Harris's Hawk in Rayne

While driving down Highway 90 east of Rayne last week, Bill Hoffpauir spotted a Harris's Hawk perched on a telephone pole on the roadside. He let Dave Patton know, and Dave went out and got the nice documentary photo above. This is about the 4th or 5th credible record of the species for Louisiana, and the second from the Rayne area. This species is commonly used in falconry, so any record must be carefully screened to make sure no there are no bands or jesses on the legs.

Harris's Hawks are southern birds that barely make it into southern Texas and Arizona. However, the species was first described by Audubon when he was teaching near St. Francisville from a bird said to have been captured in Louisiana. Adults are easily recognized by the chocolate brown body, reddish shoulder patches, and white band around the base of the tail.

If you're interested in looking for this bird, it's been seen on the south side of Highway 90 about 1.3 miles west of the intersection of Highway 90 and Louisiana Highway 719. It also perches out of sight in the treeline on the north side of the highway, so you may need to wait a while. It seems to be easiest to find late in the day.

Fall Migration in Review

Fall migration 2009 never quite coalesced in Southwest Louisiana. If there was a big coordinated push of migrants, I don't know of anyone who experienced it. Part of the reason--probably the biggest part--was the lack of a strong cool front until well into October. And so, by the end of the first week of October when Indigo Buntings usually pass en masse on a good north tailwind, warm weather prevailed and the buntings passed unseen. Ditto for catbirds, waves of warblers, etc. There were dribs and drabs of birds in passage with a few exciting birds mixed in, but not one really memorable day of migration.