Fall's Journey South: September 8, 2000 Today's Report Includes: Hawks Overhead! Challenge Question #1 Why Fly? A Hawk's Gotta Eat! Follow the Food: Challenge Question #2 Who Goes There? Challenge Question #3 Keep a Hawk-Eye on the Sky Hawk Watcher's Primer How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions Hawks Overhead! Red-Tailed Hawk Every year in September birdwatchers from throughout North and Central America look upwards, watching migrating raptors such as hawks, eagles, and falcons as they stream past. A look at a map shows that North America is shaped like an enormous funnel--wide on top and skinny at the bottom. This shape means raptors that nested in the northern forest and the tundra, stretching across the widest part of the land mass, all squeeze together through the thinnest part of the continent as they head for winter feeding grounds in Central or South America. You can watch hawks migrating just about anywhere in North America except over open water. If you wonder why, that's: Challenge Question #1 "Why do you think people seldom see hawks migrating over open water?" (To respond to this question, follow the instructions below.) Why Fly? Why do these birds travel so far, face so many dangers, and allow themselves to be so crowded together? The cold of winter won't hurt them; a hawk's thick outer feathers cover an even thicker blanket of down feathers that can keep it as warm as it needs. But when winter comes, many of the food items that northern hawks eat become unavailable. Think about it: Insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals disappear or are hidden under ice and snow. Some small birds remain for falcons and other bird-eating hawks to dine on, but most small birds head south. Thus, many of the hawks that eat them must follow suit. Some people assume that because hawks migrate for food, they need to leave when their food runs out. In reality, hawks time their migration when food is most abundant. This gives them the best chance of finding food right when they most need the energy and are traveling through unfamiliar territory. A Hawk's Gotta Eat! Sharp-Shinned Hawk Where do hawks migrate? It all depends on what they eat. Meet three species of hawks: the Broad-winged Hawk, the Red-tailed Hawk, and the Sharp-shinned Hawk. Below you'll find a list with the preferred foods for each species. But we mixed them up! Your job is to do some research and match each hawk with its preferred food. That's Challenge Question #2 "What is the preferred food for each species of hawk? Match each species to its food:" 1. Broad-winged Hawk A. Rodents 2. Red-tailed Hawk B. Birds 3. Sharp-shinned Hawk C. Reptiles, Amphibians After you have matched each of these hawk species with its food, study the range maps marked A, B, and C below. Think about the location and size of each species' wintering range. What climate might it have? Think about the connection between each species' food and where that species spends winters. Then you'll be ready to answer: Challenge Question #3 "What is the correct range map for the Broad-winged Hawk, the Red-tailed Hawk, and the Sharp-shinned Hawk? Match each species to its range map. Considering what it eats, how would you explain each species' range?" (To respond to these questions, follow the instructions below.) Pink = Breeding Range Yellow = Winter/Feeding Range Orange = Year Round Range A. Which Hawk? B. Which Hawk? C. Which Hawk? Keep a Hawk-Eye on the Sky Large numbers of hawks seem to gravitate to certain "hawk hotspots" on the continent. Below are just a few of the most popular places for hawks and the people who watch them. Find them on a map and see if you can figure out why hawks concentrate in those places. (What do the locations have in common?) Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania Hawk Ridge in Minnesota Hazel Bazemoor in Texas Hawk Watcher's Primer Broad-Winged Hawk Hawks don't just disappear while leapfrogging between hawk-watches! It's possible to see migrating hawks anywhere, particularly in September. Hawks seem to move especially on days with high pressure and northwest winds. See if you can spot some of these magnificent predators on their journey south! We've prepared a print-and-go guide to help you identify and learn more about some of these raptors. (Check later for updates as the primer will expand to include all the hawks of eastern US and Canada. We'll also add the western hawks, although many don't migrate appreciably.) See: Journey North Hawk Watcher's Primer How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions: 1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-fall@learner.org 2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #1 (or #2 or #3). 3. In the body of the message, answer the Challenge Question. The Next Journey South Update Will Be Posted on September 22, 2000. Copyright 2000 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form