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Militia Hill Hawk Watch
1998 Season Report
by Jane Henderson
Although the autumn of 1998 at the Militia Hill Hawk Watch at
Fort Washington State Park could not be said to have been spectacular
in terms of numbers of migrating raptors, there were some very good
days on which a large number of birds came through. There were also
sightings of seldom seen raptors and song birds, as well as some
unusual butterflies. And as always, there was also occasional drama
and excitement on the Hill.
For the two months, September and October, for which official
records were kept this year, a total of 24 Bald Eagles were sighted
from the platform, some coming in quite close. The first one was
spotted on the very first day of September. In mid-October, a
Rough-legged Hawk was identified and recorded, and on the next to
last day, a Northern Goshawk flew over.
September 11, 12, 13 and 16 brought Militia Hill's biggest
Broad-winged Hawk flights, with 275, 289, 677 and 455 birds
respectively. These are relatively small Broad-winged numbers for
Militia Hill.
Watchers on October 13 were treated to a little drama. On that
day, a Sharp- shinned Hawk swooped down and took an unsuspecting
House Finch at the feeder. A little later that same day, observers
were thrilled to witness two Red-shouldered Hawks frolicking just
above the platform.
The tally of migrating raptors reached 5,000 birds for the
season on October 22, when 57 Turkey Vultures migrated down the
valley in large flacks.
Birds, other than raptors, seen migrating over the hawk watch
included 2,000 Canada Geese and 14 Sandhill Cranes on October 3. Over
a thousand Double-crested Cormorants came through on October 22.
Common Loons, Great Blue Herons and Common Night-hawks were seen on
several days.
The bird feeders below the platform, and the bushes near it
brought in a variety of songbirds, including Prairie, Black-throated
Green and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Parulas, and Common
Yellowthroats as well as a Lincoln's Sparrow, a possible Clay-colored
Sparrow, a pair of Brown Thrashers, a pair of Eastern Towhees, a
White-crowned Sparrow and a Red-headed Woodpecker. A Wild Turkey
visited for several days.
On August 31, the day before the Hawk Watch began operating
officially, a White Admiral butterfly, a northern subspecies of the
Red Admiral, was sighted. Other unusual butterflies sighted at or
near the hawk watch platform during the season were: Hackberry
Emperor, Checkered Skipper, and Viceroy, as well as a number of
Monarchs, Swallow-tails, Fritillaries, Hairstreaks, Skippers and
Duskywings.
Perhaps the most unusual sighting occurred in October when
observers spotted one of the Pitcairn autogiros, a pre-World War II
aircraft, and precursor to the helicopter. According to Don Aiman, it
flew overhead so slowly that it appeared to be "standing still. Two
autogiros are based in Burlington County, New Jersey. This one was
apparently heading toward West Chester for a gathering of aeronautics
enthusiasts. Marylea Klauder, the founder of the Militia Hill Hawk
watch, gave everyone a scare when she was admitted to Chestnut Hill
Hospital for major surgery. By the time the season had ended, to
everyone's relief, she had recovered enough to return to the
Hill.
75 people, including a number of youngsters, turned up for the
annual Halloween picnic and party at the pavilion in the Park. As
usual, an enormous amount of food was contributed and
enthusiastically consumed. Everyone had a good time, as is evident in
Cliff Hence's traditional Halloween photo.
Thanks to all the people who contributed time and energy to the
Militia Hill Hawk Watch this year. It could not function without the
dedication of its volunteers and the cooperation and help of the Park
staff.
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