Thanks to the thoughtfulness of a pair of botanists, I found myself on a second story veranda up the hill in Tubac overlooking the river and the valley to the east at sunrise. At least I think it was sunrise. Clouds and rain blocked any view of the sun, though a rainbow west of the highway suggested some source of sunlight must exist. Clouds sealed off the rest of the sky by 8:00 and I sent a photo of the deluge falling over all of Tubac to the HWI counters in Green Valley. We agreed to a delayed opening and I went inside for a second breakfast. The count opened at 9, but I lingered on my new perch. Before I could fly down to the park the counters retreated, closing the count until the rain cleared.
At 10 there was a break in the storm. I hurried to the park, just in case. Exiting the restrooms there, I found a rufous Swainson’s Hawk approaching from the south, flying low over the nearby evergreens. I tracked it overhead figuring this was likely the only migrant for today. As it moved further north on a strange angle to the east, I suddenly realized it was heading for eight other Swainson’s Hawks lifting off from trees around the park, forming the season’s largest Swainson’s kettle. We added another Swainson’s and a Turkey Vulture during this short interlude. We were in and out of the tent the rest of the day, dodging the rain.
After enjoying a warm lunch of eggplant parmigiana delivered by yet another Tubac Easter Bunny, a second lull in the storm gave us a few more birds. One of the local Swainson’s Hawks sat on the northwest utility pole surveying the crazy humans who thought there might be a few migrating raptors flying today.
