Thoughts on Hawk-watching. (1 Viewer)

[carjug]

I've been attending a local hawkwatch about three times a season for the last four years. Here are some lessons I may have learned.
1) It's hard. Seems easy, right? Fifteen species or so? Nope. They all look exactly alike.
2) Respect the leader. He or she is an experienced fanatic.
3) Good binoculars are key. Keep 'em clean.
4) Pack everything. Extra notebooks and pencils for when the leader takes off early, or Her car can't make it up the hill.
5) Learn the landmarks. Shouting out " bird over bumpy hill" is better than "over there".
6) It's fun.
Now if anyone,regardless of experience wants to add anything, feel free.

 

[rodneyAB]

agree with No 1....2,3,4,5..yes yes
agree with No 6
for the first time in several years of trying to differentiate the hawks, the other day spotted a large bird soaring downhill from me, watched feathers shift as it gained altitude gliding in front of me, and then looping back around above me, caught full underside view, and no doubt of anything but a Red Tail.

 

[Mikbul]

Juvenile Broad Wing Hawk at Derby Hill

 

[carjug]

One more feels the power of the Dark Side..
I just got back from my third hawkwatch of the season. Good day by any standard, hundreds of Broad-Wings over the Blue Ridge mountains.
I bought a scope last year, and today it made the day much nicer. I found kettles and spotted birds that would have otherwise eluded us. The scope has good glass, a wide field of view and we never wanted magnification over 20-X. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't high end either. Raptors are fast, bargain scopes are useless.
I learned to use the scope last summer by watching a local Turkey Vulture roost. I also learned the value of binoculars and familiarity with landmarks. All that paid off today when scanning the sky for birds and kettles. Seeing an Eagle miles away and Acciptors fighting was a rush, not to mention Broadies.

 

[Patudo]

Don't sweat it if others can spot the birds earlier than you - more experience, local knowledge (knowing where raptors are likely to thermal up) and better eyes make an incredible difference.

Landmarks are vital! Vertical marks (clouds, contrails) are temporary but can also help.

Take a note of conditions (wind direction/speed etc) as these can often affect the number of birds you see and/or where they pop up. Over time you can get a sense for which conditions are likely to see more birds (and on the flip side, which might make you think it's not worth the trouble).

It's worth following a raptor around for 5 to 15 minutes (or more) even if it's been identified - this helps you gain familiarity with the various species at different distances and in different flight modes. Pay attention to plumage (adult vs juvenile), manner of flight, and other details like apparent size when they are over landmarks that are a known distance from your viewpoint. If you have a very good idea how a redtail looks over a ridge one mile away, you'll have a good frame of reference to judge the size of another more unusual raptor that pops up over the same area.

Kit wise:

Quality optics really do help - you'll be "in the glasses" for long periods (very different to the kind of birding where you spot the birds by eye and confirm ID with binoculars), and the cleaner and better corrected the image the easier it is on your eyes. Wider field of view helps you sweep more sky. I use 10x42 binoculars mostly but if I was raptor counting etc. might consider a widefield 8x42.

for distant spotting and identification, high magnification binoculars (or low power scopes) mounted on a tripod are very useful. Ideally used as part of a team that includes more nimble lower magnification/wider field of view binoculars.

the best conditions are often bright and sunny - hat and sunblock are almost as important as your optics.

Have fun!