BULLETIN 



OF THE 



Michigan Ornithological Club 



Published QtJAR'i'ERX.Y in the Interests of Ornithology 



IN THE Great Ijake Region. 



Vol. V. DECEMBER, 1904. No. 4. 



AN UNUSUAL FLIGHT OF SPARROW HAWKS IN MICHIGAN 



IN 1904. 



FRANK SMITH. 



Macatawa, Michigan, is a summer resort on the east shore of Lake Michi- 

 gan, southwest from Grand Rapids. During a few weeks' stay at this place 

 last August, I had an opportunity to witness an unusual flight of hawks. I 

 was much interested in the occurrence, in part, because of the novelty of the 

 experience, but chiefly because the accompanying circumstances seemed to 

 throw light on the causes of such movements. The weather maps for August 

 29 and 30 show that moderately strong winds from the northeast prevailed 

 over the southern peninsula dufing those days and the preceding nights. On 

 the morning of the 29th a great increase in the number of warblers and fly- 

 catchers showed that an extensive movement had occurred the night before, 

 forming the first pronounced *'wave" of the fall migration. On the morning 

 of the 30th so many small hawks were noticed flying southward that I was 

 led to ascend one of the highest sand dures of the vicinity, from the summit 

 of which I looked to the westward directly over Lake Michigan, and to the 

 eastward over a strip of heavy timber with open country beyond. From this 

 vantage ground, with the aid of a good prism glass. I counted the hawks that 

 came within range, and identified a considerable number of them. 



During a period of one and Oiie-half hours, beq^inning at 9:13 a. m., eighty 

 sparrow hawks passed near enough for positive identification. Two hundred 

 seventy-one other small hawks, which were probably nearly all sparrow hawks, 

 and thirty-one larger hawks, were also recorded, making a total of three 

 hundred eighty-two individuals. As the movement continued uninterruptedly 

 from about 6 a. m. until 1 p. m., there must have been more than one thousand 

 individuals which passed that point of observation during the day. After 2 



