Bald eagles and a variety of hawks can be seen at least occasionally in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmland in fall and winter. They can be spotted either by driving on country roads through cropland or by walking on those same roads. But either way, they make farmland more interesting and exciting.
The regal ospreys, also known as fish hawks, migrate through local farmland during September and October on their way farther south for the winter. They don't stay here in winter because their diet is larger fish that will be locked away when the built impoundments in this area freeze over.
Bald eagles also migrate through here in autumn, but some of those majestic birds winter here as well because they scavenge dead chickens, turkeys and other farm animals they find lying on snow or frozen ground in the fields. We see a few mixed gatherings of bald eagles, American crows, turkey vultures, black vultures and red-tailed hawks resting in trees near the dead farm animals, or on he ground actively feeding on them. It's intriguing to see those collections of large, scavenging birds in this overly-civilized county, particularly the stately eagles
Northern harriers also migrate through this area in fall, but a few of them stay among the fields here all winter, even settling in tall-grass fields for the night. Harriers are beautiful hawks of marshes, prairies and other open habitats in much of North America. Because there were few perches in their ancestral habitats, they developed a hunting technique of flying slowly, back and forth, low to the ground while watching and listening for mice in the tall vegetation. When prey is spotted, these hawks suddenly wheel and drop to seize the victims in their sharp claws.
Three kinds of falcons migrate through this area, and winter here to a lesser extent. They are the colorful American kestrels, the dashing merlins and the stately peregrines. As a species, kestrels are here the year around. Some pairs of them raise young here, others migrate through in spring and autumn and still other spend the winter here. In fall they feed mostly on grasshoppers and other large insects. In winter, however, they are obliged to snare field mice. In winter we most often see kestrels perched on roadside wires while watching for prey.
Merlins hatch young in Canada and Alaska for the most part, but migrate south for the winter, mostly along the open habitat of ocean shorelines. But merlins discovered farmland in recent years and are passing through and wintering on that human-made habitat more often.
Merlins mainly catch and eat small birds. It's exciting to watch these pigeon-sized birds chasing fleeing, zig-zagging horned larks, sparrows and other types of small birds low over the fields.
Merlins, and all falcons, have long, swept-back, powerful wings that developed in open country for swift flight. They had to evolve strong wings and fast flight to be able to catch birds in the wide open spaces they prefer.
The magnificent, powerful peregrines look like larger editions of merlins. Peregrines, too, catch birds, but, usually, larger ones than merlins can't handle. Peregrines climb high in the sky and watch for birds flying below. When they spot likely victims, they fold their wings and dive as much as 180 miles per hour toward the prey and strike it with their padded chests, which stuns or outright kills the victims. After the mid-air impacts, the peregrines swoop up, around and down, grab their prey in mid-air and fly to a perch to ingest them. Watching a peregrine stoop at that speed and strike a bird in mid-air is exciting.
The stately Cooper's hawks are forest birds that recently adapted to farmland. Coop's are swift fliers, too, and mostly take birds. They often simply perch in a tree, then ambush unsuspecting prey.
Red-tailed hawks are the most common and familiar hawks in local cropland during winter. They seem to be everywhere.
Red-tails have two hunting techniques, perching in a lone tree in a field or along a country road and looking for prey or soaring on high while watching the ground for victims, mostly field mice and brown rats. They also catch a lot of gray squirrels in hedgerows between fields.
Red-tails as a species live in this area the year around. Some of them nest here, others migrate through, and still others nested farther north, but winter here.
Rough-legged hawks are soaring hawks like red-tails. Rough-legs raise young on cliffs in the high Arctic tundra, but drift south for the winter, usually not arriving in this area until November. These beautiful hawks have another hunting technique of hovering in mid-air, into the wind, while watching the ground for mice and small birds.
Rough-legs were once common in Lancaster County cropland during winter. But now I don't see them nearly as much as I used to. It seemed that the more common red-tailed hawks became, the less rough-legs I would see. My theory is the heavier, stronger red-tails may have driven the rough-legs out of the farmland so the red-tails would have more food for themselves.
Eagles and hawks are fascinating birds, particularly in winter when one can see them better because of less tree foliage and other cover to hide in. Watch for these delightful birds in your neighborhood.
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