Visit our social media for updates and information about the  Borrego Springs Hawkwatch         The Borrego Valley Hawkwatch Volunteer and be a part of the Hawkwatch Each spring in Borrego Springs provides a window into the migration patterns of Swainson's Hawks.   Swainson's Hawks spend the winter in Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina.  In early to mid-February the first Swainson's hawks arrive in the Borrego Valley from Mexico.  As the season progrreses the hawks arrive from Colombia, and finally in April, from Argentina.  The journey from Argentina is over 6,000 miles.  The highest period of migration is mid-late March. During a typical migration there are many thousands of hawks passing through, sometimes hundreds in the sky at the same time.  It’s a story of hawks, caterpillars, and springtime wildflowers.  The hawks come to feast on the caterpillars of the White-lined sphinx moth and the caterpillars are here to eat the flowers that bloom after winter's rainfall.  Join the Borrego Valley Hawkwatch! by Hal Cohen, Hawkwatch Founder & Coordinator I’m a hawkaholic! The drug is administered in doses that range from a slow dribble of hawks to a thousand or more in a day. I can’t seem to kick the habit. When I moved to Borrego Springs in 2001, I was frustrated and depressed: NO HAWKWATCH. At least not one that was clearly evident. Then in 2003, I discovered a steady stream of migrating Swainson’s Hawks entering Borrego Valley, spending a night and perhaps a day feeding on caterpillars. Migration then continues north the following day through Coyote Canyon on the way to breeding grounds as far away as Alaska. We are one of only two hawkwatches in California! And, we observe more Swainson’s Hawks migrating through North America in spring than any other site in America! You, too, can become a hawkaholic and share the wonders of migration of one of the most beautiful hawks in North America: Swainson’s Hawks. We need volunteers to observe, count, and gather data concerning the migration of hawks through Borrego Valley. Please join us if you can by giving sending us your contact information in the form above, right.  Volunteers are trained and assigned to spicific time slots to count the hawks.    Beginners and experienced hawkwatchers are encouraged to participate! We hope you can make at least one of these dates. But if you can’t, you are still welcome to get involved. We count hawks from February 21 into April every spring season. Join us to experience a natural phenomenon and become a Citizen Scientist. Adult Dark Rufous SW- Frimmel Smith Adult Light Morph SW-Frimmel Smith Adult Female Morph SW-Tom Hamilton Subadult Light Intermediate SW Ted Springs jr. Sub-adult Dark Morph SQ-Frimmel Smith Adult Male Light Morph SW-Kwan Choo  A Brief History of the Hawkwatch When my wife and I moved to Borrego Springs in 2001 she observed that I was obviously missing the regular hawk watching activities that I had enjoyed so much in Illinois.  Hawk watching to me is much more than just looking at hawks.   Hawk watching is counting hundreds of hawks in in the midst of migration.    In early March of 2003 I noticed some Turkey Vultures roosting in Eucalyptus trees at the Roadrunner Club in Borrego Springs.   They were not hawks, but I figured what the heck, I'll start a Turkey Vulture watch!   I followed the Turkey Vultures as they circled upwards, called “kettliing” in hawk watch lingo, as they streamed out of town.   On one fateful day when I had come to watch turkey vultures, I noticed a dozen hawks kettling up, not turkey vultures this time, but Swainson’s Hawks!  On that fateful day true hawk watching became reality in Borrego Springs.   The 2019 Hawkwatch Mid-March to March 30th is the highlight period of migration.  In March 2019 we waited patiently for the vanguard of the Swainson’s migration.  We waiting alongside a BBC film crew here to document the arrival of the hawks for The BBC’s  “Green Earth.”   But we all waited in vain as each day produced blank skies.   When birds finally arrived,  in massive numbers in early April, the BBC crew had just left.   For two weeks hundreds of hawks darkened the sky from the airport in Borrego Springs to Henderson Canyon Road. A typical kettle produced well over 200 hawks spinning around like a tornado.  The unofficial number of hawks that moved through was close to 8,000!     We have an official count protocol, but because many of the trained volunteers had left due to the bird’s late arrival, the official count was just over 1,000.  With additional support from Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association in 2020 we hope to extend our count period.   Why did the hawks arrive 2-3 weeks later than normal in 2019?   I believe (without corroborating evidence) that the wet winter we experienced in Borrego Springs, and which gave us an ample food supply, was repeated and matched in other parts of the west including Mexico.   All of southern California and northern Mexico experienced a major flower bloom and an explosion of insects that included the caterpillars of the White-lined Sphinx Moth, which are a primary food in Borrego.  Swainson’s Hawks will take advantage of all food resources available during migration and the food was widely available in 2019, easing the need to make it to Borrego.   Our expected hawks were likely chowing down in Mexico while we and the BBC waited for them in Borrego Springs.   All did not end in disappointment for the BBC crew.  They came to town to film the remarkable phenomena of flowers, caterpillars and hawks. The flowers and caterpillars did not disappoint.  And nature had handed us a different and unexpected surprise in 2019, a massive and totally mesmerizing migration of many millions of Painted Lady Butterflies.  They fluttered everywhere for well over a week.   I have a feeling that when “Green Planet” is released in two years, it will be the caterpillars and painted ladies that will steal the show.