[cobirds] Broad-winged Hawk redux Longmont 9/23

Hawkers,

After deciding not to go to my favorite hawk watch west of Boulder, I decided to see who would float over near my home in SW Longmont today. I ended up seeing a departure (over a 2.5 hr period) of 16 Broad-winged Hawks from Longmont, most less than 200m off the ground. It appeared that many, based on their height of flight roosted overnight in the older parts of Longmont (possibly near a traditional vulture roost), or along the St. Vrain Greenway. My observations were in this order: 1, 4, 1, 6, 3, and 1. Departure was somewhat late, with the largest mini-kettle seen around 1230 hrs. I started around 1100 and finished at 1330 hrs. Birds moved mostly NE to SW, often following a path that the vultures regularly use in SW Longmont. 

Broad-winged Hawks are peaking at our latitude at this time, and will decline quickly now into generally the first week of October. Preferring to roost in trees, our heavily timbered Front Range towns provide stop-over sites for this species. I believe this species migrates more commonly than expected here but is under-reported. Dave Leatherman's post today of the kettle near Ft. Collins re-enforces this point. 

Additional birds included 3 Northern Harriers, 3 Swainson's Hawks (not displaying migratory behavior), and an adult Cooper's Hawk that seem be a local showing curiosity in the group of 6 Broadies in the nearby airspace. 

What worked for me today was a clear view to the north, positioned south of the heavily treed portions of town. And credit is due to the Turkey Vultures!

Snap shots of a juv. dark morph, an adl. light morph etc. can be seen here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104152828725695920528/HawkWatchLongmont92312?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Good birding!

--Scott

Scott E. Severs
Longmont, CO

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