A Red-tailed Hawk swooped down through the trees, lighting a branch to watch who passed by. I was there- walking through Hort Woods after lunch with my colleagues. It’s been a while since I saw a hawk on campus, and years since I’ve been near to my favorite bird.

In medieval folklore, witches had a familiar, a type of supernatural companion. In a way, Red-tailed Hawks are my familiar, appearing at unusual moments to direct my attention. When I was fifteen, I had a close call with a hawk while refilling bird feeders. As I was shimmying the barrel of a feeder up its string, a soft whump sounded behind me. A chill crept up my neck as I turned- only to find a Red-tailed Hawk deep in the snow. It had likely seen prey in the yard and dived, not minding the teen bumbling around in a snowsuit.

When I was nineteen, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk crash-land on the road, bleeding and injured. I called the bird in to the Game Commission, and waited with it until the warden rescued and toted it off. Again, when I was twenty-six, I was talking on the phone in a courtyard when a Red-tail decided to take a seat on a brick wall. It enjoyed its lunch while I chatted with my Mom. The Red-tailed Hawks showed no fear of me, or of our surroundings.

Fear doesn’t appear to be part of a Red-tailed Hawk’s vocabulary. When mated, Red-tailed Hawks will guard their territory together. If a human strays too close, the hawks will take no qualm in scaring them away. The Red-tailed Hawks in my area will dive across I-99 traffic to hit prey in grassy medians. They’ll perch while a PennDOT mower rumbles past, surveying for new-exposed food.

On my daily commute, I see at least two hawks per day. Road warriors, hunting the hills between Bellefonte and State College. A huge swath of I-99 passes by SCI Rockview and Penn State research farms, excellent habitat for prey. Plus, the cultivated fields help form the thermals Red-tailed Hawks use to travel. Interspersed are WMUs, permitting wildlife to live with little human interference.

I’m not the only person with a love of wild raptors. I recently learned about HawkCount, which records the data collected from raptor watches. Over 300 sites dot North America- with 5 located near me. Right now, Fall watches are occurring at Jacks Mountain and Stone Mountain. I was able to sign up for daily email updates tallying the number of birds observed. I’m fascinated by how many raptors pass through my area during their migration. I’ve been more observant in the field, now that I have a better understanding of what I’m looking for.

I marked my sighting in eBird, delaying our march back to the office. Yet, as soon as I had seen the hawk, it was gone again. None of my colleagues had the chance to look up into the eyes of our wild neighbor. I explained to them the importance of my stop and eBird, but they continued as if nothing was out of the ordinary. I spent the rest of the day wondering what else my wild neighbor had wanted me to see.

Works Cited

Aucker, Jeff. “Hawkwatch Site Profile – Bald Eagle Mountain – Port Matilda.” HawkCount, 2023, www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=635. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Bohn, Mark, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Red-Tailed Hawk.” Flickr, Digital Photograph, 20 Dec. 2010, www.flickr.com/photos/43322816@N08/5277662783. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Bolgiano, Nick. “HawkWatch Site Profile – Bald Eagle Mountain – Eagle Field.” HawkCount, 2019, www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=809. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

—. “HawkWatch Site Profile – Tussey Mountain HawkWatch.” HawkCount, 2024, www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=438. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Grove, Greg. “HawkWatch Site Profile – Stone Mtn.” HawkCount, 2015, www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=436. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Matsubara, Becky. “Red-Tailed Hawk.” Flickr, Digital Photograph, 26 Jan. 2017, www.flickr.com/photos/130819719@N05/32406640251. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Pennsylvania Game Commission. “Hawks and Falcons.” Wildlife Note, Pennsylvania Game Commission, www.pgc.pa.gov/Education/WildlifeNotesIndex/Pages/Hawks-and-Falcons.aspx. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Smith, Darrell. “HawkWatch Site Profile – Jacks Mountain.” HawkCount, 2023, www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?r=on&rsite=104&go=Go+To+Hawkwatch+Profile. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.