remained in the valley after most departed. 

Evening Watch:
Forty five Turkey Vultures flew into the Roadrunner this evening. No Swainson's Hawks were observed coming into the valley.

Prediction:
The cool rainy weather will continue until early tomorrow morning. The wind will remain N-NW and brisk. The Turkey Vultures will take off early tomorrow 7-8A. We always hope for surprise Swainson's Hawks. Often some hawks will arrive after dark. However we have had a few days of Swainson's arrivals. Usually it takes a day or two to build up again. 

Watching Swainson's Hawks In a Field at 7:30A-3/8/13-HC

SW's in the Field-3/8/13-HC

SW in Eucalyptus Tree in Roadrunner Club-Ready to Fly-3/8/13-HC

Same SW in Flight-Very Dark Morph-3/8/13-HC

Migratory Bow-3/8/13-HC

Perfect Sky-Swainson's Hawks beginning to stream north-3/8/13-HC

ALERT TONIGHT-Over 100 Swainson's in Town-March 7, 2013

Leader:
Joe Hopkins
Assistants-Rose Leong and Hal Cohen

Migration Today:
Swainson's Hawks-43
Turkey Vultures-8

Discussion:
We found a dozen SW's roosting on trees at the Fun Farm on Di Giorgio Rd. They began to relocate to the Date Farm before kettling up at 8A. They streamed north and out Coyote Canyon.

Evening Watch:
On a windy evening over 100 Swainson's descended into the Roadrunner Club. They were spooked by 2 Great-Horned Owls. Many SW's flew southwest to an unknown roost. The remainder are still at the Roadrunner Club.

Prediction:
Winds are predicted to diminish overnight. However there is a 70% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow. We have witnessed flights in the rain however most often the hawks will remain in the area. Expect a late lift off if it is raining in the morning. It is also possible that the hawks will not fly tomorrow. We will be roaming around in search of the hawks tomorrow.

Nice Kettle Today-3/7/13-HC

Close-up of Swainson's Hawks-3/7/14-HC