262 Trowbridge, Hazvk Flights in Connecticut. I j"j 



in his ' Birds of Connecticut,' mentions a congregation of hawks 

 as follows: " On the 25th of September, 1875, I saw near New 

 Haven, a flock of twenty-six Red-tailed Hawks, soaring high and 

 sailing slowly southward. The day was clear and cool, and there 

 was little wind." 



The first very large flight of hawks \vhich I ever witnessed 

 occurred on the i8th of September, 1886, and on that day there 

 was also a great flight of Red-headed Woodpeckers {Melanerpcs 

 erythrocephalus) and Flickers {Colaptes anratus). 



I started from New Haven early in the morning and arrived 

 upon the field of observation before sunrise. The hawks ap- 

 peared at about seven o'clock, and the flight continued during the 

 rest of the morning. All the Raptores passed westward along 

 the coast-line of Connecticut. At one moment they flew high 

 above the fields, and at the next low over the crests of the hills, 

 some nearly grazing the open ground, while others darted through 

 the tree tops of the more wooded portions of the high lands. 

 Several species of hawks were very abundant, especially the 

 Sharp-shinned {Accipitcr velox), in the young plumage. On the 

 1 6th of September of the following year (1887), there occurred 

 another great flight of hawks, and I was again fortunate enough 

 to witness it. There was little wind at first, and the hawks did 

 not appear until nine o'clock in the morning, when a few Sharp- 

 shinned Hawks were observed. But later on in the day, the wind 

 increased in force. Thousands of hawks of different species flew 

 past New Haven, and Broad-winged Hawks {Bitteo lafissiini/s), 

 both adults and young, appeared soaring in immense clusters. In 

 one great flock alone there must have been three hundred hawks, 

 the greater part of which were undoubtedly Biiteo latissivins, 

 although with field glasses I distinguished several species in the 

 flock. I also observed several Bald Eagles {Harucetiis Iciico- 

 cephaliis) in various plumages, circling high. The flight con- 

 tinued from nine o'clock in the morning until darkness set in in 

 the evening. The clay was cool and fine and the wind blew very 

 briskly from the north. On the next day there was a flight for a 

 short time early in the morning, but the direction of the wind 

 changed and the flight ceased soon after. 



One week later, on the 24th of September, after a number of 

 days of southerly winds, there occurred a flight which lasted from 



