This is about a very interesting and informative article. “ The identification of North American Accipiters”. Seventy- man years of watching and trapping: How to, and how not to, identify accipiters— Helmut Mueller, Daniel Berger, and George Allez.
This you will not find in the article: Wing shape, wing holding, and wing movement. In other words, the article is about a dead specimen or an inactive bird.
The authors do write of wing speed compared to wing length and wing structure. I say— wing speed can depend on many factors, however wing speed is only a small part of wing action. This article will open the eyes of many birders. However, this article is not about hawk watching. NB.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Goshawks Houston and Tyler
In the fall or early winter of 2009, we arrived in Tyler,TX for the first and only time. We had some very nice weather. The rv park was outside of the suburbs. The rv park was west of town and was set back from the road with acres of pasture in the front and woods to the rear. There was one long blacktop leading into the park. Every day I would walk and hawk watch from the rv road. I’m sure this is good hunting area of wild hog and deer. I had some sighting of NG in flight. The NG were all in flight and not in migration. Sometime I would take my bike to the Tyler Airport, which was to the west. It was open country of pasture and wood lots. I did observe NG sightings— two or three. On a straight line toward the east was were the countryside gave way to houses and industry. At the laundry was a NG in the sky. Nearby was a Wall Mart, with a mature Bald Eagle at about 500 feet altitude. I had two more sightings in Tyler in areas of houses and buildings. The hawks were in the sky, far away.
Possibly the most unusual sighting and from the rv park was of a Russian MIG fighter plane at low altitude and with afterburners. I looked up the model number on the internet. Then I went to the airport, to the aviation museum. This is where the MIG is stored. The owner- pilot flys the plane at air shows.
We departed Tyler to go to Kehma, for our first and only time. The rv park was on a small lagoon and was near the Wall Mart and near the community of Clear Lake. Often I would hawk watch from Wall Mart and areas near the rv park. NG, resident hawks, were observed, all in flight and in the sky. Some of the hawks had some red on the chest. I could not tell of the under wings. We traveled the area for many miles. I have reported on this already, but, near the Houston Cruise Line Terminal was a female NG in flight. Also, at town of Bacliff was female NG soaring. At Seabrook was NG soaring. I have already reported sighting two different NG soaring at Galveston, within 2 hours. Our first and only trip there. The weather was so poor that we gave-up our time to be spent in Rockport and in Austin, to be our first time there. So we made a beeline for Benson, AZ. But we stopped in Georgetown, TX for one week. The weather was poor half the time. At Jon Berry Preserve was female NG in flight. This was a “Red NG.”
So here is my big question, to myself. Where are the NG from Coastal Bend Texas and East Texas coming from? Are they coming from northern Alabama, or Northern Mississippi, or even Northern Georgia? Are NG nesting in the Ozark Mountains. I think they could be. Notice that I leave out Louisiana. I don’t have a feel for Louisiana, only passed through the middle once and twice went through the lower part. Is it possible that NG are nesting in the swampy forest of the Cajun state? I believe it is certainly possible.
The thought: Foghorn String Band. NB.
Possibly the most unusual sighting and from the rv park was of a Russian MIG fighter plane at low altitude and with afterburners. I looked up the model number on the internet. Then I went to the airport, to the aviation museum. This is where the MIG is stored. The owner- pilot flys the plane at air shows.
We departed Tyler to go to Kehma, for our first and only time. The rv park was on a small lagoon and was near the Wall Mart and near the community of Clear Lake. Often I would hawk watch from Wall Mart and areas near the rv park. NG, resident hawks, were observed, all in flight and in the sky. Some of the hawks had some red on the chest. I could not tell of the under wings. We traveled the area for many miles. I have reported on this already, but, near the Houston Cruise Line Terminal was a female NG in flight. Also, at town of Bacliff was female NG soaring. At Seabrook was NG soaring. I have already reported sighting two different NG soaring at Galveston, within 2 hours. Our first and only trip there. The weather was so poor that we gave-up our time to be spent in Rockport and in Austin, to be our first time there. So we made a beeline for Benson, AZ. But we stopped in Georgetown, TX for one week. The weather was poor half the time. At Jon Berry Preserve was female NG in flight. This was a “Red NG.”
So here is my big question, to myself. Where are the NG from Coastal Bend Texas and East Texas coming from? Are they coming from northern Alabama, or Northern Mississippi, or even Northern Georgia? Are NG nesting in the Ozark Mountains. I think they could be. Notice that I leave out Louisiana. I don’t have a feel for Louisiana, only passed through the middle once and twice went through the lower part. Is it possible that NG are nesting in the swampy forest of the Cajun state? I believe it is certainly possible.
The thought: Foghorn String Band. NB.
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