We spent a few hours this morning looking for birds at 5,000 ft. elevation east of Mt. Washington. Our off-trail, outdoor exploration began with cold, windy, and eerily quiet conditions. We were sure that we were going to strike out on birds. That is until we were startled by the alarm call of a NORTHERN GOSHAWK. Our first such experience in the field - I've played the tape for Jill so many times that we both recognized it immediately. The bad news is the range that we measured at 200 yards made it difficult to get a good photo of this hard to come by species. The good news is once the goshawk moved on, the area around us came alive with birds.  

We counted 50 birds in one flock of DARK-EYED JUNCO and almost as many individuals in another flock of mixed warblers. Our list of other species seen includes, WARBLING VIREO, PILEATED WOODPECKER, CLARK'S NUTCRACKER, GRAY JAY, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, DOWNY WOODPECKER, HAIRY WOODPECKER, NORTHERN FLICKER, SONG SPARROW, RED-TAILED HAWK, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, HERMIT WARBLER, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, HERMIT X TOWNSEND'S CROSS, EMPIDONAX SP., TURKEY VULTURE, AND STELLER'S JAY. 

The section of the ridge that we ultimately found ourselves on today provides beautiful unobstructed views north that are framed by Mt. Washington and Jefferson to the west and Green Ridge to the south. Given that the Green Ridge hawk watch station is located at about 4800 ft. elevation, I am wondering if this recently discovered little piece of paradise might be also be a good, or even great, (fall) hawk watch location. Since we like to write about birds, and the places we find them, we would normally share the specifics of our hike and encourage others to bird there if we had not observed a juvenile Northern Goshawk in the area.  

The status of NORTHERN GOSHAWK is under review by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The purpose of the 40 year review culminating in 2028, is to assemble information pertinent to the question of whether (listing) under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. The review area encompasses the six western states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, California and Oregon.

At the risk of inflaming sensitivities (again), I am asking myself aloud - how is it possible, in this day and age, that it remains legal to take a species for recreational pursuits such as falconry, when concern over its welfare mobilized a 40-year, six-state study.

Our day started here - if you recognize the location, keep it to yourself:

We hiked uphill into the clouds until the juvenile Northern Goshawk briefly interrupted our trek:

When we reached the top of our target ridge, we were rewarded with this view of the base of Mt. Washington:

Back to birds:

We hope you enjoyed this post. Please bird responsibly.

Literature Cited:

Northern Goshawk Status Review: June 1998. N.p.: n.p., 2000. Web.