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Re: N. Goshawk



Congratulations on the Goshawk! I was at both sites on Thursday, Sept.
27. State Parks is trying to work out legal access to Bullhead Mountain
State Natural Area, and I was there to take more notes on the mountain
for permaent protection as a Dedicated State Nature Preserve. (We heard
a Ruffed Grouse drumming, saw 10 Wild Turkeys, Common Ravens, etc.)
There is a question about such access for the general public (State
Parks has legal access, as the owner/manager), and it is best for now if
visitors did their hawk-watching at nearby Mahogany Rock on the Blue
Ridge Parkway. At any rate, I joked to James, and Jim Keighton, that I
needed Goshawk for my NC list, as it is my worst miss. For over 35
years, Goshawks are always somewhere else, including a few hundred yards
away, when I missed one on the CBC at Buxton last December! Maybe my
comment got them paying attention and thinking about finally finding a
first Goshawk for the hawk-watch!  (At least, some of us who went on the
Carolina Bird Club Grouse trip to Colorado this spring got to see a pair
overhead in leisure flight. But -- that's not NC!) And, I don't feel too
bad, as the top NC lister, John Fussell, has missed Goshawk for 35-40
years, though he may have glimpsed the bird at Roanoke Island last
winter. It's a very difficult bird to catch up to, practically
impossible to observe someone else's stakeout bird. You basically have
to find one for yourself, such as at a hawk watch.

One question -- was the Goshawk an adult or an immature? Could there be
an invasion year? Do I really have a chance of seeing a Goshawk in NC
after 35 years?

Harry LeGrand


James Coman wrote:
> 
> Dear Carolinabirders:
> 
> A Northern Goshawk was closely observed today, Saturday 29 September, at
> Bullhead Mountain State Natural Area. This is apparently the first definite
> occurrence of this species on either the Bullhead or Mahogany Rock hawkwatch
> lists. Observers were Betty O'Leary and James Coman. (Sorry about that,
> Harry)
> 
> Little else was moving, with only a handful of Red-Tails, Sharpies, and
> Kestrels noted before shifting wind and cold drove us off the peak.
> 
> James Coman

-- 
Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net