![Osprey at Allegheny Front Hawk Watch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Osprey_at_Allegheny_Front_Hawk_Watch.jpg)
Hawkwatching (sometimes referred to as hawkcounting) is a mainly
citizen science
Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...
activity where experienced volunteers count migratory raptors (birds of prey) in an effort to survey migratory numbers. Groups of hawkwatchers often congregate along well-known migratory routes such as mountain ridges, coastlines and land bridges, where raptors ride on updrafts created by the topography. Hawkwatches are often formally or informally organized by non-profit organizations such as an
Audubon chapter,
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
,
wildlife refuge
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
or other important birding area. Some hawkwatches remain independent of any organizing structure.
The overarching goal of hawkwatch programs is to provide long-term data on regional raptor abundance to help track population trends through time. Many North American hawkwatchers contribute their count data to the Hawk Migration Association of North America at hawkcount.org, a nonprofit website that coordinates hawkwatching data. Data may also contributed to other platforms such as
eBird
eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...
.
Techniques and equipment
![Pete Dunne on Cape May Hawkwatch platform](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Pete_Dunne_on_Cape_May_Hawkwatch_platform.jpg)
Hawkwatchers usually use binoculars, spotting scopes, and cameras to aid in the identification of flying raptors. Unlike other forms of birding, auditory cues are rare, for many raptors do not vocalize in flight. Instead, hawkwatchers rely on shape, flight behavior and plumage to identify raptors. Several books specialize in learning hawk identification, which is usually challenging because of the distances and the speed at which the raptors migrate. ''Hawks At A Distance'' and ''Hawks From Every Angle'' by Jerry Liguori help hawkwatchers identify raptors that are high in the sky, at odd angles, and appear unusually small. Unlike typical field guides, these books describe birds' motion, temperament and personality, something most significantly described in ''Hawks in Flight'' by Dunne, Sibley, and Sutton as
gestalt
Gestalt may refer to:
Psychology
* Gestalt psychology, a school of psychology
* Gestalt therapy, a form of psychotherapy
* Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, an assessment of development disorders
* Gestalt Practice, a practice of self-exploration ...
.
Hawkwatchers who want greater detail on subspecies view photo field guides like Raptors of Western North America and Raptors of Eastern North America by Brian K. Wheeler, and his updated 2018 field guides with paintings, Birds of Prey of the West and Birds of Prey of the East.
Definitions
The word "hawk" in hawkwatching is used to describe common
birds of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...
. Typical North American raptor families and species are:
* Accipiters –
Cooper's hawk
Cooper's hawk (''Accipiter cooperii'') is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from southern Canada to Mexico. This species is a member of the genus ''Accipiter'', sometimes referred to as true hawks, which are f ...
(''Accipiter cooperii''),
northern goshawk
The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...
(''Accipiter gentilis''),
sharp-shinned hawk
The sharp-shinned hawk (''Accipiter striatus'') is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical realm, Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. ...
(''Accipiter striatus'')
* Buteos –
broad-winged hawk
The broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') is a medium-sized hawk of the genus ''Buteo''. During the summer, some subspecies are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to wi ...
(''Buteo platypterus''),
ferruginous hawk
The ferruginous hawk, (''Buteo regalis''), is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk (''B. lagopus'').
...
(''Buteo regalis''),
red-shouldered hawk
The red-shouldered hawk (''Buteo lineatus'') is a medium-sized buteo. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. It is a permanent resident throughout most of its ...
(''Buteo lineatus''),
red-tailed hawk
The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...
(''Buteo jamaicensis''),
rough-legged hawk (''Buteo lagopus''),
short-tailed hawk
The short-tailed hawk (''Buteo brachyurus'') is an American bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles and Old World vultures. As a member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is not a true hawk and thus also referred to as a ...
(''Buteo brachyurus''),
zone-tailed hawk
The zone-tailed hawk (''Buteo albonotatus'') is a medium-sized buzzard, hawk of warm, dry parts of the Americas. It is somewhat similar in plumage and flight style to a common scavenger, the turkey vulture, and may benefit from being able to blen ...
(''Buteo albonotatus'')
*
Crested caracara
The crested caracara (''Caracara plancus'') is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found from the southern United States through Central and South America to Tierra del Fuego. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Polyborus''.
Descri ...
(''Caracara cheriway'')
* Eagles –
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
(''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''),
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
(''Aquila chrysaetos'')
* Falcons –
American kestrel
The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...
(''Falco sparverius''),
merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
(''Falco columbarius''),
peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
(''Falco peregrinus''),
prairie falcon
The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&nb ...
(''Falco mexicanus''),
aplomado falcon
The aplomado falcon (''Falco femoralis'') is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. The species' largest contiguous range is in South America, but not in the deep interior Amazon Basin. It was long known as ''Falco fusco-coerulescens'' or ''Fal ...
(''Falco femoralis'')
* Kites –
Mississippi kite (''Ictinia mississippiensis''),
snail kite
The snail kite (''Rostrhamus sociabilis'') is a bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. Its relative, the slender-billed kite, is now again placed in ''Helicolestes'', making the ...
,
swallow-tailed kite
The swallow-tailed kite (''Elanoides forficatus'') is a pernine raptor which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. It is the only species in the genus ''Elanoides''. Most North and Central American b ...
(''Elanoides forficatus''),
white-tailed kite
The white-tailed kite (''Elanus leucurus'') is a small raptor found in western North America and parts of South America. It replaces the related Old World black-winged kite in its native range.
Taxonomy
The white-tailed kite was described in 18 ...
(''Elanus leucurus'')
* Harrier –
northern harrier
The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA.
The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas ...
(''Circus cyaneus'')
*
Osprey
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
– (''Pandion haliaetus'') (only one surviving species)
* Vultures –
turkey vulture
The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus ''Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South ...
(''Cathartes aura''),
black vulture
The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...
(''Coragyps atratus'')
Hawk counters are responsible for keeping an accurate tally of the numbers of each species. Each hawkwatch usually designates an official counter responsible for certifying the count's accuracy.
Organizations
The Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) is a membership-based organization committed to the conservation of raptors through the scientific study, enjoyment and appreciation of raptor migration. ''Hawk Migration Studies'' is the official journal of HMANA and is printed twice a year, for the spring and fall migrations.
Notable hawkwatches
Hawkcount.org lists over 300 hawk sites, with 173 recently active. In 2015, Hawk Migration Studies reported on 37 sites during spring migration, and 130 sites for fall migration. Noteworthy hawk sites include:
*
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and western Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front forms the boundary between the Rid ...
Hawk Watch in Cairnbrook, Pennsylvania, which holds the record in the Eastern
Flyway
A flyway is a flight path used by large numbers of birds while migrating between their breeding grounds and their overwintering quarters. Flyways generally span continents and often pass over oceans. Although applying to any species of migrati ...
for the most
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
s (386) counted in a year. This record was set in 2015 along with the one-day record of 74 golden eagles on October 24, 2015, which contributed toward the fall seasonal record of 320 golden eagles. (The single day and the fall total golden eagle records were broken in 2018 by Franklin Mt. Hawkwatch.)
The Allegheny Front Hawk Watch is the highest hawkwatch in Pennsylvania.
*
Corpus Christi Hawkwatch, just north of Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas sits on the highest point in the county overlooking the Nueces River delta, records raptors from three major flyways and vagrants from Mexico. Each fall, the watch records more Mississippi Kites, Swallow-tailed Kites, Harris's Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, White-tailed Hawks, Zone-tailed Hawks, Crested Caracaras, Aplomado Falcons, and Turkey Vultures than any other hawkwatch in the United States and Canada.
It also annually records over 300 Peregrine Falcons, over 100 Merlins, and over 1,000 American Kestrels. Rarities seen include Common Black Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Gray Hawk, Northern Goshawk, and Hook-billed Kite. Seasonal totals regularly exceed 100,000 raptors and range upward to over 1,000,000.
*Franklin Mt. Hawkwatch in Oneonta, New York, broke the one-day record for golden eagles with 128 counted on October 25, 2018, contributing to a new seasonal record of 323 golden eagles for the fall season for the entire Eastern Flyway.
*
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a wild bird sanctuary in Albany Township and East Brunswick Township, located along the Appalachian flyway in eastern Pennsylvania. The sanctuary is a prime location for the viewing of kettling and migrating raptors ...
in Kempton, Pennsylvania, has hawk migration data posted on hawkcount.org dating back to 1934.
*
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
Hawkwatch at Hammock Park State Park, Little Crawl Key, Florida records more Peregrine Falcons than any other watch in the United States, with over 4,000 Peregrines in the two-month watch seasons in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Its daily record of Peregrines was 1,506 on October 10, 2015.
* Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch in State College, Pennsylvania, recorded the highest number of golden eagles in the Eastern Flyway for a spring count with 239 in 2015.
* Veracruz River of Raptors in
Veracruz, Mexico
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
boasts the largest counts of migratory raptors worldwide with between four and six million raptors counted each fall. Nearly the entire world population of some raptor species including Broad-winged Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, and Mississippi Kite pass through Veracruz during the autumn migration
References
{{reflist
Ornithological citizen science
Birds of prey