They were a pretty typical couple and they were standing atop the Hawk Watch Platform at Cape May Point State Park. They didn’t have binoculars, which made them pretty conspicuous up there, since anyone who is on the Hawk Watch usually has binoculars around their necks. They seemed more than a little curious about all the excitement being expended by the gathered hosts upon things that they couldn’t see.
So I showed them
.
“See that bird up there? Wait…now. Giving you a full profile.”
“Oh!” he said.
“Oh!” she echoed.
“That’s an American Kestrel. Smallest falcon. At this distance, all you can see a pale bird with sickle shaped wings and a long tail unless you use…,” I said, unslinging the binoculars from around my neck. Placing them in uncertain hands. Waiting until the instrument was raised to their eyes then guiding it toward the circling bird.
“OH!” she said.
“Lemme see,” he said.
They may have planned to stay only a minute or two. Half an hour later they were still watching.
I don’t know what it is about birds of prey that is so captivating…
That’s a lie. I know precisely why birds of prey are so appealing.
First off, they are big. Many people cannot get excited about a bird that is so small it has to stretch to look over a coffee mug. But birds of prey, ranging from the size of an American Kestrel (about the size of an American Robin) to a Bald Eagle (with a more than six foot wingspan) fall well within the compelling comfort zone of most viewers.
Also, they like to stay in the open. Rummaging around in the weeds and brush is not everyone’s idea of a good time. Sitting out in the sun and fresh air and watching birds parade by for review is more like it.
But the thing that our species seems most drawn to are the qualities of freedom and fierceness that are almost synonymous with birds of prey, even emblematic.
The seal of the United States boasts a Bald Eagle - a bird that makes light of distance and doesn’t have to say “sir” to other birds of the air. Why are freedom and fierceness so appealing?
I once posed this question to the late Dr. Harold Axtel. After a moment’s pensive thought Harold replied, “I think we admire these qualities in birds of prey because they are suppressed in us by the nature of civilization and society.”
I know that there are some red-blooded (and maybe blue-blooded) Americans that would look askance at any assertion that the Land of the Free is anything less than this but Harold said it, not me.
And when you die, you can take it up with him.
Me? I like watching birds of prey because I just like watching creatures at the top of the evolutionary ladder at the top of their game. I’m not much of a sports fan. I’ve never been able to understand why people are so interested in other people’s accomplishments.
But I do like watching play-off games. I like them because I enjoy watching creatures, any creatures, hyper-achieving.
You want to see speed? Go to the Hawk Watch Platform any afternoon until mid-October around 4:00 PM. This is when Merlins, another falcon species, is slicing and dicing the horizon into Merlin-sized parcels.
You want to see maneuverability? From now until the hawk counters go home (around November 30), Northern Harrier will be coursing over the fields and woodland edges of Cape May. The British military was so impressed with the abilities of this versatile, ground-hugging raptor that they named a combat jet after the bird.
You want strength? In October and November, the skies over Cape May sometimes spawn Golden Eagles. It’s a bird that was once trained to hunt in pairs and immobilize wolves; a bird that preys upon young Dall Sheep in Alaska and once rode atop the staffs of conquering Roman Legions.
If you admire freedom, well, just show up and look up. From now until the end of December, whenever the winds turn cold and northerly (or westerly), birds of prey from somewhere to the north will be passing somewhere to the south. At Cape May Point State Park, they pass in review for residents and visitors alike.
You don’t have to know what they are. There are seasonal naturalists who can pin names to them for you.
You don’t have to bring anything but high anticipation and binoculars that will shorten the distance between you and high flying birds.
And if you don’t have binoculars, you can still just show up. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be up there. Treat you to a look that defines the difference between “oh!” and “OH!”
Go to View from the Field to see the daily 2007 Hawk Watch Counts.