From savannas, to subtropical forests, to desert scrub there is no better springtime paradise for hawkwatchers than southern Texas. Huge numbers of migrant raptors slip northward along the coastline, taking the shortest possible route around the Gulf of Mexico, and 11 different species call the southern portion of the state their year-round home. There are even a few species that can … Read More
BRRI Hawkwatch: November 22, 2014
Migration seems to be slowing down at the BRRI Cattle Landing Hawkwatch run by Belize Raptor Research Institute, but we still managed to get a few good migrants today. We counted a handful of Broad-winged hawks, seventeen Hook-billed Kites, and we also broke our record for latest Mississippi Kite in Belize (another juvenile). Around 1:30 pm while things were slow, Isael and … Read More
BRRI Hawkwatch: November 18, 2014
Today was another tough day for migrant Hook-billed Kites at the Cattle Landing Hawkwatch, north of Punta Gorda, Belize (run by Belize Raptor Research Institute). Twenty-eight Hook-billed Kites made the move south after slowly moving through the site…one pair of birds took about 35 minutes to completely exit! Migrant dragonflies were out in force but not nearly as bad as … Read More
BRRI Hawkwatch: November 10, 2014
Today was by far the best day at the Cattle Landing soccer field for hawk watching since I have arrived (site run by Belize Raptor Research Institute). We tallied fourteen species of raptors, including the latest migrant Mississippi Kites for Belize, and a high-flying light adult Swainson’s Hawk! Hook-billed Kites came through in large kettles of up to 24 birds … Read More
Pygmy Kingfisher, King Vulture, and more Kites!
Today was another great day of birding in Cattle Landing, Belize. The morning started out great with four new species for me. Early in the AM, I found a Red-legged Honeycreeper near my house sitting in the top of a tree. Soon after on a trek down a new road, a single Olive-backed Euphonia was foraging near a Greenish Elaenia, … Read More
First day of hawk watching in Belize!
Woken up early thanks to some Howler Monkeys around 5 am, I hit the road early for birding. The road that my house is on is actually very productive for local species and also warblers; it is just one street over from the coast, so I think migrants just use it all day long. Perhaps everywhere in Belize is like … Read More
First day in Belize!
I am taking a hiatus from field work in Florida for about two months, and working in Punta Gorda, Belize as a volunteer for Belize Raptor Research Institute (also, check them out on Facebook!). BRRI staffs a hawk watch at the Cattle Landing soccer field north of Punta Gorda to monitor migration of raptors through Belize, focusing on the Hook-billed Kite. … Read More
Rio Grande Valley Raptors
As fellow Nemesis Birder Alex Lamoreaux was out looking for one of his nemesis birds today, I was sitting in my office a few miles away, pining to also be on the Mission Nature Park levee, scanning the skies for the local group of Hook-billed Kites which have been rather faithfully putting on a show for any interested birders who … Read More