Veracruz season over

The 2009 hawk count season in Cardel and Chichicaxtle, Veracruz ended today with a last group of 34 Turkey Vultures in Cardel, for a day total of 341 raptors counted in Cardel. For the season, we counted more than 4.5 million birds this year, which sounds like a lot but is actually about average for the two sites. The bird pictured above is a wintering resident in Chichicaxtle, a Merlin.

This weekend, some of us counters will go birding and rafting in the Jalcomulco area here in Veracruz.

Then on Monday, Kashmir and myself will head south to first stop San Salvador, where we will start the Golden-cheeked Warbler field season 2009/2010 proper. This will take us to Costa Rica and Honduras.