i (heart) hawks

Tis the season for ... no not silly bells and reindeer... not carved and soon to be rotting pumpkins and ridiculous costumes...

tis the season for HAWKS - en masse - to begin their annual pilgrimage down south - to avoid the chilly drafts and barren trees.. if only i could be so lucky... They follow thermal air belts that peak around this time through October and then slowly die / begin to cool. Here in the Ridge and Valley, currents bounce off or ridge tops and sink into lowlands, creating smaller scale patterns, that also affect how many birds one may see on any given day. feast of famine!

Being early in the season, it's time for the Broad Wings to soar. Braod wings are known to travel in kettles upwards of 100 deep! livin' large and flyin' high, there is no doubt they are true beauties.

A few Ospreys can be seen this time of the year in addition to many bald eagles... with the occassional sharp shinned and coopers. Ospreys are easy to pick out from a distance by their long, graceful "m" shaped wings and smooth glide...

If only i had brought with me a tripod and then a few thousand dollars to purchase a 400MM VR lens with a teleconverter... perhaps I would gain clarity in my pix... a girl can dream i guess :)



There were many red tails out, patrolling the valley for dinner. One decided to dive bomb the owl statue located on the observation platform. An incredible Sharp Shinned followed in his path. They are a smaller variety in the same Accipitridae family who move more quickly and have a higher cadence in their flight pattern. As pretty as they are, they are also aggressive as hell!

What's an afternoon in the ridge and valley without a few - DOZEN - turkey vultures. Of all ages. These guys are really curious and definitely wanted to check out the human activity around their turf.

The total count for the day - a few Osprey, one juvi bald eagle (was a spec in the distance), many red tails and vultures, one sharp shinned, a few ravens and many chimney swifts. And ofcourse the Monarchs are also beginning their flight down south and so they too were out en masse.

The top picture (ofcourse NOT MINE) is of a Golden Eagle - my most favorite of the Accipitridaes... perhaps even more majestic than the scarlet macaws (did i just type that?) these guys are unbelievable strong, and graceful with wingspans of up to 7-8 feet!!
I went to visit one in the Raptor Center at Shavers Creek and began to contemplate - as usual - the impacts of us humans on our environment.

this bird - was majestic. it spoke to me in it's 10x15 cage...

get me the hell outta here.

These birds are injured of course and taken in for care by the kind folks at the center. For one reason or another... post medical attention, they wouldn't be able to swing it in the wild - for example the resident broad winged had a full wing amputation - poor thing.

there is great value in education and outreach. For example, if people don't understand just how magnificent a bald eagle is, they will be less likely to support efforts to preserve their habitat. And unfortunately implementation of this concept involves placing birds in cages, with large bands and straps that they constantly trip on attached to each little pink-fleshed leg. (there are 2 bald eagles at shavers).

by taking these poor guys in and "rescuing them" are we sentencing them to a life in prison? (i'll say - yes) Unable to really ever fly and be free? (the flight cages there are TINY compared to the birds natural home range. then again, if i saw an injured hawk on the road, i wouldn't have the heart to keep going without assistance of some sort even though i would know the ultimate consequence of my actions.

Is "rescue and preserve" simply a selfish human construct - implemented because we, as a society, want to feel better about all of the realized damage we've done??

After all, we really don't know if there are larger cycles of environmental change that we just don't fully understand, at work. All we really do know is...

we like hawks. (atleast, i do)