RE: [nfc-l] Night Migrating Raptors

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:37:22 -0800

Chris- Thank you for your neat observations, and the pictures.  I want to share a similar observation with you.

When leading a birding trip to Yucatan for Audubon in late February 1976 I encountered apparently migrant Swallow-tailed Kites coming off the Gulf at Rio Lagartos.  We were walking east along the beach at what is now the Ria Lagartos Natural Area.  Just at dawn we saw one, then two, then one kite flying SSW from the open water toward land.  We recorded the observations in our field notes, but have no pictures.

This observation would seem consistent with your observations at sea.  If they had left the Cuban shore (nearest land?), they would have started about 100 miles away.  If we used an average speed of 15mph  (sheer guess), that would be a 7 hour flight.  This speculation is just a BOTE guess that even starting at nightfall they could have been flying all night.  If they started further away, or traveled more slowly, even starting during daylight would have put them at the coast of Yucatan at daylight.         -TATE

James Tate, Jr., Ph.D. | Research Associate |
Smithsonian Institution Migratory Bird Center |
National Zoological Park |
T 202-841-2056 | Email j...@tate-tate.us

James Tate, Jr. | Senior Fellow and Director |
Ecological Economics and Ethics Program |
Potomac Institute for Policy Studies |
Ballston Metro Center Office Tower |
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22203
Washington, DC 20007
T 202-841-2056| Email: jt...@potomacinstitute.org

James Tate, Jr. | Second Vice President
Eastern Bird Banding Association.
Email: j...@tate-tate.us

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night Migrating Raptors
From: Kenneth Victor Rosenberg <k...@cornell.edu>
Date: Thu, March 01, 2012 9:08 pm
To: "Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes" <c...@cornell.edu>
Cc: NFC-L <nf...@list.cornell.edu>

Chris, this is very cool! I'm sure there is a publishable note there.....


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)

On Mar 1, 2012, at 4:01 PM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:

Below is a link of a few pictures I managed to capture of a couple of the individuals. Unfortunately, due to our operations, I was not able to take time for extensive documentation. It was a very neat spectacle to have witnessed. Some details are at right of the album at the link, below.


Sincerely,
Chris T-H
Currently at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, aboard the M/V Emily Bordelon.



On Mar 1, 2012, at 4:41 AM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:

Although these birds weren’t making vocalizations, but it has been really cool to witness.
 
I’m on the M/V Emily Bordelon about 150 miles WNW of Tampa, FL, working on recovering oceanographic research instruments. We’re conducting 24-hour operations with deck lights blazing. from approximately 07:10 to 07:25 GMT (02:10 to 02:25 AM EST) the deck crew and I observed at least three simultaneous SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, 1 Laughing Gull, and a single OSPREY approach the vessel during an extended full-stop drifts. This was at about N28 26.491 by W85 27.459. I managed to get some half-decent photos of the Kites as they drifted over the vessel.
 
At another point, from approximately 08:40 to 09:20 GMT (02:40 to 03:20 AM EST) we were visited by at least two more night migrating SWALLOW-TAILED KITES. I did not obtain photos of those birds. This was at about N28 17.256 by W85 32.837.
 
I imagine there are several birds in migration across the Eastern Gulf of Mexico at this point and we should expect to have more observations at the next couple of nighttime stations.
 
Good birding!
 
Sincerely,
Chris T-H
 
--
Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132
 
 
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Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132

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