Everyone is invited to join park naturalists and volunteers as they spot and count thousands of migrating raptors during our annual Hawk Watch.

Fall Hawk Watch begins September 1st at Bentsen-RGV State Park and runs through the end of October. The public is welcome to join our hawk counters to learn more about birds of prey and to participate in this important citizen science program.

Birds of prey are important indicators of the overall health of our environment. Bentsen’s annual spring and fall Hawk Watch seasons contribute to HawkCount, a long-term study that monitors raptor population trends and is the world’s largest standardized raptor migration count network. HawkCount is a project of Hawk Migration Association of North America/HMANA (www.hawkcount.org).

Ride the Park Tram (thur-sun) and meet at the Hawk Tower from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon). Please remember to bring your binoculars, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent and drinking water.

If you are interested in learning more about raptor identification, Bentsen will host a Raptor Identification Workshop on Sunday, August 28th from 1 to 4 p.m. This will be a classroom focus on field identification of birds of prey in flight.

To register for the Raptor Identification Workshop or for more information on Hawk Watch, contact Ranger Roy at (956) 584-9156 ext. 228. All programs are free of charge. Park admission is required. Bentsen-RGV State Park is located at 2800 South Bentsen Palm Drive in Mission, Texas.