At Least 511 Swainoson's Hawks Dropped Into the Date Farm in Borrego Springs

Several hawks were observed early in the evening throughout the valley. At 7pm a large number of hawks gathered above the Date Farm and began to drop quickly onto Eucalyptus Trees. We counted 511. The count could range higher in the morning. The wind should be light tomorrow and we hope that the hawks will remain in the roost until 8 or 9am. This morning over 100 hawks left the same roost at 6am to feed in fields to the east. Hopefully the hawks now in the roost will remain a bit longer so folks can observe them kettling up. We cannot guarantee that the hawks will behave differently than this morning. Feeding opportunities still exist to the east of the roost sites. If the hawks leave the Date Farm roost at a reasonable hour, the kettling could be quite spectacular. However they might once again fly to the east to feed on caterpillars. When caterpillars are not in abundance it is much easier to predict the movements of the hawks. Best viewing will probably be from the evening watch site on Borrego Valley Rd. 1.6 miles north of Palm Canyon Drive.