Monday, March 16, 2009

LOOKING FOR OWLS & HAWKS
1.5 Mile Walk at Braddock Bay Raptor Research Center & Braddock Bay Park
Monday, March 16, 2009

Braddock Bay Raptor Research Center site

West of Rochester along the Lake Ontario shoreline, Braddock Bay is a natural stopover point for migrating hawks, eagles, owls, and vultures, as they head north to their breeding grounds in the spring. Raptors use thermal air currents to conserve energy and glide as they fly, and since thermals are unreliable over the lake, they tend to fly along the shoreline rather than directly across the water. In a typical year over 100,000 raptors will pass through the area.

The Braddock Bay Raptor Research Center maintains a nature preserve for protecting and studying raptors as they migrate, including a hawk banding blind where visitors can actually watch hawks being captured, banded, and released. Ann and I headed up there this evening in hopes of seeing some hawks and owls. We heard owls hooting when we first entered the woods, but didn't actually see any as we followed the trail through the evergreen groves. We then headed through the woods toward the lakeshore, but unfortunately the path got too wet and we ended up turning back. Sadly, no hawks or owls were in sight on the trip back either.

On our way home we stopped at nearby Braddock Bay Park to see what we could see. No hawks or owls, but we did see lots of red-winged blackbirds in the wetlands along the shore, a few mallards, and a huge flock of birds that gathered in several trees as the sun was getting low in the sky. Quite the racket they made! It was especially interesting to watch them fly from one tree to another... first a few birds would take off, then the bulk of the flock with follow, almost moving like a single organism... pretty cool.

So no hawks or owls this evening... but at least we got to see a nice sunset as we were leaving.

As a side note, the BBRRC runs a number of informative programs for those interested in raptors... for more info, check out their upcoming events page.

JMH
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