For thousands of years, birds of prey have been both admired and hated by mankind. They were deified as gods. Hawks were used by royalty to hunt. With the establishment of game preserves in Western Europe, the hawk became the hunted. They were resented by preserve managers of the day, because they would occasionally take a game bird or mammal for food. This narrow view is still prevalent today in some preserve managers and hunters. They view hawks as competitors for the game birds and mammals. As recent as the 1960s, bounties were being paid on hawks. Certain hunters aren't the only ones with a dislike of hawks. Many birdwatchers resent the fact that hawks kill and eat songbirds! Indeed, hawks have the audacity to sit close to their bird feeders where song birds congregate, and catch "their" birds!. Of course the hawk is only doing what is natural and going to a ready food source. Farmers too, have been quick to accuse any and all hawks of taking poultry, which is mirrored in the fact that almost all hawks carry the "chicken hawk" label. Again, hawks—any critter—will go to the most convenient food source at times.

     In recent years, more and more people have come to appreciate the grace and beauty of hawks, and see them for what they are—an integral part of the natural order. They play an essential role in our world of wildlife, a world of interdependency. Hawks are predators, which live by preying on other living creatures, keeping populations in check. They were designed perfectly to do what they do!

     Hawks and eagles are placed in a family called accipitridae, with about six or seven sub-families. Along with owls they are known simply as raptors. There are four different types that are the most common and recognizable. The buteos or buteoninae are the soaring hawks, which circle high in the air on broad wings and fan-like tails. The accipiters or accipitrinae are rapid flying, long-tailed hunters with short, rounded wings. The falcons or falconinae are fast, streamlined hawks with long, pointed wings and long, narrow tails. The harriers or circinae are slim hawks with long, rounded wings and long tails. Others in the family are the eagles, osprey and the kites.
The buteos are mainly birds of the fields, mountains, plains and open woodlands. Yet, the broad-winged hawk inhabits woodlands and rarely leaves them except when crossing over open country from one woodland to another, or during migration. The red-shouldered hawk gravitates to swampy woodlands, while the rough-legged hawk breeds in the arctic and may only visit open lands and mountain valleys in the winter. The red-tailed hawk is the most common. This is the bird we see perched in trees, on poles, or on posts along our highways.

     Falcons too, are birds of the open areas. The peregrine, or duck hawk, was native to the mountain regions of the Appalachians and Alleghenies, and has just recently been reestablished there. The merlin, or pigeon hawk, favors scrubby barrens or marshlands, and the Kestrel, or sparrow hawk, frequents farmlands and brushy open lands.

     The accipiters favor woodlands or brushy marshes. The goshawk, a more northerly specie favors mixed deciduous and coniferous forests and rarely wanders below the Mason-Dixon Line. The Coopers hawk likes scattered woodlands or brushy marshlands, and the sharp-shinned hawk prefers open woodlands with occasional thickets.

     The northern harrier, or marsh hawk, is a bird of the grass and brush marshlands, cattail marshes, farmlands, fallow fields and coastal plains. Maybe you’ve seen a large brown bird with a white rump patch in fall, winter or early spring hovering or tacking back and forth over fields and marshes. This is the female harrier, considerably larger than the grayish male.

     Our hawks hunt in a variety of ways, some from a perch, some by hovering and others by gliding or soaring. Some hawks are especially swift, others very maneuverable, some are patient at waiting and watching, while still others may actually stalk their prey. The buteos, or soaring hawks, soar on thermals or on the wind in wide circles over open lands, or perch motionless on a high branch or stub, from which it can drop down on a vole, mouse, rabbit, squirrel, or even a snake. Red-tails, red-shoulders and broad-wings all hunt this way. One buteo that can deviate from the norm is the rough-legged hawk, a bird capable of hovering over its prey until the right time to drop. It usually hunts early in the morning or at dusk, almost owl-like. It has softer, quieter feathers and partial, facial disks, much like an owl and probably hunts by sound as well as sight. Rough-legged hawks have smaller feet, perfect for perching in the small trees of the Arctic. Falcons are normally aerial predators and strike on the wing. They actually make a fist with their feet and knock their prey out of the sky. The exception is the little kestrel, which hovers over a spot where it has detected its prey—a mouse, vole, locust, grasshopper, small snake, or lizard. Kestrels are commonly seen on wires, poles, or at the tops of small trees or shrubs in croplands around Chesapeake Bay. Accipiters have short, rounded wings and a long tail for maneuvering amid trees and through low, shrubby growths, like wax myrtle on the coasts. Accipiters prey mainly on birds. They'll fly through the woods or scattered shrubs at mid-treetop level or just below, surprising its winged prey in a swift pursuit that often ends with a chase on foot. Sharp-shins and Coopers hawks can often be seen in the bayberry and wax myrtle thickets around the coasts as they hunt for yellow-rumped warblers, song sparrows, and other wintering birds. They commonly hunt even in subdivisions in winter and during spring or fall migrations.

     The eyesight of hawks is certainly one of the keenest of any living creature. They are able to see in color, and their eyes adjust focus quickly while diving or flying at high speed. Their eyes give them great accuracy in distance perception with special muscles that control the curvature of the lenses. The eyes of all birds contain a blood-rich item called pecten, which appears to be more developed in hawks, giving them a better perception of shapes. Their eyes are placed at the sides and to the front of their head, enabling them to see better as they pursue and strike their prey. A projecting bony shield on their skull, protects their eyes should they pursue their prey through heavy brush. 

     The flying ability of hawks is also amazing. Accipiters and falcons are designed for maneuverability and speed. Peregrines have been known to exceed 100 mile per hour in a "stoop." Accipiters have amazing quickness and agility. The buteos are able to soar for hours supported by broad, rounded wings and fanned out tails. The talons and feet of hawks also show purposeful design. Prey taken in flight is either grabbed by one foot or struck down senseless with a violent blow. The size, thickness and curvature of their talons vary in relation to how they are used. Hawks that feed mostly on mammals have short, powerful toes, and talons. The bird-eaters have long, slender toes, with bumps and pads on the undersurface for grasping. The legs of hawks that feed on venomous snakes are covered with an armor of rough scales to protect them from snake bites. Their beaks also vary in relation to their types of prey. The strong, hooked bills are perfect for tearing and pulling flesh apart. Falcons have a notch in their bills, which enables them to break the necks of their prey. The peregrine has specially designed contours in its nostrils which break up the air as it dives at high speeds, enabling it to breath.

     Another amazing thing about hawks is their migration. Some young birds migrate ahead of their parents, having never flown the route before. Some meander southward feeding as they go. Others fly fast and direct to their wintering grounds, not feeding at all along the way. More northerly breeding birds often fly the farthest south. More southerly species may not migrate at all. It is during migration that we are offered the best opportunity to see hawks. They are day migrants, usually moving along in flocks that are so spread out that they may be unrecognizable as flocks. Most of them follow north-south ridges. Each year they follow definite flight lanes. They move steadily south, stopping only occasionally to feed or rest. They take wing in late-morning when the heat of the sun warms the ground, which begins to create thermals. These are updrafts of air around mountain peaks and ridges, which enable hawks to soar and coast effortlessly. We see vultures in particular, using these thermals, all through the year. It's these thermals that sail planers and hang gliders use to soar and glide for hours around the mountaintops. Hawks also use updrafts caused by wind blowing up against a mountain cliff, then rising. These updrafts are referred to as obstruction currents. On the coasts, hawks use the wind and thermals off of the ocean and land to funnel down into the capes and points where they gather in large groups before setting out over open water. Numerous other species of birds are also on migration through these areas, providing the hawks with a traveling food source. 

     Soaring groups of hawks are called "kettles." Broad-winged hawks and red-shouldered hawks in particular form kettles. They circle at different levels, all the time moving slowly southward. The formation may resemble a slow-moving whirlwind or whirlpool, if there are enough of them. Hawks don't use as much energy soaring as they do when flapping. They soar upwards on one thermal, then leave it, gliding downward and southward before encountering another that lifts them back on high to repeat the process. If there are no thermals they will use the wind-created updrafts as air is deflected upwards off of hills, ridges, buildings or cliffs which gives them the extra lift needed to go many effortless miles. Some hawks travel singly, hunting as they go, especially falcons and accipiters.

     Hawks may begin migrating as early as mid-August, but the main migration begins in mid-September. Broad-winged hawks are the most numerous species migrating at this time providing the greatest spectacle, but the first flights of sharp-shins are not far behind. At this time you'll also be treated to eagle, osprey, and vulture migrations as well. In October, red-tailed hawks from the north, and red-shouldered, sharp-shinned, and Coopers hawks, are at their peak. November sees red-tail movements still strong and some straggling red-shouldered, sharp-shins (sharpies) and Coopers. This is when the falcons—peregrines, merlins, and kestrels—begin to peak. In December, there are still good numbers of red-tails, with a good chance of seeing golden eagles, rough-legged hawks and northern harriers. Of course, small numbers of kestrels, peregrines, Coopers, red-tails and northern harriers often stay the winter in the Mid-Atlantic States and sometimes the more northerly rough-legged may visit.

     There are a number of places to watch the hawk migration, but if you go, try to pick a bright clear day and bring your binoculars. Many of the beaches and large rivers around the Bay should provide some hawk-watching opportunities. Some of the most popular places in Virginia to watch the hawk migration include the Blue Ridge Parkway (Harvey's Knob, Rockfish Gap), and Kiptopeke State Park, located in Northampton County on Virginia's Eastern Shore near Cape Charles. The hawks and a host of other birds funnel down to the tip of the Eastern Shore Peninsula. They are hesitant to cross so they gather together, feeding and resting, almost as if to get up enough courage to continue on. Many birds will actually fly back north until they can see land across the bay, then cross over to continue southward.

     The Kiptopeke Banding Station was created over 30 years ago by the Virginia Society for Ornithology (VSO) for song birds and in 1977, raptor surveys and banding began. In 1984, over 15,000 sharp-shins and more than 24,000 kestrels passed through here. Over 200 merlins and 49 peregrines were also recorded. In 1989, members of VSO and HMANA at the Hawk Migration Study Site counted 12, 878 raptors in 53 days. Sharp-shins and Coopers comprised 65 percent of the total. The site averages 13,000 raptors annually, and many are banded on site from September 1 through the first or second week in October.

     Kiptopeke was the site of the old ferry terminal that operated prior to the construction of the Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It is located just north of the Bridge-Tunnel off of Route 13 on Route 704. It became a state park around 1990. This park, in Northampton County, is also the site of the Eastern Shore Birding Festival on the first weekend in October. For information, call 757-787-2460, or write, Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Drawer R, Melfa, VA 23410.