Re: Goshawk? and Crossbills

["Rick Knight" <RKnight@preferred.com>]

----------
> From: Rick Knight <RKnight@preferred.com>
> To: Shantanu Phukan <phukan@email.unc.edu>
> Subject: Re: Goshawk? and Crossbills
> Date: Friday, June 29, 2001 8:13 PM
> 
> Shantanu and others interested,
> 
> Based on my experience in the mountains of the Southern
> Appalachians (mostly TN, but also NC):
> either Sharp-shinned or Cooper's can turn up anywhere, 
> especially this late in the breeding season (most young will
> have fledged by now & many are wandering).
> 
> As to ID of goshawk, I would say that if your first impression
> was "Accipiter", then it was not a goshawk.  The goshawks
> that I've seen (including an immature at Roan Mtn.) gave me
> the impression of Buteo or other large raptors.  An adult
> goshawk seen soaring near the Tetons in Wyoming really
> threw me off at first because of its size & shape.  It was huge
> and burly, and very Buteo-like.  
>  
> So, if you have any doubt as to an identification (of this or any
> other bird), let it go.  Don't let your desires convince you of an
> incorrect ID.
> 
> Rick Knight
> Johnson City, TN
> rknight@preferred.com
> 
> 
> ----------
> > From: Shantanu Phukan <phukan@email.unc.edu>
> > To: Carolina Birds <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
> > Subject: Goshawk? and Crossbills
> > Date: Thursday, June 28, 2001 11:40 PM
> > 
> > I just got back from another one of my dashes up to the mountains half
an
> > hour ago, and am bursting with questions. I was supposed to be at a
> > retreat up in little Switzerland, but the retreat took the form of
brisk
> > birding as I was determined to get the Red Crossbills for my N Carolina
> > list. So up I went to Mt Mitchell yesterday morning (june 27th) and
> within
> > a minute of walking out of the car at the visitor Center at Mt Mitchell
I
> > had a flock of some twenty Crossbills mixed in with Pine Siskins. They
> sat
> > atop the young (and mostly dying) spruces, and kept on descending ot
the
> > ground to pick up grit from the gravel road. They seemed to really
prefer
> > one naked, wet spot right outside the balcony of the visitor center
which
> > puzzles me since the spot did not have any grit or gravel, it was
smooth,
> > wet earth. Can anyone elnighten me as to why siskins and crossbills
> should
> > be eating earth? Do birds need salt as mammals do?
> > 
> > There was a scarlet tanager and a family of black throated greens
feeding
> > the almost fully grown babies at Rough Ridge Junction overlook, and a
> walk
> > on the Commissary Shelter Road down from the visitor center revealed a
> > bold, singing Winter Wren, lots of breeding DE Juncos, GC Kinglets,
more
> > BT Greens, Catbirds, Cedar Waxwings, about a million Indigo Buntings,
> > Ravens, Turkey Vultures, and some distantly singing Veeries.
> > 
> > GOSHAWK?: 
> > About half a mile down the Commissary Shelter Road where a montane
meadow
> > appears on the left side of the Road I flushed a huge accipiter from
the
> > conifers. My first thought on flushing it was "accipiter" and second
was
> > "gosh that is huge". I know that size can be deceptive, and especially
so
> > when combined with wistfulness. But all I can say is that I have seen
> lots
> > of accipiters and they never make me trip over myself as this one did.
> Not
> > only was it big, its body was stockier than any Coopers hawk I have
ever
> > seen, and it sflight seemed to be more powerful. Other than this I saw
> the
> > banding on the tail clearly, but try as I would I could not get a
> > satisfactory look at he belly or at the eye-brow since the bird was
> flying
> > away from me, and the day was overcast. The bird soared over the raod
> > ahead of me and then went straight towards the summit where I lost it
> once
> > it was no longer etched against the sky. 
> > So my question to you all is this: What would you do with a sighting
like
> > this and if you had seen plenty of Cooper's hawks in your life? I hear
> and
> > read that with the regrwth of the conifers after the logging of the
turn
> > of the century the Goshawks are expanding their range southward; none
of
> > the local rangers seemed to know much and were only too happy to accept
a
> > Goshawk verdict and add the species to the park list. But I advised
them
> > against doing that since I cannot be totally sure. DOES ANYONE ON THIS
> > LIST HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH GOSHAWKS?
> > 
> > The other noteworthy bird was a single Great Blue Heron winging its way
> > over the road and over the summit. This too is not on the MT Mitchell
> Bird
> > list, and of this I was absolutely sure.
> > 
> > ANd finally there was a couple of turkeys with six chicks feeding on
the
> > parkway.
> > 
> > Please le tme know your sense of the accipiter, folks.
> > 
> > Shantanu Phukan
> > 
> > *****************************************************
> > SHANTANU PHUKAN
> > Lecturer in Urdu-Hindi & Indian Literature
> > University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
> > Curriculum in Asian Studies
> > Alumni Hall 413C
> > Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599
> > 
> > phukan@email.unc.edu
> > 919-962-6825
> > *****************************************************