2011 Fall Hawk Migration Alabama Gulf Coast:: Oct. 21 Hawk Watch

Ok...a beautiful day, abundant sunshine, light winds...the Chamber of Commerce loves it, but man does it make for a difficult day watching hawks!  Some of these guys were flying higher than a weather balloon!  The birds seemed more scattered than on the 16th, definitely higher, and not nearly as abundant.  Watched for 135 minutes (from 11:45 a.m. until 2:00 pm) at Fort Morgan, and only counted 36 migratory raptors (7 species).  We'll try again in a few days, but I did manage a couple of good shots.  Even with the comparatively low numbers and generally difficult conditions, Fort Morgan is still a great place to watch hawks.  The view of the Gulf, the Fort, Mobile Bay and all the unique ships and vessels keep it interesting, even during the lulls.  And, there are quite a few resident birds (raptors, sea birds, shorebirds, etc.) that are fun to watch, in the meantime!

 Just thought this was a cool pic--always enjoy seeing the white pelicans!

This is the view looking east.