November 18, 1962 - Migration at Hawk MountainMigration at Hawk Monntain
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven.
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
GUEST WRITER:
SUSAN BAKER
Because of the way the world
spins today most young p e o p l e
are not afforded the luxury of
being close to the out- of-doors.
There are some who, thanks to
themselves and the support of
others, have been able to retain
this most wonderful gift of ap-
preciation. Susan Baker is one
of these young people, a student
at Bellport High School who has
written this week's article telling
of a trip with others to Hawk
Mountain. I am indeed happy to
have her as our guest writer and
hope this will encourage other
young people to contribute their
talents to this column. p.s.
On top of a mountain in the
Kittatinny Ridge in Pennsylvania,
a conglomeration of people can
be seen sitting on an outcropping,
of rocks anywhere from e a r' y
September to late November. All
eyes seem to be glued to the
sky, and often cries such as 'two
over one' or `one over four' can
be heard.
Actually, this scene is not so
mysterious when one knows what
is going on. The mountain is the
famous Hawk Mountain, the peo-
ple are mainly bird watchers, the
eyes are watching hawks, and
the cries are locating or identify-
ing them.
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is
located near Hamburg in central
Pennsylvania, and is only a short
distance from Route 22. It is now
a famous sanctuary, and people
eom•e from every corner of the
United States, and from countries
across both oceans to witness
there -one of the most majestic
and thrilling spectacles of modern
ornithology: that of the thousands
of migrating hawks and eagles.
Unfortunately for the hawk and
eagle population, this site, until
quite recently, was a favorite
hunting sight. Droves of hunters
on Sundays (as many as 130 to
400 men) armed with pump guns,
automatics, and double-barreled
shotguns, lay in wait for t he
hawks and eagles. When so many
men are sitting on top of a
mountain, no bird is safe. In a
season, as many, as 60 broad
wings, literally thousands of
sharp - shinned and Coopers hawks,
and many protected b i r d s such
as ospreys, sparrow hawks, bald
eagles, and even flickers a n d
blur -jays, were shot. The slaugh-
ters were -being urged by trigger -
happy sportsmen throughout the
country, reacting to propaganda
to annihilate our hawks and owls
issued by gun and ammunition
makers.
The hawk- shoots had long been
known to the Pennsylvania Game
Commission, and it apparently
favored the killing. It was re-
sponsible, in 1929, for legislation
placing a five - dollar b o u n t y on
Goshawks, a hawk that is rare
in that state. Not one hunter in
a 100 would know what a gos-
hawk is or has ever seen one.
A goshawk bounty is really an
incentive 'to kill all hawks, with
an agreeable feature that the
state has to pay the bounty only
on goshawks.
Brought to the attention of the
Hawk and Owl Society, .the Na-
tional Audubon Societies, a n d
the Linnean Society of New
York, a joint meeting was held
in October, 1M3. Richard Pough,
anxious to save the birds, re-
potted that he had made contact
with real estate agents of t he
owners of the mountain. The
property could be boughxt at a
lowfigu re and on easy terms.
Conservationists present at this
meeting were confident that the
problem was s o l v e d, yet the
spring and ear,'.y summer of 1934
passed, and still nothing w a s
done. It was Mrs Charles Noel
Edge, who was, and still is,
chairman of the militant Emer-
gency Conservation Committee,
who, in August of that year ob-
tained, without difficulty, a lease
of the mountain for one year,
with an option to buy from the
owners, two elderly brothers in
Hazelton, Penn.
The main problem now was
the pressing one of g e t t i n g
someone before mid - September
to protect it. She called on
Maurice Brown (The Sanctuary's
present curator) and his wife,
and they responded to the call,
without salary. He and M r s
Brown have since spent in any
long years at the sanctuary, first
discouraging the hunters, w'h o
were often violent, and then turn-
ing it into a sanctuary, n o w
world famous among ornitholo-
gists.
The reason that such I a r g e'
numbers of hawks can be seen
migrating along this ridge. is
merely one of topography. When
a stiff northwest wind is blow-
ing, the air hits the ridge and
causes an updraft of wind on
which the hawks can fly south
with a minimum of effort. At
this point the long ridge narrows.
to a- slender bottleneck: a focal
point for all migratory hawks.
Here the razorback ridge ends
abruptly; its wooded slopes
merge into a broad cross - ridge
which zigzags southward. Jutting
'conspicuously from the t r e e s
of the cross - ridge are a series
of promontories, in the line of
flight of the migrating birds, af-
fording a wide sweep of view
down the valleys and across the
ridges. The lookout is one of these
promontories of rock, and t h e
hawks can be seen right above
or they can be looked down upon
as they fly by either side. In
either case, they fly very close
to the lookout, and can be seen
quite clearly. Off in the distance
there is a line of mountains
which have conveniently been
numbered one throgh five. The
hawks can first be seen. as they
fly over these hills, and when
somueone spots a hawk, they gen-
erally call out the number of
hawks and which hill they are
f l y i n g over; thus the 'two over
one' or 'one over four' which
can so often be heard. O t h e r
shapes have been named also,
so the hawk can be followed eas-
ily. A convenient 'map allocating
all such places is posted on the
-lookout for a1T newcorners who
might wonder what all t h e
strange language is about.
On some days, depending on
the wind conditions, the hawks
can be seen sailing in a circle,
going upward with a thermal so
high that they are lost out of
sight until they come gliding by
past the lookout. On days such
as this it is difficult to count
the hawks, because it is hard not
to count them twice, and if they
aren't counted the first t i me
they are seen, they might be
missed the second.
Different species of h a w k s
generally migrate at different
times. In September, the broad -
winged hawks are the most com-
mon, but the osprey, bald eag'.e
and sparrow hawk concentrate
their migration in this time also.
During October, the sharp - shinned
hawks (sharpies) are most com-
mon, followed by the Cooper's
and pigeon hawk. Later in the
month the red-tailed and r e d-
shouldered hawks, and turkey vol-
tures and golden eagles begin in
concentration and continue until
about the middle of November.
Other hawks that are seen oc-
casionailly include the r o u g h-
legged hawk, the peregrine fal-
con, the goshawk, and- the- mmsh_
hawk (which is seen through all
three months).
In 1948, about 21 thousand
hawks were seen, 15 hundred of
which were broad-wings, 25 hun-
dred of which were red - tails, and
17 thousand of which were
sharpies.
Even when the hawking is slow,
other immigrants such as blue -
jays, ducks, geese, loons, a n d
even monarch butterflies can be
seen. Many other birds and ani-
mals can be seen on the sanc-
tuary, such as pileated w o o d-
peckers, winter wrens, red back
voles, and deer. Mr Braun has
identified from the mountaintop
(as of 1948) 185 species and sub-
species of birds, which is about
65 percent of the bird life of
Berks County's 920 square miles.
I have been to Hawk Mountain
about five times in the 1 a s t
three years with a fair s i z e d
group of students and adults. We
generally leave about 4:30 in the
morning and arrive in approxi-
mately four hours. We generally
stay for a three day weekend in
October, and go again for one
day in November. C a in p i •n g
facilities are provided for a
nominal fee but we sleep in a
tent or just "under the stars,"
if the weather permits. The trip
home takes about five h o u r s
because of city traffic. The total
cost per person for a three -day
weekend (including food, gas, and
tolls) is only about five dollars;
an infinitesimal fee when one con-
siders the wonderful birding that
we enjoy.
We invariably enjoy good times
on these trips, and many birds
are add -d to our life lists. Some
species other than hawks that we
have seen include a blue goose
(in a pond near the sanctuary),
a pine grosbeak, a saw -whet owl,
and a pileated woodpecker. On
the last trip, we saw an imma-
ture red - headed woodpecker, and
heard a great horned owl and
a screech owl early in the morn-
ing. Saturday nights are occupied
with lectures in the C o m m o n
room.. The days can be interest-
ing even when the hawking is
poor. Hiking up and down dif-
ferent sides of the mountain is
fun, and different birds such as
kinglets, winter wrens, and gr6s-
beaks can be seen. One dark
and dreary day three years ago,
it started to rain when I was
on the mountaintop. I took shel-
ter under a rock, and t h e r e
met a man and his daughter wl►o
were also taking refuge. We had
an interesting discussion, and I
have since met the same t w o
people in the fast two years that
I have been there.
Hawk Mountain, the world's
first sanctuary for birds of prey,
is an excellent place for a field
trip and is well worth a visit.
It has been a major step toward
the preservation of hawks and
eagles, and marks an epoch in
conservation.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS:
Don Glover reports:
Plum Island _ Nov 8
Goldencrowned Kinglets
Judd .Bennett reports:
East Marion — Nov 6
Bluebirds
Pete Kujawski reports:
Peconic — Week of Nov 5 -12
White Starling
Steve Swiatocha reports:
Peconic — Nov 11
Yellow -legs
Ruby- crowned Kinglets
Flocks of Goldfinch