October 14, 1962 - Fall Falcon FlightsFall Falcon Flights
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven.
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
By GILBERT RAYNOR
Gilbert Raynor of Manorville
has been a faithful contributor to
this column and each time I read
his work I wish he would con-
tribute more often. He previously
gave us a two part article on
shore birds `which was one of our
outstanding feattures to date. This
week's article brings us some of
the exciting moments a. m o n g
shore birds as the many hawks
migrate our barren beaches. ps
On a brisk autumn day with a
stiff Northwest breeze blowing
across the bays, a bird watcher
on any of Long Island's south
shore beaches may be fortunate
enough to witness one of our an-
nual fall falcon flights, migratory
movements in which numbers of
these dashing birds of prey fly
westward along our shores as a
local deviation from their gen-
eral southward migration. F e w
birds can so attract the attention
or excite the admiration as the
falcons for they are, with no
close rivals, the aristocracy of
the hawk family. None are
swifter or more graceful in flight;
none exhibit more skill and dex-
terity in capturing their prey;
none are more proud and uncon-
querable in spirit; none better
symbolize nature untamed a n d
uncontrolled by man.
Three species are involved in
these flights, the Sparrow Hawk,
the Pigeon Hawk and the Duck
Hawk. In England, their Euro-
_ pean representatives are known
respectively as the Kestrel, the
Merlin and the Peregrine Falcon
and these names are now being
adopted by many bird students
and authors in this country. Al-
though differing in size and color,
all have the Idng, pointed wings
and long, narrow tail which dis-
tinguish the falcons from other
hawks, all have a swift, direct
flight and all prefer open country
such as fields, marshes or beach-
es. When perched, they favor ex-
posed locations from which they
have a good view in all direct-
ions and commonly utilize dead
trees, telephone poles and fence
posts. Falcons never soar as do
OUT large, broad winged hawks
but will occasionally circle about
high in the air while searching
for prey. The Sparrow Hawk,•
along of the family, has the abil-
ity to hover in mid air while
scanning the ground below f o r
food.
The Sparrow Hawk is the com-
monest member of the g r o u p.
Some breed on Long I s I a n d,
quite a few winter here and large•
numbers pass through in migra-
tion. It ranges from nine to 12
inches in length with a w i n g
span of about two feet. The male
is mostly a reddish brown with
slate blue wings but the female
has win .-s colored like the back.
The Pigeon Hawk breeds in
northern coniferous forests and is
seen on Long Island chiefly. in
the fall migration, from late Aug-
ust through October. Few a r e
seen in the spring migration and
fewer yet in winter. This falcon
is slightly longer than the Spar-
row Hawk, from 10-to 14 inches
.with a wing span of just over
two feet, but has a considerably
heavier body and proportionally
shorter tail. Adults are slaty
blue with a black and white bar-
red tail but immature birds are
brownish black.
The Duck Hawk breeds mainly
to the Nor•:h also and p a s s e s
through from September to No-
vember. Like its smaller relative,
it is seldom seen in spring and
winters sparingly. Its length ran-
ges from 15 to 20 inches and its
wing span from 38 to 46 inches.
Adults are slaty gray above but
young of the year are brown.
Both have the prominent b I a c k
moustache mark characteristic of
the species.
As the falcons pass along the
beaches they commonly follow a
zig -zag pattern with a s h o r t
flight directly into the Northwest
wind and then a long, g l i d i n g
flight at right angles. Although
they often seem supremely indif-
ferent to anything below t hem,
their approach strikes terror into
potential victims. Song birds dive
for the nearest available cover
while the small sandpipers, plov-
ers and terns on the mud flats
instantly take wing ready f or
quick, but u s u a l l y unavailing,
evasion actions if the falcon sing-
les them out. Even the larger
gulls become nervous at the ap-
pearance of a Duck Hawk which
has been know to attack -birds
as large as a goose. Often the
first indication to a bird watcher
that a falcon is near is the ac-
tions of smaller birds who a r e
able to spot it long before the
binocular equipped human.
On the best flight days dozens
or, rarely, hundreds of falcons
may be se °_n from a good vant-
age point. Numbers are usually
greatest in mid - morning and di-
minish by afternoon. The birds
apparently cross Long I s l a n d
Sound or come into the Montauk
region from New England, then
drift southward or southwestward
across the Island until they
reach the outer beach. This re-
sults in progressively g r e a t e r
numbers along the beaches as
one goes westward along t h e
Island. As the birds reach t h e
west end many cut across the
water to the New Jersey shore
and continue southward w h i l e
others pass through Brooklyn and
across to Staten Island.
Years ago it was common for
gunners to practice their mark -
manship on these swift flying fal-
cons but this practise is now
largely stopped and the flights
encounter more people a r m e d
with binoculars than with shot-
guns. With continued protection,
these fall falcon flights s h o u l d
continue as one of the ,year's out-
standing ornithological events to
be viewed and enjoyed by gener-
ations to come.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
Carolyn Marshall, Susan Baker,
Peter Puleston and Dennis Pule -
sten report:
Mist Nets at Tiana — Oct 6
Yellow- throated Warbler
Terimssee Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow
Red -eyed Vireo
Black- throated Green Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Quogue — Oct 6
Black- throated Blue Warbler
Pigeon Hawks (3)
Duck Hawk
Osprey
Dennis Puleston reports:
Brookhaven — Oct 7
Nashville Warbler
Winter Wren
White- crowned Sparrow
Olive - back -d Thrush
Grey- cheeked Thrush
Green Herons (3)