the Way of the Turtle

MORE HAWKS...
Monday, January 17, 2011

I don't know if hawks are actually more frequent near the Thruway (perhaps because there are convenient places to perch and it's easier to see prey in the cleared areas along the side of the highway?) or if it's just that I spend a lot of time driving, but Ann and I are used to seeing quite a few of them when we're on the highway (the same thing is true of the expressways around Rochester.)

So I wasn't surprised when I drove past the Montezuma NWR today and there was a hawk sitting on the fence by the side of the road.

I was surprised when a quarter mile later there were two sitting on the fence almost side by side... and then another a tenth of a mile after that... and another a tenth of a mile later... and still another, a tenth of a mile further down. Yes, that's six in all, sitting on a stretch of fence maybe a mile long.

Yet another occasion when I wished there was a way to pull over and try to get some photos... but then they probably would have flown off if any of the cars were actually stopping instead of just whizzing by.

JMH