Swainson's Hawk 12,000 mile migration

Guanacaste, Costa Rica Spring 2019

Courtesy of Cornell University 

         Breeding grounds

         Passage

         Wintering area  

This hawk can be seen flying over Costa Rica in many thousands on their way back to their breeding grounds in Northern America. The land bridge of Central America, connecting the South American continent, is the perfect provider of thermal lift. This remarkable bird of prey can avoid flying over water with little thermal lift while continuing its impressive 12,000 mile round trip migration from Northern and Eastern Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay back to Western Canada, Western USA and Northern Mexico. On this particular day other raptors join the movement on the flyway. Red-tailed Hawk, Hook billed Kites and the local Gray Hawk followed the stream of birds heading North.

These images were captured on March 29, 2019 from a ridge near Playa Del Coco, Costa Rica flying Northwest. This area on the Pacific North coast is not known as a raptor migration watch point. This will be the start of hawk watching on the Pacific coast. However, the Caribbean coast of eastern Costa Rica is better known for raptor migration and has Kekoldi Hone Creek Limon, as the established raptor migration monitoring station.

We have had some feedback from another Pacific coast area Playa Hermosa from the top of Monte Bello. Where the spectacle was also observed on the same day.