Raptor rapture

Hawk watchers head for hills of Champlain Valley

Drawing by Mike Storey

Broad-winged hawk

By Mark Gretch

Cricket song fills the air by day, and the evening song of the katydid reminds us that frost is near. Bobolinks have gathered and gone, and over the cattail marsh red-winged blackbirds wheel in the sky, dipping and rising in unison as if they were one bird, of one mind.

Things are changing, and there is an urgency to it all. This change troubles me, for it signals an ending and I like beginnings. I can feel the slow turning of the seasons as we drift toward the icy stillness of January. For me it is a melancholy time. As a tonic against such seasonal mood swings I need to place myself in this dramatic September landscape, smack in the middle of the passage south of birds of prey.

Hawk migration is one of the most spectacular natural phenomena of autumn. Sometime in September a cold front will move out of Canada, triggering a mass exodus of broad-winged hawks. Their migration to Central and South America is a long one, and now that the breeding season has ended there is nothing holding them here. The shorter days in the north are less attractive than the longer days to the south, so they move.

At inland hawk lookouts across the Northeast one can expect to see upwards of 15 different species of raptors. But usually at least half the passing hawks will be broad-winged hawks. This species is a member of the buteo family, and it is a hawk that was built for soaring. They have long, broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. In this same family are the familiar red-tailed hawk of farmlands, the red-shouldered hawk of forested swamps and the more boreal rough-legged hawk that invades the North Country during the winter.

Many hikers come to the Adirondacks to climb the High Peaks; fewer climb the lower ridges and shoulders along the eastern edge of the Adirondacks. Those that do may be rewarded twofold. Not only do these lower ridges afford panoramic views of the Champlain Valley, but they also offer a vantage to witness the hawk migration.

If the conditions are right, you can start out early and arrive at the top of the ridge in time to watch the fog lift out of the valley. As the sun warms the earth, bubbles of heat rise, creating thermals. Broad-wings awaken and begin to rise from their overnight roosts. They circle to gain altitude. The day is still young, but these hawks must take full advantage of the best conditions.

Map by Nancy Bernstein

Click to enlarge

Each broad-wing has an eye out for the best thermal. Gradually they gather in larger groups. There may be dozens of birds, sometimes hundreds, and in the most favored lookouts in the Northeast thousands may swirl upward on these thermals in a mixing and spiraling of birds.

While rising they fan their tails wide and spread the primary feathers of their wings to give them the greatest surface area for lift. As they reach the top of the thermal they shut their wings and tails tight and glide toward the next thermal. One after another the rest follow, and the hawks string out over the cumulus-filled sky. You expect these favorable conditions to occur where land, air and water meet, such as along the eastern rim of the Adirondacks.

Hawks also take advantage of deflective lift, which occurs as winds glance off hills and ridges, to get a free ride on these updrafts. On days with a strong wind out of the north they may just drift south, high overhead. How they move on any given day, what paths they follow, how high they fly, how many of them are moving, are somewhat unpredictable, giving hawk watching a degree of suspense. Will it be a big day? Will we see eagles?

Some of the best hawk lookouts in the Adirondacks are along the foothills of the Champlain Valley: Coon Mountain near Westport, Belfry Mountain near Witherbee and Mineville, Coot Hill near Crown Point, and Mount Defiance overlooking Fort Ticonderoga. (Coot Hill, however, is now posted and off-limits to the public.)

Besides buteos, what other types of raptors migrate past fall lookouts? Accipiters such as the large goshawk, the medium-size Cooper’s hawk and the smaller sharp-shinned hawk are all forest-dwelling birds that have short wings and long tails. All three species fly in a manner that makes them easily identifiable as accipiters, at least in the open—a few flaps and a glide, a few flaps and a glide. As adults all three are gray-backed, giving them the common name “blue darters.”

Drawing by Mike Storey

Sharp-shinned hawk

The third major category of raptors are the pointy-winged falcons. These are the speedsters of the bird world. The peregrine falcon, the largest of them, has made a remarkable recovery after falling victim to DDT poisoning. During the 1960s, nesting pairs plummeted to 39 nationally. Today, because of a DDT ban and reintroduction programs, this species has bounced back to about 1,600 breeding pairs. During the breeding season, peregrines nest high up, on steep cliffs and ledges in the Adirondacks. The two other smaller species of falcons are the merlin and the cavity-nesting American kestrel, both birds of open country.

Don’t expect to become an expert overnight. Hawk identification can be challenging. With some practice, however, you can amaze your friends. Many non-birders seeing a large, dark, chunky bird soaring high in the sky would be quick to say “eagle.” Many of these birds turn out to be turkey vultures, or TVs as birders call them. At a great distance you can identify a TV by the way it holds its wings at a slight V angle when soaring—unlike the eagle, which stretches its wings straight out.

When watching for hawks, you have to be in the right place at the right time. Knowing when each species migrates improves your chance of having a big day. The peak time for broad-wings is middle to late September; for sharpies, early to middle October; for Cooper’s and red-tailed hawks, middle October to early November, and for golden eagles, early to middle November.

Hawk watching affords a perfect excuse to avoid the overused High Peaks, enjoy terrific views from small mountains and contribute to science. So go for it—and be sure to report your sightings to Mike Peterson of the High Peaks Audubon Society, RR 1, Box 230, Elizabethtown, NY 12932.

Directions:

COON MOUNTAIN: Drive north on Lakeshore Road out of Westport for about 3 miles, turning left onto Halds Road. There is a parking area maintained by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy on the right side of the road about 0.75 miles after you turn.
The hike to this rocky ridge will take about a half-hour.

BELFRY MOUNTAIN: Leave I-87 at Exit 30. Go east on County 6 (Tracy Road) to Witherbee. Turn left (north) at the junction of County 6 and Dalton Hill Road (County 70). Watch for the Belfry Mountain firetower on the hill to the left. Park near the trailhead on the road. The walk to the top takes 10 minutes.

MOUNT DEFIANCE: From Montcalm Street in downtown Ticonderoga, turn south onto Lake George Avenue. A short distance down the road, make a left turn onto Mount Defiance Street. From the base of the hill you can either walk or drive to the top. The road is gated at night.

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