Migrating on Solar Power
Broad-winged Hawks can be found across the eastern part of the United States and into Canada. They migrate over 4,000 miles to Mexico and down to Southern Brazil, covering an average of 70 miles each day. During migration Broad-winged Hawks often concentrate into groups that number in the thousands! These large groups are called 'kettles'. When a hawks finds a column of warm air they stretch out their wings to rise with it. Using these warm air columns the birds can travel large distances just gliding on the power of the sun. Nature photographer M. Timothy O'Keefe theorizes that the word 'kettle' derives from the appearance of birds circling tightly in a thermal updraft "like something boiling in a cauldron." Have you ever seen a kettle of hawks?
Comments
Leave a comment
Thank you!