Sunny and cool (low
70s) with a light NW breeze
Each year for the past decade
or more, a loyal group of dedicated birders ascend to the top of Bear Mountain
to take part in the annual hawk watch.
This is not a one day
affair. In fact, it is a
daily venture beginning on Labor Day weekend and continuing all the way through
Thanksgiving. Our leader Joe
S. has been at the helm for many years now and continues to be the mainstay of
the project.
We are following and
documenting the fall migration of hawks, vultures, ospreys, falcons and eagles
as they move south down past the Hudson Highlands. We keep tallies of what species are seen and how many of each
pass us each day. Each member of
the group will show up whenever he or she can to assist with the count. At times, there may be 15 or more folks
taking part, and at other times, it’s just Joe. Spotting scopes, binoculars, cameras and computers all are
valuable tools. When the year’s
count comes to an end, the data will be sent to Cornell University’s Lab of
Ornithology where it will be added to the counts done by other volunteer groups
across the eastern seaboard.
Each week brings a new group
of migrants through the valley.
Right now, we are on the leading edge, so it is primarily Bald eagles,
Red-tailed hawks, and an occasional hawk of other species that wanders on
through. Soon, however, the first
wave of massive migratory movement begins with the Broad-shouldered hawks
making an appearance. We are about
a week and a half away from the expected “flood” of these birds. One they about Mother Nature…..you can
never say “always”. There are
trends, and these are when the birds are expected. But they don’t always read the books, and they may show up earlier
or later than expected, or they could take a different route this year and not
show up at all! But this is why we
are there. When all is said and done, the powers that be will have a better
idea of where and when the raptors migrated this year. We’ll just have to wait and see how it
plays out.
 |
| Red-tailed hawk |
After our day’s watch today, we had
only several birds….two Bald eagles, two Red-tailed hawks, one Osprey, and a
Northern harrier which flew south past our vantage point.
 |
| Northern harrier |
As we headed back down off the
mountain, we ran across several white-tailed deer who approached our vehicles
as if conducting their own inventory of how many humans passed through their
territory.
We’ll be back later
this week to help out once again and hopefully begin to see more and more of
the travelling birds heading south.
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