BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — They can be seen perched atop poles in the area.
Hawks and other birds of prey are starting their fall migration.
“Right now, raptor migration is kind of just starting for us here in Northeast Wisconsin, when I say raptors, I mean birds of prey,” said Jason Petrella, Brown County Program and Natural Resource Manager.
Petrella says many birds are on the move.
“There are some raptors like Red-Tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Sharp-Shinned Hawks, Kestrels.
He finds himself looking to the sky.
“He’s just riding one of those thermals, kind of gliding around,” said Petrella.
Petrella says there are eight different hawk species in Wisconsin, and some raptors stay in the area all year, but those migrating south use warm winds called thermals to help push them along.
“The hawks get some lift, and they just kind of glide those up, and let it get to the top. They’ll just drop down to the next one. It’s kind of like stepping stones all the way down,” he said.
Experts say hawks typically avoid flying over large bodies of water, and experts say that makes the west shore of the waters of Green Bay prime bird-watching territory.
“They do have to stop, fuel up, take a break, get some food, do some hunting along the way, They can’t make this whole trip without stopping to rest, and stopping to eat some food, catch some prey,” said Jody Sperduto, Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary Naturalist.
Experts say the hawk migration should peak next month.
“They’re really fun to check out, something that we kind of take for granted. We don’t realize happens here, because you’re not always looking up in the sky, but you can see quite a few species of hawks migrating through here in the fall,” said Petrella.
Experts say the best time to see the migration is late morning to early afternoon. Some hawks are known to migrate as far as Central and South America.
