[aplomado2u]

Greetings:
For those raptor enthusiasts out there I have started a spring hawk watch in Tlacotalpan Veracruz Mexico. since I started on April 2 I have counted 40,000+ raptors (the majority Broad-winged hawks)
For a breakdown of this count and other hawk watched in North America check out:
http://hawkcount.org/
In addition I am trying to share the hawkwatch experience (complete with photos) via my weblog or daily journal for the month of April:
http://veracruzhawkwatch.blogspot.com
Good birding,

[Swift]

David , this is absolutely brilliant the link is well worth the read. I thought you would have recorded more Yanky Kestrels but perhaps they are more of an "inland" mover, I will keep looking up the site and you should keep posting updates on here , peoplewill read it and then they will be enthralled.

[aplomado2u]

Kestrels here tend to travel solo or perhaps two, generally early in the day and late They are easy to miss and the most probable is that I am just missing them.

Originally Posted by Swift

David , this is absolutely brilliant the link is well worth the read. I thought you would have recorded more Yanky Kestrels but perhaps they are more of an "inland" mover, I will keep looking up the site and you should keep posting updates on here , peoplewill read it and then they will be enthralled.

[aplomado2u]

Hello All:
An update on the progress of the spring raptor migration in Tlacotalpan Veracruz. http://veracruzhawkwatch.blogspot.com
April 29, 2004
Spring Hawk Watch 2004
Tlacotalpan Veracruz

Some four hundred and fifteen years ago in the small Plaza that is now called Plaza Doña Marta, the documents were signed designating Tlacotalpan a pueblo.
Tlacotalpan means "land between sky and water"
The Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska once remarked "When I want to smile, I remember Tlacotalpan; when you pronounce the word Tla-co-tal-pan, it's as though you wash your face and laughter comes in."
There is alot of history here in in Tlacotalpan. Today another small bit of history was added. In the course of the afternoon, thousands of Mississippi kites streamed over the Plaza Doña Marta (6,333 Mississippi kites were counted today), it was during that time (when a group of tourists from Germany wandered through the plaza)) that we passed the 100,000 mark for the number of raptors counted in in 28 consecutive days here at the spring hawk watch.
As I reflect on the events of this month, I indeed feel fortunate to live in this special place and to have been witness to this spring raptor migration phenomenon.
I doubt that there are few spring hawk watch sites that offer this diversity, 17 species of migrating raptor species have been observed. In addition, 8 local resident raptor species were observed; Gray-headed kite, Black vulture, Snail kite, Common black hawk, Great black hawk, Crested caracara, Aplomado Falcon, Roadside hawk.
This adds up to a total of 25 raptor species in 28 days!

Today's Report:
TV Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)......34

OS Osprey (Pandion haliaeetus).....9

MK Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis).....6,333

NH Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)....1

SS Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).....5

CH Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperi)......3

BW Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus).....835

SW Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni).....33

AK American Kestrel (Falco sparverius).....1

ML Merlin (Falco columbarius).......0

PG Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).......28

Day Total........7,282
MONTH TOTAL.....101,063From Tlacotalpan, Veracruz
Good birding
David McCauley