These six dark-morph Broad-winged Hawks were among the eight seen by Dave Smith (of Dorset, England) Sheridan Coffey and me within a ten-minute period during a one-hour impromptu hawkwatch from the observation deck at Tule Lake, Corpus Christi, Nueces county Texas on October 19, 2013. We estimated (very roughly) that in this one hour (between 11.50am and 12.50pm) we saw c.8 - 10,000 Broad-winged Hawks, 20-25,000 Turkey Vultures, 500-700 Swainson's Hawks, 30+ Cooper's Hawks, and a few Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, and Northern Harriers (plus two Wood Storks). Small numbers were passing directly overhead as we arrived, and large numbers were still approaching from the north as we left. All monring there had been a fairly strong NNW wind:
1) After having seen two dark-morphs go by I ran and got my camera from the car, and this was the next one that we saw, at 12.02.48:
2) the 4th one was right behind it at 12.02.56:
3) The fifth bird - note the non-adult tail pattern; at 12.04.36:
4) The sixth at 12.05.06:
5 & 6) the last two birds (juvenile left; adult right?) in the same photograph - not detected in the field but found later when studying a series of group shots; at 12.08.32:
Most of the loose groups formed-up and started to thermal at varying distances to the north of us:
Luckily for us they did not climb too high, allowing mostly good views as they set their wings and quickly glided south:
- or west-southwest (farther inland):
One of the two Wood Storks seen in this event at Tule Lake:
We had visited the Hazel Bazemore Hawkwatch for about an hour earlier in the morning (seeing about 5,000 birds - mostly Turkey Vultures and Broad-winged Hawks, with c. 20 Coopers Hawks, a few Swainson's Hawks, Am.Kestrels and Sharpies, and one or two N. Harriers, Merlins and Peregrines). Driving around the nearby sod farm we had two groups of Wood Storks totalling around 200 birds; here is one of the flocks: try to quickly estimate the number of birds in the photo, then count them to help calibrate your estimating ability! -
