By Celeste Silling
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory is celebrating the 30th anniversary of our Smith Point Hawk Watch this fall. GCBO has hosted the Smith Point Hawk Watch at the Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area in Anahuac for three decades now, gathering data about all of the raptors that fly overhead during the fall migration.
At the hawk watch, we (specifically Bob, the Counter) stare up at the sky all day, identifying the raptors that fly over Smith Point, including hawks, falcons, kites, vultures, and more. We do this all day every day for 3.5 months (Aug 15-Nov 31) in order to get an idea of raptor populations and migration.
A raptor is a bird that feeds mainly on meat, either hunting live prey or searching out carrion (dead animals). The word raptor comes from the Latin “rapere,” meaning to seize or sweep away. This name describes their impressive ability to capture prey with their strong talons and fly away with it. Raptors tend to have amazing vision to see small movements and details from far away, allowing them to sense prey from their high-up perches or from the air. They also have hooked beaks and sharp talons, which allow them to tear apart the meat more affectively.
These features make raptors amazingly well-adapted hunters, but these formidable birds still need our help sometimes. Like all birds, raptors have been greatly affected by man-made threats. For example, they are impacted by pesticides (ingested when they eat poisoned prey), window and car collisions, and habitat loss. Indeed, raptors are so affected by these threats, researchers have observed severe depletion of their populations.
One such instance occurred shortly after World War II, when the pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) started being widely used. The pesticide washed into waterways where it was absorbed into the tissues of fish. Bald Eagles and other raptors ate the poisoned fish were suddenly unable to produce strong egg shells. The eggs would be crushed when the birds tried to incubate them, lowering the reproduction rate and thereby greatly reducing the populations of the birds. It was only in 1972, after much evidence had been gathered and presented, that DDT was banned.
Because of the many threats to raptors, organizations all over the world have conducted hawk watches to monitor raptor populations. Smith Point is a natural concentration point for southwardly flying raptors in fall migration. On the right day, one can see thousands of Broad-winged Hawks and other raptors flying overhead. The Smith Point Hawk Watch originated as an all-volunteer, part-time effort in 1992. In 1997, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, in partnership with Hawk Watch International and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, instituted a full-time annual fall census.
From August 15 through November 30, the Hawk Watch is held daily at the Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area, where GCBO has a 30-foot observation tower. The hawk watch is staffed daily from 8:00 am to 4:00 PM CDT. You are invited to come out any day during the season! And if you’re interested in helping raptors and other birds, avoid the use of pesticides and turn your lights off at night for migrating birds.
Photo by Mike Williams
Caption: Bald Eagles are one of the many birds of prey that are monitored at Smith Point Hawk Watch
