They say that March “Comes in like an Eagle, goes out like a Dove”… that is what they say, right? Well, regardless of what they say, that’s what I, your friendly neighborhood hawk counter likes to say. The second half of March has seen no shortage of blustery winds, heavy clouds, and damp conditions, all of which keep raptors down. Still, the few sunny days have melted the deep snowbanks here in Paradise, Mich., and as April approaches, there are spots of bare ground allowing me to dream of warmer days to come.
Raptor migration over the past week has been slow, with birds taking advantage of the sunny days while hunkering down on the bad days. At this time of the year, raptors are playing a game of patience. For them, patience can mean life or death, choosing when to expend precious energy on a long migratory flight over hunting for a vital meal. All the while they walk the line, knowing they need to secure and defend territory on their breeding ground or miss out on their chance to fulfill their biological imperative. So when it’s time to move, they move with a single-minded purpose. Perhaps that’s why, at least to me, each passing raptor seems to fly by with a sense of determination, “go north or die trying it implies,” and I hear the voice of the March Hare in their wing beats, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!”
This past week brought small numbers of and Bald and Golden Eagles, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Sharp-shinned Hawks, a gorgeous male Northern Harrier and a Peregrine Falcon. Each bird as earnest and focused on its destination as the last. Each one a sign that time waits for no one, and the world is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing. The days grow longer, snow melts, plant buds grow, and birds migrate heedless of our modern problems. Nature has a schedule to keep, and by doing so, I take faith in it. It lets me know that everything is going to be all right. Nature is a force, it is eternal, and to this mere mortal, there is nothing more reassuring than a northbound buteo. April is on its way, and April flurries bring May slurries… at least that’s what I say. After all, this is Northern Michigan.
Author: Rich Couse, Hawk Counter
Photo: Rich Couse
