Dwayne
*************
Dwayne Martin
Hickory, NC
<redxbill...>
On Sun, Oct 11, 2026 at 3:58 PM Steve Shultz <carolinabirds...> wrote:
> Folks who cruise the Caribbean might recall that at this time of year
> Peregrines use the ships as “perches” to hunt birds migrating over the
> ocean.
>
> They seem not at all concerned about crossing long stretches of open
> water.
>
> We’ve seen up to six using the ship at once in October.
>
> Steve Shultz
> Apex NC
>
> On Oct 11, 2026, at 3:51 PM, Wayne Hoffman <carolinabirds...> wrote:
>
>
> Nice observations -
>
> A few comments:
> 1. I have seen Peregrines and other raptors elsewhere "use" bridges while
> crossing bodies of water. If there is a crosswind - even a fairly light
> breeze, the bridge structure interrupts the air flow and causes small
> up-currents and eddies, and raptors are vary good at using these to reduce
> the energy needed to travel. This is much smaller scale but comparable to
> the way mountain ridges provide migration paths for raptors. I remember 20
> years or so ago watching Red-tailed Hawks using updrafts off McNary Dam to
> cross the Columbia River from Washington into Oregon.
>
> 2. I also agree that Peregrines may be "least concerned" about open water
> crossings, but I would add Osprey as a second species very comfortable
> crossing open water.
>
> 3. Most of the Peregrines seen on Atlantic coastal hawkwatches are the
> Arctic subspecies, and the great majority of them winter well south of
> Virginia and the Carolinas, so I would vote for yes they come on south and
> are just missed. How do they cross the urban sprawl - likely at altitude.
> Once they pass that, I suspect a lot of them are missed because they are
> traveling 1,000 - 10,000 feet above the ground. I also suspect a lot of
> them take off from the Cape Hatteras area and fly directly over water to
> the Florida coast and/or to the Bahamas. And I would not be surprised if
> quite a few transit OBX offshore, as well.
>
> Wayne Hoffman
> Wilmington
>
> ------------------------------
> *From: *"mtove" <carolinabirds...>
> *To: *"carolinabirds" <carolinabirds...>
> *Sent: *Sunday, October 11, 2026 2:19:22 PM
> *Subject: *CBBT Peregrines
>
> Today (Oct 11) returning from the Kiptopeke, VA Hawk Watch – while
> crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, I had 6! Peregrine Falcons
> flying along (over & beside) the bridge part (plus a 7th along the hwy
> maybe a mile before the CBBT. Two of them even landed (momentarily) on the
> roadway in front of my car. In over 5 decades of birding (including
> hawk-watching), I’ve never seen anything like this. The birds seemed to be
> hugging the bridge to minimize the impact of the wind and rain from the
> remnants of Hurricane Isaisis. However, I’ve long wondered if migratory
> hawks use the bridge to cross the Chesapeake Bay. While this is but a
> single data point, some observations can be made: On the one hand, the
> storm was unusual compared with usual weather conditions. On the other
> hand, Peregrine is the one raptor probably least “concerned” about flying
> across open water. None-the-less, I think demonstrates that even a bird as
> tough as a Peregrine Falcon will seek to follow a less risky path (near a
> solid structure such as a bridge) as opposed to striking out across open
> water with no possible landing point until reaching the opposite side. All
> seven of the birds I saw today were in juvenile plumage. By point of
> reference, yesterday, at the hawk-watch, there were roughly 70 peregrines;
> the vast majority young birds (usually the majority of birds I see there
> are adults), and the previous day, some 160 birds.
>
>
>
> Yes I understand I’m talking about Virginia, not the Carolinas, but in
> fall migration, most if not all the Virginia migrant birds wind up in, or
> transiting North Carolina. Moreover, I suspect that vast majority, perhaps
> all of the Peregrines on the Outer Banks come from these Virginia migrants.
> However, the numbers seen at Kiptopeke every fall, dwarfs the numbers seen
> anywhere in NC (much less the OBX). Where the birds go after Kiptopeke is
> unknown – including they theory that they “cycle” back around without
> crossing the water. After today, the evidence is they do cross and are
> simply missed. Accordingly, after crossing (reaching the urban sprawl of
> Norfolk and Virginia Beach), where do they go?
>
>
>
> Mike Tove
>
> Cary, NC
>
>
