Sunday, March 15, 2009
One of the signs that spring is on its way is the return of the hawks to our neck of the woods. While they can be found year-round in the northeast, their numbers definitely seem to drop in the winter (I'm assuming they head to warmer areas where food is more readily available) so that their population seems to explode as they migrate back in the spring. Yesterday I saw at least half a dozen during my drive to and from Northfield; today as I was driving to Rochester, I saw easily double that along the Thruway, including this fellow who was perched in a tree near the Schuyler rest stop parking lot, a few miles east of exit 31.
Unfortunately, after a minute or so of my taking pictures he decided he'd had enough and flew off across a nearby field. But at least I managed to get a few photos before he took off, unlike all the hawks I passed while driving - even I'm not crazy enough to pull over to the shoulder on the Thruway just to snap pictures!
JMH
