Other Raptors Short-tailed Hawk Cooper’s Hawk Black Vulture Red-tailed Hawk Peregrine Falcon
Other American White Pelican White-faced Ibis
Dawn uncovered a cloudless sky over Ron Morriss Park as I looked east and south through the stained glass art window in my walk-up apartment over a Tubac art gallery. The April migration had settled into small flights of the old familiar raptors we have been seeing since early March.
HWI#2 struggled for a few seconds with a Gray Hawk that didn’t seem quite right as it flew north, low over the river cottonwoods. There was delighted surprise in his voice as he announced the season’s first Broad-winged Hawk. The three of us studied the light morph adult bird, one of the rarer migrants that had enticed us to soldier on counting into April. HWI#1 located a second Broadwing 30 minutes later and we studied again.
An odd looking, presumed Turkey Vulture schooled us in reliable raptor id as it turned into our first young Zonetail, the lack of white tail bars forcing us back to more subtle features for identification.
We thought about the imminent id challenges ahead. Dark Shorttail versus dark Broadwing, young (brown) Gray Hawks versus young Broadwings, young (brown) Black Hawks against our inexperience with them. A collection of tests unique to Tubac for which even our favorite hawk watching reference, "Hawks at a Distance”, might offer scant advice. The joy in these thoughts pushed aside our fear of the approaching 90 degree weather.
Something white and round appeared in the west sky. This faux cloud sparkled and merged with another transforming from the day’s first cloud into a large ball of American White Pelicans. We counted 120 as they drifted north. These along with several large flocks of White-faced Ibis gave hope to those bemoaning the sparse spring bird migration thus far.
Local Gray Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks and Redtails tapped danced across the sky offering us dramatic display flights as nesting time approaches.
The Buddhist came by in the afternoon for one last gaze at the raptors of Tubac before heading east for more migrating raptors, warblers and shorebirds there.
A Peregrine noisily dove into the weed field west of us and carried off some unfortunate creature.
The day concluded with the dark Shorttail and a Zonetail streaming together to the north. With over a month of dark Shorttail sightings this bird may be eligible for legal residency status in Tubac.
