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Watching Migration Hawks
Each fall, hundreds of thousands of hawks eagles, ospreys and falcons withdraw from
their breeding grounds across North America and move to their wintering grounds, some as
far away as southern South America.
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Some species, such as this Cooper’s
Hawk, remain in North America and stake out backyard bird feeders in hopes of making a
meal out of an unwary bird. This individual has captured a Mourning Dove. |
Figure 1 - Cooper’s Hawk with Mourning Dove
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Figure 2 - Migration Routes
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Migrating hawks follow well defined routes as
they move to their southern homes. Most hawks are soaring birds that depend on updrafts to
help them travel. They do not like to cross large bodies of water where there are no
updrafts. Instead, they will follow a land routes and shorelines to navigate around large
bodies of water. For this reason, certain geographical locations become concentration
spots where hawks gather prior to crossing a narrow stretch of water. Such locations are
excellent places to observe migrating hawks.
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In North America, there are many excellent
places to observe concentrations of migrating hawks. One place is Holiday Beach, Ontario,
on the northwestern corner of Lake Erie. Here, migrating hawks, eagles and songbirds that
have followed the north shore of Lake Erie looking for a narrow place to cross the lake
concentrate prior to crossing the Detroit River and moving south.
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Figure 3 - Holiday Beach, southern Ontario
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Figure 4 - View from the tower at Holiday Beach
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An observation tower erected at Holiday Beach
is used each fall to observe and count the numbers of raptors and other birds that pass
this location on their southward journey. Tens of thousands of migrating hawks and
songbirds may pass this point in a single day.
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Another world famous place to observe fall
migrants is Cape May, New Jersey. Here again, thousands of migrating hawks and millions of
songbirds concentrate while they wait for the right weather conditions to cross Delaware
Bay. |
Figure 5 - Cape May, New Jersey
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Figure 6 - Cape May, New Jersey
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Thousands of bird watchers also visit Cape
May and other sites across America to observe this annual migration spectacle. |
Raptor counts are tallied each day at Cape
may and at many other locations across North America during the migration season to keep
track of population trends. |
Figure 7 - Fall Hawk Count
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Figure 8 - Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Pennsylvania
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One of the more scenic places to watch
migrating raptors is Hawk Mountain Sanctuary just north of Reading in east central
Pennsylvania. |
Even on slow migration days, this place is worth the visit
just to enjoy the fall scenery across Pennsylvania. Here, on the mountain ridge, one can
observe migrating raptors as they take advantage of the updrafts created when northerly
winds hit the northern facing slopes. On clear days, distant features such as the Pocono
Mountains and the Delaware Water Gap can be seen.
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Figure 9 - Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Pennsylvania
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Figure 10 - Turkey Vulture at Hawk Mountain
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Hawks, eagles, ospreys, vultures and falcons
can be observed eyeball to eyeball as they pass along the mountain ridges. These ridges
stretch more than 300 miles along the Appalachian Mountain chain. The Native Americans in
this region named one of these ridges Kittatinny, their word for "the greatest
mountain."
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Looking across the mountain ranges, some idea
of the distances are indicated by the steam plume from a power plant more than 40 miles
away. |
Figure 11 - Looking North from Hawk Mountain
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Figure 12 - Migration Timing
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Data accumulated over years of hawk watching
reveal that different species of raptors migrate according to different schedules. The
movement of Broad-winged Hawks, for example, peaks in September. Red-tailed Hawks, on the
other hand, reach their peak migration in November.
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Hawk watching during the migration season is
just one of the many enjoyable ways to study the lives of these fascinating creatures. To
learn more about hawk watching activities in your area, contact you local Audubon Society,
or write to the Hawk Migration Society of North America, 377 Loomis St., Southwick, MA
01077.
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All images are courtesy of CWBO. All image copyrights are owned by CWBO.
Any use of these images must have permission of CWBO. |
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