Thursday 27 April 2017

Four days,one unforgettable Goshawk sighting

Adult Goshawk Accipiter gentilis 
N Apennines, 21.04.2017
Olympus e-m1 (I), 75-300 II
The pale underside of a large bird glimpsed in fragments between leaves as it moved over the canopy, time interrupted in the instant it crossed a gap high overhead, big chest fine-barred: an adult Goshawk!  Actually that was just an imaginary Goshawk in a recurrent daydream (the mind tends to wander after a few hours scanning the wooded slopes on high alert for calls or a hawk in flight), but a real encounter during a recent mid-April visit to the valley in the northern Apennines was much better.

I had been sitting on a rock outcrop amid a high landslip scar in the wooded hills since mid-afternoon, the warmth on my face fading as the sun declined toward the distant hilltops, and the air getting colder as the freezing wind strengthened with evening.  Shadow covered the slopes opposite and the valley below filled with darkness.  For just the second time during the afternoon a distinct 'kek-kek-kek' call came from woods about a hundred metres up-valley from the nest site, then a stronger call from the nest area out of sight below.

It seemed that nothing more would develop and, with eyes streaming in the cold, I decided enough was enough and started to head down.  I had just paused to stand in the clearing at the base of my rock, enjoying the silence and the clear blue sky overhead, when there were suddenly two urgent 'wee-oo' calls from the nest area.  Immediately, through the treetops circling the patch of open ground, I saw the dark profile of a large bird powering up from the slopes below.  Camera and binoculars were just packed away for the steep track downhill  but I knew it was a Goshawk, probably the male, and as it flew low around the edge of the landslip scar and out of sight behind higher trees I cursed for giving up my vigil at the worst time possible.  Once or twice in the past I'd seen hawks flying along the wood edge around the open ground and decided to wait just in case it reappeared (meanwhile trying not to panic as I scrabbled to extract my camera).  And, as if by magic, it came into view from over the higher woods above the landslip zone, soared at speed in widening arcs almost directly overhead, then moved higher and across until it must have been over the patch of woods whence the first kek-kek-kek call came.  Soon more distant, it set into a fast gliding descent out of sight beyond the higher ground above.

Adult Goshawk Accipiter gentilis 
N Apennines, 21.04.2017
The bird was overhead, at only moderate height, for at least twenty seconds and in sight but more distant for about a minute.  While closer it was dramatically sidelit by the last rays of sunlight, soon to leave even the higher treetops on this side of the valley but still filling the blue sky above.  Probably the most sustained view of an adult Goshawk I'd experienced, and certainly in the best lighting!

So that was one great Goshawk sighting for an investment of about 24 hours of observation time over four days, and much serious discomfort from the cold of early morning or late afternoon.  Light-headed with the thrill of the encounter, that seemed like an excellent outcome, and I skipped down through the darkening woods without even trying to restrain what must have looked like a mindless grin on my face.  Less intensely exciting, but certainly more significant, was the fact that rare calls over the four days demonstrated that two Goshawk were still present in the nesting valley and apparently centred on the same nest site (as suspected back in March, see previous post).


Any lessons?

OK, never mind the romance, what has been learnt?  Next year, despite that stroke of good fortune, I probably will not plan a visit in April.  It seemed to me that the male restricted almost all his activity to the woodland proper, but of course he may have appeared above the canopy when I was not on lookout (eg. at dawn, when I have to admit the cold deterred my ageing bones).  If sightings are exceptional, audible calling was also very infrequent, in marked contrast to the month before and the month following.  In March, pairing, mating and nest preparation involve much activity and lots of excited calling.  In May, assuming chicks are present, the male should be in active flight for hunting more often, and vocal communication between the pair becomes vigorous around prey delivery; later on there can be high-intensity calling as the female ensures the male keeps his distance from the nest.

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