VERACRUZ 2010: The River of Raptors ©

After birding the last two days in the rain, our patience was hugely rewarded with an amazing day of migration.  The rains had backed up the raptor flight and today, Sept 28th, 450,000 raptors were counted at the two Pronatura hawk watch sites. I estimate we saw perhaps two-thirds of them, if not most of them!

We started our day along the coast at Villa Rica (above), right where the mountains reach the sea, precisely where the funneled migration peaks.  The skies were clear, with strong winds from the north, fueling wave after wave of White-winged Doves that zoomed by at high speed in groups of 100 or more.  Dickcissels joined along. We found a family of Least Grebes in nearby wetlands, and later, a roosting Common Nighthawk (below) and then a lovely Common Black-Hawk flew by.

After a few hours we moved to Quiahuiztlan, a Totonac Indian burial site on a spectacular monolith overlooking the gulf. After birding the thorn-scrub forest of the foothills, we made our way to the ruins. At some point we looked to the north and were awed by the spectacle of thousands upon thousands of Broad-winged Hawks in very large kettles coming our way.  We had the site to ourselves and laid on our backs to watch the hawks.

The kettles were dynamic swarms of birds as they rose on thermals and utilized the winds to move south. We estimated perhaps 100,000 or more raptors (above) flew by us in the hour we were there. The setting was quite amazing, in this ancient place where the Totonacs surely marveled at this same migration hundreds of years in the past.

We lunched in Cardel, then moved on to Chichicaxtle.  The flight had slowed, and we watched a local Short-tailed Hawk go after bobwhites and eventually catch an iguana. There was a line of birds showing to the east, so we hopped back in the car and drove until we found the line at the quarry site, a reliable location for good migration. Here we enjoyed another amazing flight of mostly Broad-winged Hawks, with other raptors mixed in as well, including Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, American Kestrels, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, and a good look at two Zone-tailed Hawks. The kettles were a bit lower this time, with many lines going on at the same time.  Hawks soared and swirled from horizon to horizon.  Multiple kettles were visible simultaneously, some massive from top to bottom, surely filled with thousands of bird each. We checked with a counter who had seen the same line of hawks and he estimated about 150,000 raptors had passed!

 In the late afternoon we drove a short distance to Rio Escondido (above), entering from the east side. We added a few new birds for our trip, including several lifers for Micha and Pete: Chuck Will’s Widow, male and female Canivet’s Emerald, Louisiana Waterthrush, and White-crowned Parrot. A large group of migrating Wood Storks were a wonderful sighting for the end of the day.