Date: 3/25/25 5:52 am From: p c <pcollinsca48...> Subject: [AZNMbirds] SEAZ: Tubac Hawk Watch - Ron Morriss Park, Tubac, AZ, 03/20/25
SEAZ: Tubac Hawk Watch - Ron Morriss Park, Tubac, AZ, 03/20/25
Season 13: Episode 0320 - Lost in the Flood
TL;DR
Migrating Raptors
Common Black Hawk 83
Zone-tailed Hawk 11
Gray Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 35
Swainson’s Hawk 9
Golden Eagle 1
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Turkey Vulture 83
Black Vulture 1
Other Raptors
Northern Harrier
Peregrine
I arrived at the park 15 minutes late. The HWI counters were already tracking the day’s first Black Hawk at 8:45. The birders gathered at the park didn’t seem to sense the possibilities or what I believed were the probabilities for today’s flight as they chatted, sharing tunes and photos on their phones. Black Hawks were behind schedule after two days of difficult flight conditions. The winds had shifted today. Winds were calmer too. I was hoping for that one thunderstorm - the one that turns the summer monsoon \from a dud to a delight.
Between 9:00 and 10:00 the first claps of Black Hawk thunder were heard over the park as 28 Black Hawks departed north. Finally!
Mid afternoon a retired couple stopped by to check out the hawk watch at the direction of their hawk watching son in San Diego. We offered them our spare chairs. Before long they were sending gloating texts to San Diego about the 5 Black Hawks they were watching overhead. I hear flights from San Diego to Tucson next March are filing fast.
We counted Black Hawks every hour from open to close, documenting a 10 hour storm.
We celebrated at the park with pizza and splodge as the last two Black Hawks passed over.
