October hawk watch

By SCOTT RANDO

STOKES STATE FOREST, NJ — Sunday, October 16 started out slow for hawk watching [on the Kittatinny ridge] due to a light southwest breeze—not the best wind direction for migrating hawks. But the weather forecast called for the wind to veer more to the west by mid morning, and by 9:30 a.m. the first sharp-shinned hawk appeared, flying close to the ridge and close by us. Soon after, more sharp-shinneds appeared, sometimes flying in groups of two or three. There were over two dozen spotted by noon, and by the end of the day some kestrels, an osprey, a couple of bald eagles and some black and turkey vultures were also seen. Black vultures fly with less of a “V” wing, than turkey vultures, have less of a tail and have a white pattern on the top of the wings.

Red-tailed hawks were observed as well, but their pattern of flight— “kiting” or hovering over a single spot using the wind and ridge lift to seemingly stay frozen in the air while looking for prey—made it clear that they were not yet migrating.

Some Cooper’s hawks were spotted as well, along with some red-shouldered hawks. One of the red-shouldered hawks observed on October 16 put on a little air show with a sharp-shinned as they got into each other’s airspace. These mock combat encounters occur frequently with flying raptors of the same or different species, and rarely is physical contact ever made.

In a couple of weeks, red-tails will make their move south, although some stay in our area through the winter. More eagles will be seen, including a few golden eagles, some of which will also winter in our area.