MIGRATING OSPREYS AND BROADWINGS

     Ospreys and broad-winged hawks are diurnal raptors that migrate through southeastern Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, in April.  Both hawk species are looking for nesting places, the ospreys along rivers and large, human-made impoundments and the broadies in relatively large woods.  Ospreys migrate singly, but broad-wings move north in groups of varying sizes.

     Both these kinds of hawks are most likely spotted about mid-morning on clear, sunny days when the sunlight heats bare-ground fields, roads, parking lots and buildings, causing thermals of warmed air to rise up, pushing migrating birds upward as well.  The hawks come off overnight roosts in trees around the middle of sunny mornings and immediately feel for thermals.  With little effort, each bird swirls up in the thermal to gain altitude.  It swirls higher and higher in the rising, warmed air as far as it can, then peels off to soar along, mile after mile.  Gravity pulls each raptor down, bit by bit, so the birds must find a series of thermals to continue moving north a good part of the day.  Each hawk, therefore, spirals up in other thermals, peels off to the north and slowly descends, then spins up in another thermal farther north all day, every day of its northward migration.  

     Migrating hawks of all species are best spotted before white, cumulus clouds that highlight the birds as silhouettes when seen from the ground.  Have binoculars ready at any time to better see the migrants.

     Migrating hawks, including ospreys and broad-wings can be spotted from any point of land.  I often do so from our back deck on our lawn in a suburban area.  Other places include mountain tops, roof tops and hill tops in fields, wherever a good part of the sky is visible.  It's always thrilling when migrant hawks are spotted, especially from your "own" look-out.

     The best identification of hawks species soaring across the sky is by knowing the silhouette of each kind.  Ospreys are large hawks with long wings that they hold when soaring as a nearly flattened M.  Broadies are smaller than ospreys, and have broad wings for their size, hence their common name.   Those broad wings give the hawks of that name greater sail space so they can soar on the lightest of thermals and breezes with ease.  And broad-wings are the only hawks to migrate in varying sized groups, which is exciting, and a sure identification of them.                   

     One can also spot other kinds of birds migrating north before the cumulus clouds.  Those include common loons, turkey vultures, black vultures, other kinds of hawks, golden eagles and others.

     Ospreys and broad-wings winter farther south, ospreys by large bodies of water in the southern United States, the Caribbean area, northern South America, Mexico and other warm places where they can catch fish all winter.  Broad-wings, on the other hand, winter in forests of northern South America where they snare retiles, amphibians, small birds and mammals, and larger insects.

     Ospreys and broad-wings annually rear a brood of two or three young in stick cradles in larger trees, the ospreys near water where they catch fish and the broadies in woods.  Ospreys also build their stick nurseries on power towers and platforms erected especially for ospreys to raise offspring on.  Their adapting to human-made constructions has helped ospreys increase their numbers in recent years.  

     Ospreys are interesting to watch catching fish.  They fly over a body of water and when a victim is spotted near the surface, the dive to the water, grab the fish in their sharp talons and power away with their prey to a tree to consume their catch.  

     Watch for these migrating birds of prey, and other migrant bird species, before white, cumulus clouds during April.  They are exciting and entertaining to experience from most any point of land.   

     


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