Date: 5/19/25 11:55 am From: Benjamin Byerly via groups.io <benbyerly...> Subject: Re: [sbcobirding] Cuyama Swainson's Hawks
I didn't have quite the show that others did re:Swainson's, but on Sunday
afternoon I did have one light juvenile SWHA near Alisos Canyon x 166.
Later in the day on my way home I saw two light adult Swainson's at 166 x
101. I had to check the map and realized this is *JUST *outside of Santa
Barbara county. So feel free to put me on double-secret probation for
sharing non-county birds (just kidding).
Thanks again to Linus for organizing the Cuyama Bird Survey. Special thanks
to Olivia for giving me some extra water as I was biking up Bates Canyon
from New Cuyama - I didn't make it all the way to Sierra Madre Road, but it
allowed me to check out Alisos Canyon on my way back!
On Sun, May 18, 2025 at 9:23 AM Florence Sanchez via groups.io
<sanchezucsb11...> wrote:
> I'm sure Linus will send out a full report of this weekends survey of the
> Cuyama Valley and adjacent areas, but I thought I'd mention that we were
> treated to an unexpected show of Swainson's Hawks over the weekend,
> primarily along Aliso Canyon Road. My high count over the two-day period
> was 7 at this location, but I met another birder who saw 12. John
> Callender has some great photos in his eBird Alert report.
>
> It is unusual to find such numbesr in the Cuyama Valley this late in the
> spring, but we were treated to a full variety of the various plumages. We
> had strong Westerly winds both days, which helped us see so many. Alisos
> Canyon Road has a gradually rising scarp on the east side of the road for
> the first 2-3 miles. The West wind catches this scarp and rises, creating
> ideal conditions above for the hawks to hover (or "kite") with little
> effort for long periods of time. And it's not just the Swainson's Hawks
> that were taking advantage of the conditions. On Saturday I had 7
> Swainson's, 4 Red-tailed Hawks, and 5 Ravens all up in the air along this
> stretch of road between about 12:45 and 1:15 p.m.
>
> Florence Sanchez
>
>
>
>
