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October 07, 1993 - North Winds Create Hawkers' Heaven8A • The Suffolk Times • October 7, 1993 North Winds Create Hawkers-' Heaven By Paul Stoutenburgh Hawks migrate in the fall when a cold front moves in accompanied by a strong northwest wind. Knowing this, I always keep my eye on the weather so I can be ready for one of those great experiences we see along our south shore. With five days of crummy weather the sky Focus on finally broke and we had our north- Nature west wind. It was time to go hawk- ing. I called Dennis and set a tentative time of arrival at the Smith Point parking lot at the end of William Floyd Parkway for 8 o'clock. Sure enough, when I got there Dennis was waiting in the mam- moth parking lot that dwarfed his car. We walked west to where the national park meets the county park and took ad- vantage of the two -story visitor center, for on the second floor you have a panoramic view of this narrow section of the famous barrier beach that runs along the south shore of our island. Our first hawk was an osprey flying up the bay on its now- casual migration south. If fishing was good in the Great South Bay perhaps he'd stay there for a while or he might just keep on going un- til he reached Sandy Hook in New Jer- sey where he'd fish the back waters there. No matter, he was on his way. Climbing the `Look for a steps of the visitor center gave us that cold front good view in the and try clear, windy morn- ing. For a full 15 hawking at minutes we saw no Smith Pont hawks but the osprey. Then down Park.' the beach we could see a lone hawk. Closer and closer it came until it soon passed only a hundred feet from us. It was a kestrel, one of 56 we'd be seeing in the next two hours. The flight was about to begin. More kestrels now along with sharp- shinned hawks mixed in. A larger, darker hawk, fast and swooping low over the dune, a Cooper's hawk tore by us on the wind. The sun was bright and to our disadvan- tage, for its sparkling brilliance on the water gave us a blind spot where often we'd lose the evasive hawks as we fol- lowed them in our glasses. A moment later they would pop out on the other side and we would again pick them up until they disappeared down the beach to our right. Once in a while we'd see a merlin or two and only once did we see a harrier or what used to be called a marsh hawk. With long wings, it swerved low over the back dunes, its white rump patch sealing its name. All these hawks were hunting as they migrated along this great barrier beach. Each had its own particu- lar way and area for catching its prey. The little kestrel hovers in the air, seemingly hanging by some invisible line to the sky. When the time is right it folds its wings and plummets down on its prey. Here in the dunes that would most likely be one of the sand - colored grasshoppers that lives in the area. The sharp tails, Coopers and merlins are low - flying attackers that tear through the air and into the woods and thickets where their sharp eyes pick up some unsuspect- ing small bird or mouse. You'll occa- sionally see a sharp- tailed hawk around your feeders in winter, for they often prey on small birds. The harrier will endlessly patrol the open areas of marsh and fields on his way south, his eyes ever sharp for the slightest motion of a vole or mouse below that would provide it energy to continue on its migration. Habitat So Important As I've often said these open fields, woodland patches, barrier beaches, shore edges and a host of other similar habitats are vital for the hawks as well as other small birds that have to be refueled along their difficult way south. Loss of habitat means loss of birds and I'm afraid we're seeing their numbers drop year after year. Some of these hawks will fly as far as South America and all along the way they will stop and hunt. Think how we would feel if we were to drive to Florida or points south and find our favorite eat- ing places had been bulldozed and con- verted into high -rise apartments, shop- ping centers or beach resorts. We'd be forced to look further but if all the eating f O., 0­1 Cfn�donMi nh KESTREL —Cold fronts and a northwest wind usually induce hawks to migrate along our barrier beach. The most common hawk seen on these migrations is the kestrel. places were gone we'd be in pretty dire straits. Habitat is the key to survival for all wildlife. Smith Point is only one small spot where hawks can be readily seen when the conditions are right here on the East End. But when it comes to "real hawk- ing," there are two places east of the Rockies that are world famous. One is Cape May, N.J., where in the fall the hawks and other small birds heading south funnel down into that narrow tip. Last chance to reseed Y our lawn before it's too cold to repair the damage from: Ca// ,Joe Merkel CARPET GREEN LAWNS 1X` 7. i\y�k� i. �r1'vKA, u'a�.L t !. x ]u J• s �a l�lA+N�.Wi 1[!. n�ll.l:v:L w'i1.fi d� ���%r I ,.' d1 North Road, Peconic 734 -7443 DROUGHT INSECTS WEED INFESTATIONS We can bring your lawn back to life with our power - seeding technique... All you need to do is water and cut the lawn! FULL LANDSCAPE SERVICE If you ACT NOW receive 10% DISCOUNT Then every hotel, motel and campground is booked solid to people who have come from far and near to see this unbelievable concentration of birds. On those special days when the conditions are right you see not just hundreds but literally thou- sands of hawks of various kinds. The same is true of a place in Pennsylvania called Hawk Mountain. In a time of ignorance ndt too long ago this familiar spot drew hunters or, as they were known in those days, "sportsmen" who would set themselves up in the rocky crags just to shoot hawks as they passed by. As fast as the guns could be loaded and fired, hawks fell by the hun- dreds and were left to rot and decay on the stony ledges below. Today a more enlightened public has set this area aside for the benefit of hawks and people alike. I have been there when the outcroppings of rocks at the top were crammed with people with binoculars, scanning the skies for these handsome raptors, from the very young in packs on their parents' backs content to sleep while Mom and Dad spotted hawks to 90- year -old veterans who return year after year for the "best hawk- ing around." Once again the spectacle of our East End changes as the seasons slip by. Fall, with its colors and cool weather, lets us view some of the specialties it offers those who know where and when to look for them. Look for a cold front moving in and try hawking at Smith Point Park at the end of William Floyd Parkway in Shirley. If you should be there on a day when the hawks are not flying just walk the wonderful beaches and enjoy this sea- side landscape.