About accipiters

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.

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.

E- bird rarities

An interesting essay by Gary Bletsch, a Skagit County, WA., advanced birder and world traveler. At watweeters—21 June 2020, e- bird, rarities, and other matters.

I was at the bottom of the steep roadway, when a Cooper’s Hawk was about 30 degrees off my zenith at about 100 feet altitude. The hawk was “large” and had “long” wings. The hawk was going up the hill. The wing beats were somewhat loose and sloppy. The wings were not sharply outlined. The primaries were not “clean- cut.” The hawk was lanky. The tail was long and thin. The chest and belly were thin. The hawk was female.

What I am hinting is that if you truly understood the shape and movement of the Cooper’s, the moment you observe an accipiter that is not a Cooper’s, you should say, “ That’s not a Cooper’s.” In other words, you do not have to understand the Goshawk, just know the Cooper’s Hawk. Nearly every action we take is a process of elimination.

The Thought: A good read— How Emotions Are Made— Lisa Feldman Barrett. NB.

Goshawks of Texas

We departed Junction City Kansas with our new trailer to enter east Texas for the first time. It was the day after Thanksgiving 1998. We went to Livingston, Polk County, for a week or two. I took the truck  to Wal Mart for oil change and went for a walk. There were cottages with tall evergreens set back on the area. Away from my position and going farther away was a Goshawk ripping low over the tree tops. This did not surprise me, as I was very aware of NG action, behavior, and habitat.

While driving into Texas I was amazed at the thickets and woods and areas of water— ponds, lagoons, and inlets. I thought: This is goshawk territory, mainly because I could tell— this is small game and reptile country. So that is it for this area of Texas.

In winter in 2002-03 we were in Rockport, Texas. Our first and only time there. In this area, I observed four NG. Two female and two male. The female were mature and immature. The male were mature and immature. I am calling the Red NG as mature. That is female with red on chest, belly, and under wing coverts. A good place for you as a hawk watcher (not a birder or birding) is all areas around Lagoons RV Park, the huge Baptist Church parking lot, and the baseball field nearby. Also, there is a park near the rv park. Also, traverse the high school area. And even get into the bleachers, to get some altitude and elevation. Also hawk the HEB parking lot and the magnificent copse of oak trees. Try the Wal Mart area and near by Connie Hager Park and cemetery. If possible get up on some overpass. I understand it is inconceivable, but all these locations have produced NG within the sky or even lower— less than 100 feet altitude. Just alongside Rockport is Fulton. One NG observed there.
At the thousand year old OAK was a female soaring. Do not leave out Goose Island Park. At Aransas NWR was a male NG ripping through back and forth over the top of a small, low thicket of brush. Also, on a birding cruise, far away, was a female NG which was near the wildlife preserve. Here is my suggestion: Do not hawk watch south of Rockport, only north of Rockport.

I never did observe a perched NG. I never did observe doubles or triples of NG. I did observe a female NG sliding into a copse at Connie Hager Park. Also, at the rv park in winds of  about 20 mph a NG was knocked down near where I was standing. It was in the brush somewhere. I started to crawl under the barb wire to try and find the hawk. But it was private property. Also, why should I investigate. What would I gain?

I did post more info on Rockport sightings and with a birding partner. I am being snippy— go chase.

This is a two-part report. Next will be: Goshawks of Houston and Tyler. Be safe and kind, but maybe not kind, considering what is happening to our nation and its sanity. Truthfully, l’m scared.NB.

A good idea

If you observe a raptor soaring, keep your eye on the bird. There is a chance that another raptor will go up into the sky. If of another species there might be a dust- up. Also, if the attacker came out of the trees, it could indicate that there is a nesting situation.

The thought: Study gun sales. Invest in guns.NB.

NJ Goshawk sightings

I received an informal sighting from west- central NJ of two NG sightings within two consecutive
months. One sighting was of a mature female NG. NB. Be safe out there. NB.

Top down strategy

Here is a strategy. I have not applied this strategy, therefore it is not a tactic. Top- down means hawking the country-side in a convertible car. It is best to always have a partner. It is not a good idea to travel through the forest road. What is the chance of a goshawk ripping through in front of your car? Here is the advantage of having a pal. You are driving, spot a raptor but there is no place to pull over. But, with a pal, you can just stop, or pull slightly over    then pal can jump out. You now will continue down the road, turn around and pick up pal. 

See you at the light. NB. Anacortes.