Trapping Day - Part 2

The First Night with a New Hawk. Talons and Tolkien.

Hunting with my first-ever falconry bird, Italics. Photo by Miriam Romais.

I don’t get out much, but I am very active in my local community. I know all the songbird species that visit the feeders. I know where the bears pass through and white-tails bed. I know where foxes den and coyotes trot. I keep up an up on the gossip. I watch the signs. And you better believe I know where my local hawks nest.

A pair of red-tails don’t ask for much when starting a family. Their territory is roughly two square miles of hunting grounds. Like coyotes, –tails are adaptable. They don’t require pristine views and native grassland prey species to succeed—hell, there are breeding pairs in all five boroughs of New York City— but I do feel like the ones on this mountain have a particularly lovely life. 

Let me tell you about my neighbors:

One nest is on the eastern side of the mountain. Sunrise hits this nest first and hunting starts early. These are practical, working-class hawks. Their home is the base of my road where fields and farms spill out for miles. This locations offers lots of open land near the cover of woods for perching at night and raising a family. 

Another nest is on the western side, and it has the same amenities, but sunlight lasts a little longer into dusk. These birds I see less often but are as practical as their east-side peers. They are more disturbed by machine farming, and often seen near the Amish and their horse pastures. Solid birds, good reputations, decent citizens. 

But the best nest is near the summit. It’s facing east, not far from the looming, abandoned, 80-ft-tall fire tower* that haunts this mountain like an AT-AT. These are the badasses. They’re the oldest, largest, most-established pair and their nest has a view most humans wouldn’t dare dream of. Since moving here I’ve held them both in my hands. I swear they are dragons.

The bird I trapped most likely came from the western pair. I’m not certain, but it’s my best guess. He could be from the blue collar couple or the dragon’s nest, but probably comes from Amish roots.

Now, back to the morning I brought him home…