Hawk Migration in Panama (1 Viewer)

[Frogdoondey]

Raptors are starting to move through Panama.
Today we had around 10,000 Mississippi Kites (Ictinia mississippensis)
Here are some pics I made from my balcony! This was at 9:00AM Panama City time.
Some few Black Vultures mingle among the kites but they are residents.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Good grief, that is a truly spectacular sight, and from your balcony to boot! How long will the migration last? And are there many other species involved?

 

[birdmeister]

What a shot! Raptor migration has always been my favorite.

In Mexico, Broad-winged Hawk migration peaks in early October I think, with the tail end mixing with the peak for Swainson's Hawks and Turkey Vultures.

I remember a couple years ago, Panama recorded over 1 million raptors in one day! Just incredible.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Good grief, that is a truly spectacular sight, and from your balcony to boot! How long will the migration last? And are there many other species involved?

We had several flocks of Broad-winged Hawks in next door Costa Rica in March but not quite as many as that!

 

[Frogdoondey]

Raptor Season

Good grief, that is a truly spectacular sight, and from your balcony to boot! How long will the migration last? And are there many other species involved?

Hola Andy:
We usually count from Oct 1st until November 16th.
However our earlier raptors fly by on late August and we still get some Turkey Vultures in late November.
Best weeks are the last of october and the first of november.
Turkey Vultures, Swainsons Hawks and Broad winged Hawks makes up the main bulk. But we get another dozen species.
This year has being very unusual: they arrived very early. Yesterday we had over 200,000 fly over Panama City. You can follow the count on Panama Audubon Society Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGXnRMSh_R_/
Lots of cool videos on it

 

[Frogdoondey]

We had several flocks of Broad-winged Hawks in next door Costa Rica in March but not quite as many as that!

ON the way north the groups are not as massive as on the way south!
Still is always a wonderful sight to witness all those birds move together

 

[Frogdoondey]

What a shot! Raptor migration has always been my favorite.

In Mexico, Broad-winged Hawk migration peaks in early October I think, with the tail end mixing with the peak for Swainson's Hawks and Turkey Vultures.

I remember a couple years ago, Panama recorded over 1 million raptors in one day! Just incredible.

WE had a 2.1 million birds day! It is always so amazing that even the TV make mentions of the events like that

 

[Frogdoondey]

Raptors are starting to move through Panama.
Today we had around 10,000 Mississippi Kites (Ictinia mississippensis)
Here are some pics I made from my balcony! This was at 9:00AM Panama City time.
Some few Black Vultures mingle among the kites but they are residents.

Here are some more pictures of Broad-winged Hawks, Swainson's Hawk, Turkey Vulture and a local non-migratory Black Vulture