Birders Are WatchingThe Broadwinged Hawk Migration
Birders Are Watching
The Broadwinged Hawk Migration
Are you curious about the birds you see in your yard? If so, this might be a good time to join a local bird club. There are two in the Newtown-Southbury-Woodbury-Roxbury region: the Lillinonah Audubon Society and the Western Connecticut Bird Club (WCBC).
Right now members of the WCBC are at nearby hilltops to observe the migration of broadwinged hawks as they pass over Connecticut. If a cold front has just passed and is followed by northerly breezes, several hundreds of these hawks may pass in a day. They will have smaller numbers of other species, and even a bald eagle or two, with them.
The largest numbers usually pass over Newtown between September 12 and 20. There are lookouts at the parking lot of Huntington State Park, at the parking lot of Bent of the River Sanctuary on Flat Hill Road in South Britain, on Good Hill on the town line between Woodbury and Roxbury, and on Chestnut Hill in Litchfield. If the conditions are right, the birds will begin to appear around 10 am and will fly until late afternoon.
To find out about the WCBC, call Renee Baade in Newtown at 270-9953 or attend any one of the local clubsâ meetings. The WCBC meets at Southbury Public Library on the third Thursday of November, February, March and April at 6:30 pm for a social time followed by the meeting at 7 pm. The October 18 meeting will be at the Bent of the River Sanctuary. Meetings include a brief discussion of the unusual birds seen that month and a guest speaker. There also may be information about field trips.
This month there will be a trip to Cape May, N.J., and the migration observance.
For information about the Lillinonah Audubon Society, call Bent of the River Sanctuary at 264-5098.
These groups exist because their members have an active interest in birds. In Connecticut it is possible to find 250 to 280 species of birds in a year. Most birders see about 200 of them. But active birders donât necessarily stick to their local areas. Many travel to active spots such as Cape May, Florida, southeast Arizona, and even Alaska. The WCBC organizes trips to Cape Ann and Cape Cod in Massachusetts, to Cape May, and sometimes to Cape Hatteras, N.C., for a boat trip to see oceanic birds. The American Birding Association puts on periodic regional and national conferences that draw hundreds of birders to attend lectures, workshops, and a variety of field trips.