BROAD-WINGED HAWK ON TIMBERWOLF MOUNTAIN
10 SEPTEMBER 2001

The reality of many scheduled Yakima Valley Audubon Society fall "hawk
watch" field trips for me has been disappointment. Last year was typical;
the appointed day was rainy with low cloud and drizzle off and on all day.
The trip was not a bust, by any means. We visited Clear and Rimrock Lakes
and saw many nice birds, including an adult Peregrine Falcon on Rimrock Lake
and a number of Common Terns on Clear Lake. But hawk watching it was not.
And so it goes with these hawk-watching trips, most typically the wind is
wrong, the primary factor in determining a "good day" for fall raptor
watching. On other days, the birds just don't show, even though conditions
appear okay.

So, when it came time to describe this falls trip, I stayed away from any
mention of raptors; instead I advertised the trip as a "Clear and Rimrock
Lake" birding foray. Secretly, I harbored a plan to divert the group (with
their permission, of course) up to Bethel Ridge or Timberwolf Mountain if I
sensed the weather was "right." Today, the Pacific Northwest was forecast to
be under high pressure conditions, a very good first step in a potential
hawk watching day. So, without too much arm twisting, I'd gotten the groups
okay to head up to Timberwolf. En route, we had good birding around Rimrock
and Clear Lakes, as usual, including good views of nine species of
waterfowl, including a number of Barrow's Goldeneyes, also Osprey, several
shorebirds, including Spotted, Western and Least Sandpipers, Red-naped
Sapsucker and Hairy Woodpecker, the usual resident jays, chickadees,
nuthatches, and sparrows, Red Crossbill, and migrants such as Cassin's Vireo
(one was singing), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Wilson's Warbler, and Black-headed
Grosbeak.

Lunch at Bethel Ridge yielded some other goodies, including an adult
Williamson's Sapsucker pecking away on a Mountain Hemlock, an unusual food
source, I thought. We had brief views of a Western Tanager in the subalpine
meadows at Cash Prairie.

Then it was on to Timberwolf, a lofty perch (6,500 feet), affording grand
views from Glacier Peak and the Stuarts on the north, west to Mt. Rainier,
and south to the Goat Rocks and Mt. Adams (even the tip of Mt. Hood). It was
pretty quiet when we arrived. Search as I could, no hawks were in view.
Initially there was scarcely any hint of a breeze, not good, I thought.
Then a Sharp-shinned "boiled" up from below and sailed by us, then another,
then a Cooper's Hawk, then a Red-tailed Hawk, then a few more Sharp-shins.

By and by, a breeze arose. Then, I heard several participants mention that
there were were two hawks in the sky, one clearly smaller. I got these birds
into view and instantly noted both were Buteos, hawks with wide wings,
perfect for soaring on thermals. One was clearly a Red-tailed Hawk, the
common Buteo of North America. Accompanying it was a pint-sized hawk, about
2/3 the size of its larger relative. As the bird soared clearly into view
and directly overhead, I noticed the "dipped in ink" black pattern on the
outer primaries and a wide blackish border on the trailing edge of the
wings. At the same time, I clearly noted the ashy white, unmarked
underwings, It's tail was without discernible pattern, shortish, and colored
as shade darker than the underwing. At this point I hollered "Broad-winged
Hawk." We watched it gain altitude for perhaps another minute; then it
sailed off to the south. During this time, I bellowed out the fieldmarks to
note:

? First of all, that it was a Buteo, second that it was very small, the
nearby Red-tailed Hawk provided perfect comparision.

? Second, it showed unmarked, whitish underwings, with a distinct dark
trailing edge.

? Third, the "dipped in ink" primary tips.

? Fourth, it had an unmarked, light-colored tail (no bands were discernible)

A short time later, a few more Sharp-shinned Hawks appeared, another couple
Cooper's, and a very close immature Red-tail. Then came another surprise as
a Sharpy was seen briefly harassing an immature Northern Goshawk, seemingly
risky behavior.

Still another bonus was a small flock (6-8) Black Swifts winging their way
eastward, slicing the sky, I fancied, seemingly without effort.

Time constraints forced us to leave this lofty viewpoint, but it was
"Mission Accomplished" as far as I was concerned. I finally had some luck
with the Broad-winged Hawk in Washington, which is proving to be rare but
regular in the state (especially along the east slopes of the Cascades) from
about 10 September to early October. Chelan Ridge has produced the most
sightings.

We then took off down the switchbacking and steep road to US-12 and then
back to Yakima, having had a memorable day, indeed.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
Steppie at nwinfo.net