Hawk Mountain

A Revisit to Hawk Mountain When retirement comes you should have a plan for enjoying each day the Lord has given you. I know enjoyment comes in many forms. Some retired people I know find joy some days in visiting the sick at home or in the hospital. That's great. Others play a game of golf with friends. Many retirees I know just like to take a good walk. One of the things I enjoy is walking in nature and trying to share some of the wonders with you in my articles. The important thing is to be active. Be useful while you can. I am on a "hawk watch" again this year. Certain days I have marked on my weekly planning sheet as nature oriented. Yes, retired people should plan a weekly or monthly schedule for time slips by so quickly. Like many of you I have watched for area hawks in the Niagara Peninsula. I have seen many red-tailed, some sharp-shinned, cooper's, and sparrow hawks. I have been to Beamer's Point at Grimsby many times this year. Each time we visited there were birders from Stony Creek and Hamilton Nature Clubs. These dedicated raptor watchers don't miss much. Take time, old and young, to visit this site this fall and especially in spring, We visited famous Hawk Mountain in northeastern Pennsylvania on this date in October five years ago (1994). However, the weather didn't cooperate. We had had a beautiful fall, one of the best in years. However, our trip was marred by just a few days of bad weather. That happens. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is both remote and accessible. We drove divided highway almost all the way from Buffalo and toll free. We stayed nine miles from the center. We drove that same day past neat farms nestled among the wooded hills, crossed the Little Schuyhill River bubbling over the boulders and we crossed a country bridge and turned and headed up into the wooded hills. The road is steep here for you are driving part way up Hawk Mountain. The center is outstanding with displays and helpful attendants. I hope to return. The weekly count at the Sanctuary had totaled 2,536 hawks! They were totaled by species. I was excited. There had been ospreys, American kestrels, broad-winged hawks, red-tails, golden eagles, rough-legged and yes, two peregrine falcons. That was from the previous week, Sunday to Saturday. This was a Sunday, the beginning of a new week and only four hawks had been sighted all day. Why? There was absolutely no wind and it is necessary for these great flying birds to have thermals to soar. Tough luck! We would return tomorrow for our climb up the mountain. Next day was a wet one. Yes, brother, Ed ,and sister-in-law, Rosie, and I were equipped with raincoats. Again the parking lots were almost filled. It was obvious the public like Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. A Grade 6 school bus was there with kids dressed in rain slickers. The weather was lousy with waves of torrential rain pelting the mountain. We decided to head into the city of Reading about 20 miles away. We came back in mid-afternoon as the sun burst through at times. We met the Grade Six class as they were boarding their bus and my brother spoke to one girl in a leg cast dragging behind the others. She appeared in good spirits. She had made it to the lower lookout. "See any hawks?" "No." Part Two - Later