A Large Migration of Hawks. — The guests at Lake Minnewaska, N. Y., 
had an opportunity in September to see the migration of large numbers of. 
hawks, presumably the Broad-winged. I enclose a letter from Mr. Kirk 
Munroe, the author, stating what he saw, and give you my own statement 
of what I saw myself, my estimates being, in all cases, moderate, and the 
numbers in some cases being from actual count. The birds were in most 
cases circling, in some cases sailing straight forward, a beat of the wings 
being extrerpely rare. As, in clear weather, the birds were very high, and 
in bad weather the light was very poor, I will not insist too strenuously 
upon my identification of the hawks as the Broad-winged, but I am sub- 
stantially certain. The flocks were moving, in the main, from northeast 
to southwest, but parts of some of the flocks turned off to the west. 
The flocks were accompanied, or followed, occasionally, by Red-shoul- 
dered Hawks; once or twice, apparently, by Fish Hawks; twice by Marsh 
Hawks, and once by an Eagle. 
The flocks seen by me, then, numbered as follows: — Sept. 15, 30; Sept. 
16, 15; Sept. 17, 11 and 30; Sept. 20, 35, 35, 50, 66, 10, 23, 50, 15, 40; 
Sept. 21, 30. 
Those seen by Mr. Munroe, as will be noticed, were seen mostly on a day 
when I saw none, thus making the grand total very large. It may be that 
what we saw was not unusual, and therefore not worthy of special notice; 
but if it was at all out of the common, your readers will, no doubt, like to 
hear of it. — Robt. Barbour, Montclair, N . J . 
[Mr. Munroe’s letter to Mr. Barbour, referred to above, is as follows:] 
Dear Mr. Barbour: — A few days since: or to be more explicit, on 
the 18th inst., while on a walking trip to the Ice Caves of the Shawangunk 
Mountains near Ellenville, N. Y., in company with three Columbia College 
boys, I witnessed a most astonishing migratory flight of Broadwinged(?) 
Hawks concerning which I should like some further information. 
When our attention was attracted to the birds we had come out from 
the caves and were eating our lunch on the summit of a rocky ridge from 
which we had an uninterrupted view of the sky as well as of a vast extent 
of territory on either side. The forerunners of the migration were a few 
stragglers that only caused comment by their undeviating and unhesitat- 
ing southward flight. These leaders were, however, quickly followed by 
other birds in ever increasing numbers until the marvellous flight extended 
as far as the eye could reach to the eastward; and upwards to a point 
where the great birds appeared no larger than so many sparrows. 
When the hawks first aroused curiosity by their numbers, one of my 
companions undertook to count them; but having counted fifty in less 
than one minute, he gave over the attempt, and was glad to have done so 
when, at the end of an hour the incredible flight still continued without 
pause or diminution. 
I cannot venture even to guess how many hawks passed above us during 
that time; but know that they numbered well up among the thousands, 
and I write to ask if ever before you heard of a hawk migration on so vast 
a scale? 
I would add that three days after encountering this remarkable flight, 
I witnessed another of the same character, only this time numbering but 
two or three hundred individuals, taking the same southerly direction 
over Sam’s Point, but a few miles from the caves visited on the previous 
occasion. 
If you can tell me where these countless thousands of hawks came from, 
whither they were bound, upon what they subsist while travelling, or if 
you can throw any other light upon the subject you will greatly oblige, 
Yours most truly, 
_ _ , _ Kirk Munroe. 
Ante 26, J«a-19Q8,A» <?-<>' 
