[CT Birds] Two Hawk Questions and More

[Clay Taylor]

Zellene -

Greg is correct about the south winds, but in fact SW or WSW winds are 
better conditions for finding migrating raptors, and West winds can be the 
best for seeing migrating raptors in CT.

Imagine a surfer on a wave - surfing straight down the wave front will make 
for a short, wet, trip.   Riding diagonally across the wave face and 
traveling in the same direction as the wave moves utilizes more of the 
wave's energy, and if the rate of descent and the wave's forward velocity 
are juggled correctly, the surfer can travel a long way.    The same thing 
for a migrating hawk and wind directions.

Looking at a map of the Eastern states, hawks that "surf" the southerly 
winds will travel north, but surfing across the face of the SW winds will 
give the maximum amount of Northerly velocity - they get to the breeding 
grounds more quickly.

A SE wind would take birds already in PA and NJ and drive them away from CT, 
probably toward western NY - the two biggest Spring hawkwatches in North 
America are Braddock Bay in Rochester, NY, and Derby Hill, north of 
Syracuse, NY.   The south shore of Lake Ontario serves to concentrate the 
hawks, exactly like Long Island Sound does in the fall.    They have been 
having 1000+ bird days recently, and if you time a trip up there for the 
arrival of a warm front anytime in the next few weeks, the spectacle is 
truly amazing.

A SW wind would bring the eastern edge of the migrant stream closer to CT, 
but we really need a westerly component to the wind to drive the birds 
around the "corner" of the Hudson River and into Fairfield and Litchfield 
Counties.    So, if there is a warm front coming up through the South into 
the mid-Atlantic states, then the winds shift to West, we could get some 
decent hawk flights in the Western part of CT and probably up the CT River 
Valley.

Clay Taylor
Moodus, CT
ctaylor at att.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "greg hanisek" <ctgregh at yahoo.com>
To: <zellene at earthlink.net>
Cc: <ctbirds at lists.ctbirding.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 9:41 AM
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Two Hawk Questions and More


> Zellene:
>
>  In spring south winds of any kind are conducive to all kinds of bird 
> movement. It seems obvious and it is.
>
>  RTs attain adult plumage at 2 years (Brian Wheeler, Raptors of Eastern 
> North America) , so you can see birds in immature plumage at any time of 
> year.
>
>  Greg Hanisek
>
>  zellene sandler <zellene at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> Out at Penwood viewpoint yesterday doing a 10 minute hawk check something
> occurred to me...in the fall, we hope for a good NW wind for hawk
> migration. In spring, shouldn't we hope for a SE wind?
>
> Second, at what point does a red tail lose its immature plumage?
>
> I will be doing more hawkwatching at Penwood and for more than 10 minutes.
> I will be at the viewpoint Aril 12 and 13th for a couple of hours each 
> day.
> Anyone who would like to join me is more than welcome. The picnic table is
> gone so there is no convenient seating unless you bring your own. It is
> about a half hour walk down the old road to the viewpoint. Anyone can 
> email
> me for specifics if interested!
>
> Zellene Sandler
>
>
>
>
>
>
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