On the Wing

 

This is the hawk of which I spoke in my previous post.  What a sight to see—150 to 200 hawks in a kettle!  This is a favorite hawk for me, and only one with which I’ve become familiar as an adult.  I can remember staring at Red Tailed Hawks making lazy circles over the fields in the summers of my youth. However, this one became known to me later.



The Broad-winged Hawk is unusual in size and proportion.  It doesn’t have the considerable size of some Red Tails and is not small as the American Kestrel.  Yet, what catches my eye is the breadth of its wings and the banding of its tail.  When you can find a hawk with alternating white and black stripes in equal amount on its tail, it’s a safe bet the hawk is a Broad-winged.

 

 

I really enjoy this time of year.  Migration and the crisp mornings of fall, such a perfect time to grab your binoculars and scope and head to the field. 

Photographs by Bill Ravenscroft.