Flyways and Byways: Hawk-watch sites in Virginia
By Jerry Uhlman Special correspondent Times Dispatch
As fall approaches, many thousands of raptors begin their migratory journey south to wintering grounds across the southern United States, Caribbean Islands, Mexico and beyond. Across central Virginia, they follow the Atlantic Flyway along the mountain ridges and coastal plain to their southern destinations.
A wide variety of raptors wing their way across the state, from relatively small sharp-shinned hawks and merlins to larger bald eagles, ospreys, red-tailed and broad-winged hawks.
In Virginia, there are a dozen hawk-watch sites where you can witness this fascinating spectacle. These sites cover the state, from the far southwest to the Maryland border and the southern tip of the Eastern Shore. They are located where large numbers of birds typically pass through on their southern sojourn. You can find information about hawk-watch sites at www.hmana.org/sitesel.php.
Ornithologists and trained volunteers staff the sites to identify and count raptors from September through November. The collected data is sent to the Hawk Migration Association of North America, a group that monitors population trends.
One prominent mountaintop site is Rockfish Gap hawk watch on Afton Mountain near the intersection of Interstate 64 and the Blue Ridge Parkway (www.rockfishgaphawkwatch.org). Last year, more than 21,000 hawks and other raptors were sighted, including more than 17,000 broad-winged and 2,300 sharp-shinned hawks. Sightings included several golden eagles and goshawks.The nearest to Richmond is the College Creek hawk watch (www.cvwo.org) located along the James River 3 miles southeast of Williamsburg. It is the only late winter and spring hawk watch in the commonwealth.
The College Creek site records large numbers of black and turkey vultures, ospreys, bald eagles and red-tailed hawks. Brian Taber, president of the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, noted in a recent research report that two Mississippi kites were sighted last year, an unusual species that has been seen for six years in a row.
The most prominent hawk watch is at Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore, a peninsula that naturally funnels raptors and land birds across the Chesapeake Bay as they head to their wintering grounds. This site receives many birds that pass through Cape May, N.J., probably the most famous East Coast raptor site.
The Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory at Kiptopeke, in its 19th consecutive year, offers a fall migration experience that few other locations can match. Last year, hawk watchers tallied more than 15,000 raptors, including golden eagles, northern goshawks and a single swallow-tailed kite.
If you head to a hawk-watch site, be prepared to gaze at many small, dark silhouettes overhead. Often, hawk-watch staffs tell one species from another by size, shape and flight pattern. Identifying raptors takes patience and practice.
For more on this story go to:
