Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Bacliff- Mature female Gos
21 December- 10:45 A.M., Intersection 146 and 646- Bacliff near Kemah, Texas. 1 mature female gos soaring and flapping at about 400 feet elevation. Also, 1 Cooper's sneaking about the houses and trees, 2 Black Vultures, 1 mature Red-shouldered Hawk. Another example of how common Goshawks are in Texas.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
abrupt weather changes
Here are 3 examples of how to find and observe Northern goshawks, from where they are nesting, or roosting on their southern wintering quarters, or where they have been "put down" by the storm, be it rain, wind, snow, or electrical.
The first 2 examples are of Goshawks caught in (or escaping from) poor weather conditions. The second type of example is when the weather changes (and rapidly) from bad to good.
So, what you are trying to observe is a Goshawks fleeing from bad weather, or, when the storm clears the area, to observe the Goshawk being "released" from the storm. Then it is up to you to determine if the area is a roosting or nesting area. If after many hours and days of monitoring the area, you might determine that this area is where the raptor happened to put down, in order to ride out the storm.
In Williamsport, Pa., on the deck of my apartment, half way up the side of a steep hill, and over looking the Bald Eagle Mountains and the Susquehanna River: An electrical storm was building and heading my way. 2 large raptors were heading my way, constantly flapping, flying abreast with the wing tips of hawk nearly touching the other hawk's wing tips. The hawks showed no color, just darkness. The hawks were trying to beat the storm home. They flew off to the side of my building. The raptors were 2 female Northern Goshawks. The hillside next to the hillside on which I lived, contained nesting Goshawks.
In winter, I was walking the dike on the Susquehanna River in the suburbs of Williansport, Pa. It was damp and very cold. It had just started to snow. A mature male Goshawk was rapidly pumping, and there was no gliding for this hawk. The hawk was heading out of the river valley, in order to get into the foot hills, near where I lived. So, in both cases the Goshawks were trying to beat the storm home.
In San Diego- Mission Bay, 2000-01. I had been observing NG from De Anza RV Park. Mainly, the Goshawks were observed over the Clairmont Hills. We had had many hours of windy, rainy weather. The radio weather report told of when the storm was to break. 15 minutes before the storm was to break, I started walking to a satisfactory location. It was on the side walk of a golf course at the base of the Clairmont Hills. There was much traffic, as 5 roads converged at a traffic light. It was not a safe place to spend any amount of time. Within 15 minutes or less, a Northern goshawk presented by lifting off, out of the trees.
As an aside- I spent 4 months observing Goshawks, both male and female, in many areas of San Diego, including the Wild Animal Park, the town of La Mesa, Mission Bay, the Zoo, Point Loma, and Tijuana Slough. And possibly 1 sighting near the Mormon Church on I-5. I returned to San Diego 7 years later, for 5 days to visit with relatives. I went to my favorite spot at Mission Bay, and within minutes, I observed a male goshawk stooping on pigeons, over the Clairmont Hills. Yes, it was a very lucky sighting. 2 years later, I returned to San Diego for a week to visit with relatives, and observed the Goshawk in a new location- Carlsbad, at Lego Land. Also at the start of the Dolphin exhibit at Sea World (a female) and at the Museum of Natural History ( a female Gos in flight and perched high on a snag -then glassed as mature).
Oh! I can hear some of my detractors now! " I have lived in S. D. for 40 years, and have birded all areas nearly every weekend and...." Blah blah blah.
The first 2 examples are of Goshawks caught in (or escaping from) poor weather conditions. The second type of example is when the weather changes (and rapidly) from bad to good.
So, what you are trying to observe is a Goshawks fleeing from bad weather, or, when the storm clears the area, to observe the Goshawk being "released" from the storm. Then it is up to you to determine if the area is a roosting or nesting area. If after many hours and days of monitoring the area, you might determine that this area is where the raptor happened to put down, in order to ride out the storm.
In Williamsport, Pa., on the deck of my apartment, half way up the side of a steep hill, and over looking the Bald Eagle Mountains and the Susquehanna River: An electrical storm was building and heading my way. 2 large raptors were heading my way, constantly flapping, flying abreast with the wing tips of hawk nearly touching the other hawk's wing tips. The hawks showed no color, just darkness. The hawks were trying to beat the storm home. They flew off to the side of my building. The raptors were 2 female Northern Goshawks. The hillside next to the hillside on which I lived, contained nesting Goshawks.
In winter, I was walking the dike on the Susquehanna River in the suburbs of Williansport, Pa. It was damp and very cold. It had just started to snow. A mature male Goshawk was rapidly pumping, and there was no gliding for this hawk. The hawk was heading out of the river valley, in order to get into the foot hills, near where I lived. So, in both cases the Goshawks were trying to beat the storm home.
In San Diego- Mission Bay, 2000-01. I had been observing NG from De Anza RV Park. Mainly, the Goshawks were observed over the Clairmont Hills. We had had many hours of windy, rainy weather. The radio weather report told of when the storm was to break. 15 minutes before the storm was to break, I started walking to a satisfactory location. It was on the side walk of a golf course at the base of the Clairmont Hills. There was much traffic, as 5 roads converged at a traffic light. It was not a safe place to spend any amount of time. Within 15 minutes or less, a Northern goshawk presented by lifting off, out of the trees.
As an aside- I spent 4 months observing Goshawks, both male and female, in many areas of San Diego, including the Wild Animal Park, the town of La Mesa, Mission Bay, the Zoo, Point Loma, and Tijuana Slough. And possibly 1 sighting near the Mormon Church on I-5. I returned to San Diego 7 years later, for 5 days to visit with relatives. I went to my favorite spot at Mission Bay, and within minutes, I observed a male goshawk stooping on pigeons, over the Clairmont Hills. Yes, it was a very lucky sighting. 2 years later, I returned to San Diego for a week to visit with relatives, and observed the Goshawk in a new location- Carlsbad, at Lego Land. Also at the start of the Dolphin exhibit at Sea World (a female) and at the Museum of Natural History ( a female Gos in flight and perched high on a snag -then glassed as mature).
Oh! I can hear some of my detractors now! " I have lived in S. D. for 40 years, and have birded all areas nearly every weekend and...." Blah blah blah.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Building a Goshawk triangle
The goshawk triangle will be inverted. The base of the triangle will be at the average cruising altitude of the NG, at 150 -200 feet over the tall trees. If no trees , such as desert scrub, average elevation will be about the same, 200 feet over the the desert floor. The legs of the triangle will point into the tree tops. Or, the point of the triangle will reach the tree tops. Certainly, a Goshawk can stoop toward the ground to kill prey. But, many times a NG will perch high in a tree. From its initial perch a NG will usually hunt downward or downward and outward. So the triangle can be maneuvered over the surface of the terrain, in all directions. If from a roosting area-or nesting area: The Goshawk will hunt over an area of about 5 miles in many different directions from the roosting site.
The Cooper's Hawk triangle is low to the ground and the base is parallel to the ground or foliage. The point of the Cooper's triangle points toward the top of the shrubs or medium high trees.
What all of this means: Goshawks live in the sky. The NG hunting cycle is sky-tree-sky. (And the gist of this weblog is- Goshawks cannot hide in the sky. They don't wish to hide. They love the sky.)The Cooper's Hawk hunting cycle is to stay within the greenery, and sneak about. Except when the hawk wishes to get from one, long distance to another. "Long", meaning a couple of 100 yards or so. Then the Cooper's will will fly in straight-line flight over the top of the terrain, be it houses or tree tops. Or just over the top of the shrubs. When goshawks are perched in foliage, usually they are well-exposed. NG certainly will perch on telephone poles in Arizona. The NG triangle is at any one time much larger than a Cooper's Hawk hunting triangle.
The Cooper's Hawk triangle is low to the ground and the base is parallel to the ground or foliage. The point of the Cooper's triangle points toward the top of the shrubs or medium high trees.
What all of this means: Goshawks live in the sky. The NG hunting cycle is sky-tree-sky. (And the gist of this weblog is- Goshawks cannot hide in the sky. They don't wish to hide. They love the sky.)The Cooper's Hawk hunting cycle is to stay within the greenery, and sneak about. Except when the hawk wishes to get from one, long distance to another. "Long", meaning a couple of 100 yards or so. Then the Cooper's will will fly in straight-line flight over the top of the terrain, be it houses or tree tops. Or just over the top of the shrubs. When goshawks are perched in foliage, usually they are well-exposed. NG certainly will perch on telephone poles in Arizona. The NG triangle is at any one time much larger than a Cooper's Hawk hunting triangle.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Goshawk tails
William S. Clark in "Hawks" states and the illustration show : Tail -tip that is wedge shaped when folded. The question is, is that statement always true. I say no. Perched birds and perched raptors can manipulate their tail feathers, and in also in flight. Of my possibly 3,000 daily sightings of of NG, very few were observed while perched. At http://www.goshawksoftucson.blogspot.com/ is a photograph of a mature Goshawk at University of Arizona. This hawk is so high in a snag that I could not determine the the size of the hawk, therefor could not sex the bird. The photo shows a severely tapered tail and tapered tail-tip. The photo also shows a robust chest.
NG tails are usually very long. The tail tip can be square, or rounded, or, as I have noticed only once, and in Anacortes, Washington, in summer 2009 - a NG with a club shaped tail-tip! This tail-tip was also asymmetrical, thereby concluding: 2 male Goshawks were hunting at the Pioneer Trails RV Park- just outside the city limits of Anacortes, because 1 male NG had a square-tip tail (with no terminal band). So, NG can have a thick,white, terminal band; a thin, white, terminal band; or no terminal band.
NG have tails that are very broad at the base, and this broadness is carried throughout the tail length. But the tail must be folded. Even then, a mature female NG has a large area of white, fluffy, under tail coverts that can obscure the tail base.
From Anacortes, standing in my son's driveway, near the school, was a female NG cruising at about 200 feet elevation. The size, shape, altitude of the hawk all suggested NG female. The hawk was approaching my position at 50 degrees off my zenith and to the side. I glassed the hawk; the base of the tail was pinched, and was not as wide as the tail -tip. So, now I am thinking Cooper's. But too many strong points go against the hawk being a Cooper's. Explanation- the folded tail was not completely folded, it was slightly fanned.
Pete Dunne's "Hawks in Flight" chapter "Accipiters": last statement "If you are close enough, why not just count the tail bands? Goshawks show 4, Cooper's 3." I will never use that factor. Maybe I have tried that concept, but will never again. I don't need this way to identify accipiters.
First, the hawk has to be at close range. Second-the hawk must be near your zenith. Third- the hawk must have its tail fanned. Mr. Dunne's idea of tail bands goes against my concept of hawking. The idea of waiting, and observing, waiting some more, and observes some more, and then when the hawk is overhead to try and make your identification is not hawking. The goshawk, especially the female, can easily be identified nearly instantly at distances of close to 1 mile- naked eye. If not- then one half mile away. Or would you believe 400 yards away? Hawk watching is not a waiting game, hoping the hawk will pass near your position. Once the novice hawk watcher begins looking for field marks or specific color-patterns, then the novice hawk watcher is reverting into becoming a birder. The main factors of hawking are size, shape, and movement of wings. And at the same time, the general color of the hawk, such as black, brown, white, or gray is automatically taken into the sub-conscious. One more item, and you will not find this in field guides- Northern Goshawks with folded tails will show that the under tail is black- except for the white terminal band. Again we are talking of hawks in flight-and not at close range. If you analyze Mr. D. A. Sibley's artwork on accipiter's tails in "Hawks in Flight", it does not suggest what Pete Dunne suggests.
NG tails are usually very long. The tail tip can be square, or rounded, or, as I have noticed only once, and in Anacortes, Washington, in summer 2009 - a NG with a club shaped tail-tip! This tail-tip was also asymmetrical, thereby concluding: 2 male Goshawks were hunting at the Pioneer Trails RV Park- just outside the city limits of Anacortes, because 1 male NG had a square-tip tail (with no terminal band). So, NG can have a thick,white, terminal band; a thin, white, terminal band; or no terminal band.
NG have tails that are very broad at the base, and this broadness is carried throughout the tail length. But the tail must be folded. Even then, a mature female NG has a large area of white, fluffy, under tail coverts that can obscure the tail base.
From Anacortes, standing in my son's driveway, near the school, was a female NG cruising at about 200 feet elevation. The size, shape, altitude of the hawk all suggested NG female. The hawk was approaching my position at 50 degrees off my zenith and to the side. I glassed the hawk; the base of the tail was pinched, and was not as wide as the tail -tip. So, now I am thinking Cooper's. But too many strong points go against the hawk being a Cooper's. Explanation- the folded tail was not completely folded, it was slightly fanned.
Pete Dunne's "Hawks in Flight" chapter "Accipiters": last statement "If you are close enough, why not just count the tail bands? Goshawks show 4, Cooper's 3." I will never use that factor. Maybe I have tried that concept, but will never again. I don't need this way to identify accipiters.
First, the hawk has to be at close range. Second-the hawk must be near your zenith. Third- the hawk must have its tail fanned. Mr. Dunne's idea of tail bands goes against my concept of hawking. The idea of waiting, and observing, waiting some more, and observes some more, and then when the hawk is overhead to try and make your identification is not hawking. The goshawk, especially the female, can easily be identified nearly instantly at distances of close to 1 mile- naked eye. If not- then one half mile away. Or would you believe 400 yards away? Hawk watching is not a waiting game, hoping the hawk will pass near your position. Once the novice hawk watcher begins looking for field marks or specific color-patterns, then the novice hawk watcher is reverting into becoming a birder. The main factors of hawking are size, shape, and movement of wings. And at the same time, the general color of the hawk, such as black, brown, white, or gray is automatically taken into the sub-conscious. One more item, and you will not find this in field guides- Northern Goshawks with folded tails will show that the under tail is black- except for the white terminal band. Again we are talking of hawks in flight-and not at close range. If you analyze Mr. D. A. Sibley's artwork on accipiter's tails in "Hawks in Flight", it does not suggest what Pete Dunne suggests.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
On mature Cooper's- perched
Mature Cooper's Hawks: Do not have to have a dark skull cap. Do not have to have tawny cheeks or a flat head- or have the eye appear to be pushed toward the forward area of the head. Mature Cooper's can have very pale pink or orange vermiculation on the chest, which may be difficult to " pick up" at close range- naked eye. Every item above does not represent the norm. Mature Cooper's can have a rounded head. Cooper's generally, have a very long tail. They can hide their thick, white terminal band by controlling the tail feathers, while perched. The tail-tip will be tapered, showing just a hint of white. But, if the hawk leaves its perch, ( I followed this bird one quarter mile to its next perch), you will notice that the hawk has a thick, white terminal band on a rounded tail-tip. Or, you might observe the terminal band as the hawk leaves its perch.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
goshawks of WMPT., Pa.
Williamsport, previously named Billtown, was my second area of introduction to breeding NG. After many years of residing in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, I took residence in WMPT., and from the git-go started observing NG in many areas; perched downtown State College, Bald Eagle State Park, West of WMPT. , South WMPT., Rose Valley, Farragut, a few sightings East of WMPT., and at Montour Preserve in Montour County. The following information will contain insights and facts of NG and Cooper's Hawks.
NG are breeding in the suburbs of Williamsport. Goshawks love mixed- hardwood forests. Forests in the East are encroaching upon the cities and suburbs. At the same time housing developments and small Mom and Pop farms are encroaching into the forests. You should contemplate: What is your definition of a forest?! If you could rise slightly above the countryside in a glider or a small aircraft, would your definition of a forest become modified?
Goshawks are nesting in the very well- maintained suburbs of WMPT., in Faxon. There are many Pin Oak in Faxon. OAK, especially Pin Oak draw-in many species of small game- and large game. The word OAK is synonymous with GOS; not all oak, but certainly Pin Oak. I only resided in WMPT. and Pennsylvania for 1 and one half years.
The legs of Northern goshawks; a female NG was hunting in and about a recreational field. This area contained an Olympic swimming pool, a children's park, a football field, a baseball field, volley ball courts, a jogging track, a small stream of rill that bordered one side, and a road that lead out of the suburbs. Possibly, I didn't have my binos while walking in the park. So, I hurried back to my apartment, about a half mile away, then up the steep hill to the actual apartment. I grabbed my scope and made it back to the park. The female NG was still there hunting, perched on guard rails and stop sign. Out come - if you scope a female Goshawk, and there are no obstructions and the the hawk is quite level with your position, then you will notice the large, powerful-looking legs. And the legs will be yellow or yellow-green. Northern goshawks were nesting on that steep, wooded hill side. That hill side is separate from the hill that I lived on. The hills are separated by the road and the flat land of the recreational park. By walking the park, very close to the road- and glassing into the hard wood trees, I saw branchers , also called limbers, i.e., very young NG creeping along the branches.
NG also like to "shoot the gap", usually gliding and flapping from one ridge line to another ridge line, i.e., from their nesting hillside to the other hill top or hillside, on which I lived. The reason why I elaborated on the park was to inform that NG do not sneak about, do not sneak away from humans. What this means is that NG prefer to observe you and your activities from above.
COOPER'S HAWKS many times will sneak away from you or your position , while traveling at low levels, sometimes below your eye level . Generally, a Cooper's Hawk will sneak away at the same height or position from which it was perched! Also, a Cooper's Hawk will follow the contours of any structure, if it wishes. For example, at poolside: Buildings of showers, laundry room, saunas; a Cooper's enters the pool area at 12 feet elevation. Then the hawk nearly crashes with the wall. But no, the hawk climbs the wall and reaches the eaves of the roof. Now the Cooper's follows the roof's pitch to the roof's peak. Now the hawk has options; many times the hawk will not rise above the line of the roof's peak, i.e., the hawk will dive or continue along at the same level. PLEASE heed: Goshawks do not act in this manner! Another example of a Cooper's Hawk . You are on one side of a wall, about 4 feet high. You notice a Cooper's Hawk on the other side, heading toward you and the wall. You wait- the Cooper's does not fly over the wall . You wait- the Cooper's does not land on the wall.
But now, the Cooper's Hawk is on your side of the wall sneaking (flying) past your position. How can this be!? Answer- on the other side of the wall is a thick scrub or tree; on your side of the wall is another bush, or the same bush as on the other side, but hanging over the wall and on your side. The Cooper's hawk crawled and hid in the bush and went over the wall still in the bush. So what happened was that the hawk never presented a silhouette as it made it over to your side. PLEASE heed: Goshawks do not act in this manner! We are not talking field marks, or color, or size!
Generally, the dorsal area of a Cooper's Hawk if brown, and will be darker than a NG dorsal area. Generally, you will be comparing a Cooper's dark brown dorsal area to a NG gray, pewter- gray, purple-gray, purple-black, silver gray. You may observe Cooper's Hawks with solid gray dorsal areas. Now it is time to understand the concept- is the bird "giving you something or is the bird offering you something" !? In this case the Cooper's is offering you something. In other words- you should not accept that offer. Well, how do you know the difference between being given something and something being offered? Only with years of field work can you understand the concept. Another way to look at it - if a friend gives you something, you take it. But, if a friend offers you something, you do not have to accept it. Your friend is giving you an out- when just offering you something.
When a raptor or any entity presents, let us say a shape or color, make sure the object is inspected for an adequate amount of time. Now, we shift to the Pacific North West. I have observed 2-4 just female NG with slight dihedral and some with very strong dihedral. Now, I do not know if this is a permanent condition with these particular female NG. Also, I have noticed some, just female NG with very slow and deep wing beats as if the the NG was exhausted, and sometimes these exhausted NG will point their heads upwards, tail downwards and slowly climb nearly vertical. It seems as if the hawk stopped flapping that it would slide downward, tail first. A mature female NG has long, white, fluffy, under tail coverts. At times the under tail coverts will ride upward and cover the sides of the base of the tail. Now, when a mature female starts to climb straight upward, the under tail coverts will wrap around the base of the tail-top, and will show a white patch- so now are you observing a Northern Harrier? No. The general shape of the wings and over-all structure, plus the gray dorsal area will express Goshawk. The main reason for this little story is to show that you should observe any particular point of interest for an adequate amount of time. So that temporary white patch on the upper tail was an offering.
NG are breeding in the suburbs of Williamsport. Goshawks love mixed- hardwood forests. Forests in the East are encroaching upon the cities and suburbs. At the same time housing developments and small Mom and Pop farms are encroaching into the forests. You should contemplate: What is your definition of a forest?! If you could rise slightly above the countryside in a glider or a small aircraft, would your definition of a forest become modified?
Goshawks are nesting in the very well- maintained suburbs of WMPT., in Faxon. There are many Pin Oak in Faxon. OAK, especially Pin Oak draw-in many species of small game- and large game. The word OAK is synonymous with GOS; not all oak, but certainly Pin Oak. I only resided in WMPT. and Pennsylvania for 1 and one half years.
The legs of Northern goshawks; a female NG was hunting in and about a recreational field. This area contained an Olympic swimming pool, a children's park, a football field, a baseball field, volley ball courts, a jogging track, a small stream of rill that bordered one side, and a road that lead out of the suburbs. Possibly, I didn't have my binos while walking in the park. So, I hurried back to my apartment, about a half mile away, then up the steep hill to the actual apartment. I grabbed my scope and made it back to the park. The female NG was still there hunting, perched on guard rails and stop sign. Out come - if you scope a female Goshawk, and there are no obstructions and the the hawk is quite level with your position, then you will notice the large, powerful-looking legs. And the legs will be yellow or yellow-green. Northern goshawks were nesting on that steep, wooded hill side. That hill side is separate from the hill that I lived on. The hills are separated by the road and the flat land of the recreational park. By walking the park, very close to the road- and glassing into the hard wood trees, I saw branchers , also called limbers, i.e., very young NG creeping along the branches.
NG also like to "shoot the gap", usually gliding and flapping from one ridge line to another ridge line, i.e., from their nesting hillside to the other hill top or hillside, on which I lived. The reason why I elaborated on the park was to inform that NG do not sneak about, do not sneak away from humans. What this means is that NG prefer to observe you and your activities from above.
COOPER'S HAWKS many times will sneak away from you or your position , while traveling at low levels, sometimes below your eye level . Generally, a Cooper's Hawk will sneak away at the same height or position from which it was perched! Also, a Cooper's Hawk will follow the contours of any structure, if it wishes. For example, at poolside: Buildings of showers, laundry room, saunas; a Cooper's enters the pool area at 12 feet elevation. Then the hawk nearly crashes with the wall. But no, the hawk climbs the wall and reaches the eaves of the roof. Now the Cooper's follows the roof's pitch to the roof's peak. Now the hawk has options; many times the hawk will not rise above the line of the roof's peak, i.e., the hawk will dive or continue along at the same level. PLEASE heed: Goshawks do not act in this manner! Another example of a Cooper's Hawk . You are on one side of a wall, about 4 feet high. You notice a Cooper's Hawk on the other side, heading toward you and the wall. You wait- the Cooper's does not fly over the wall . You wait- the Cooper's does not land on the wall.
But now, the Cooper's Hawk is on your side of the wall sneaking (flying) past your position. How can this be!? Answer- on the other side of the wall is a thick scrub or tree; on your side of the wall is another bush, or the same bush as on the other side, but hanging over the wall and on your side. The Cooper's hawk crawled and hid in the bush and went over the wall still in the bush. So what happened was that the hawk never presented a silhouette as it made it over to your side. PLEASE heed: Goshawks do not act in this manner! We are not talking field marks, or color, or size!
Generally, the dorsal area of a Cooper's Hawk if brown, and will be darker than a NG dorsal area. Generally, you will be comparing a Cooper's dark brown dorsal area to a NG gray, pewter- gray, purple-gray, purple-black, silver gray. You may observe Cooper's Hawks with solid gray dorsal areas. Now it is time to understand the concept- is the bird "giving you something or is the bird offering you something" !? In this case the Cooper's is offering you something. In other words- you should not accept that offer. Well, how do you know the difference between being given something and something being offered? Only with years of field work can you understand the concept. Another way to look at it - if a friend gives you something, you take it. But, if a friend offers you something, you do not have to accept it. Your friend is giving you an out- when just offering you something.
When a raptor or any entity presents, let us say a shape or color, make sure the object is inspected for an adequate amount of time. Now, we shift to the Pacific North West. I have observed 2-4 just female NG with slight dihedral and some with very strong dihedral. Now, I do not know if this is a permanent condition with these particular female NG. Also, I have noticed some, just female NG with very slow and deep wing beats as if the the NG was exhausted, and sometimes these exhausted NG will point their heads upwards, tail downwards and slowly climb nearly vertical. It seems as if the hawk stopped flapping that it would slide downward, tail first. A mature female NG has long, white, fluffy, under tail coverts. At times the under tail coverts will ride upward and cover the sides of the base of the tail. Now, when a mature female starts to climb straight upward, the under tail coverts will wrap around the base of the tail-top, and will show a white patch- so now are you observing a Northern Harrier? No. The general shape of the wings and over-all structure, plus the gray dorsal area will express Goshawk. The main reason for this little story is to show that you should observe any particular point of interest for an adequate amount of time. So that temporary white patch on the upper tail was an offering.
Merlins
9 December - Kemah. 10 Parakeets were on a wire. Then there were none. A Merlin came ripping through, at about 60 miles per hour. Merlins are smarter than Peregrine Falcons. This Merlin came through at level flight. Peregrines have a tendency to stoop. And at times will crash into wires, tree limbs, and the ground. Thereby, killing themselves.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Most fooled
The time I was most fooled-outside of the suburbs of Williamsport , Pa., in an open area. 2 raptors were gliding on flat, stiff, and level wings, and flying wing tip to wing tip. I surely felt they were 2 female Goshawks. These hawks were gray, gray-black. The hawks had no belly bands, nor pataginal marks. Yet the hawks were Red-tailed hawks!
Now in Kemah
8 December 9:30 a.m. 1 male goshawk circling over 50 pigeons circling. We are in Kemah at Marina Bay RV Resort, and will be here until January 7.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Female NG
3 December 10:15 A. M. Near Wal-mart on Loop 323 and Texas 64, about 3 miles from Tyler Airport. 1 female Gos at 600 feet elevation. The hawk was flapping, gliding, soaring, drifting, circling. Observation time - about 3 minutes. Another example of the commonality of goshawks and also, the "readily available for observation" are Goshawks. Do not come to the Tyler Airport area and expect to find and observe perched Goshawks. Finding NG is all about hawk watching, i.e., raptors in flight and not raptors in migration. Very few NG are observed at official hawk watch sites. Why, I don't know. Because very few NG are observed at fall-migration time has no bearing on the fact that NG in fall, winter, and spring can be observed in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, all of San Diego's area, and all of Coastal Washington, and in most areas of Arizona. Of course, I am speaking of my actual experiences.
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