A Massachusetts Duck Hawk Aery
By GERALD H. THAYER
HF. Duck Hawk. or American Peregrine Falcon. is uncommon enough. so that the following account of a remarkably full and satisfying experience with a nesting pair may he of some interest. Mindful of taxidermists and eggvcollectors. I shall refrain from naming the exact location of the aery. which may be annually reoccupied for many years to come if no unfortunate accident
happens to the grand old birds. Suffice it to say that it is in Berkshire count) Massachusettsmany miles from the two aeries recorded by Faxon
and Hoffman (Birds of Berkshire County, p. 41). In September. [902. I
found two adult Duck Hawks haunting a certain rugged. craggy hill.
which towers above a well-watered and fertile intervale of the beautiful
Berkshire country. The more gently sloping sides of this hill are heavily
wooded, but the one on which the Hawks were found. being every-
where almost precipitously steep. supports only a meager growth of trees. and, where not entirely denuded of soil, is covered mainly with blue- berry bushes and brambles. It contains several sheer and even over— hanging cliffs. unscalable by man without the aid of ropes. and in all respects well suited to the nesting of such a lover of bold crags as the
Peregrine Falcon.
On the September morning when I discovered the birds here, they were very wary. and took themselves 05 after a few gyrations over my head. well out of gun-shot range. Nesting was. of course. long over for the year. but I found ample signs that the hill was a habitual hreedingground of theirs. Almost all the shelves and ledges overtopping and bordering one of the larger cliffs were strewn with feathers,—some fresh. some matted and decomposed. Those of domestic Pigeons were much the commonest. but there were also Ruffed Grouse. Flicker. Kingfisher. Blue Jay and hen feathers.
Nearly eight months later. on »May 31. i903. I again climbed the hill, determined to find and reach the nest if it were humanly possible. To my great delight, the Hawks were there, and with significantly altered de- meanors. I was halfrway up the steep hillside. picking my way between precipices, before I heard or saw them: then the pair. mighty female and smaller male, launched themselves. shrieking. into the air from the big- gest and most distant cliff. and in a few seconds were wheeling over me, with frantic cries, most menacingly near. The female was by far the holder of the two. coming nearer and staying longer than her mate; and this difference in their characters proved to be constant. and at all times most pronounced. From the field below I had espied a very suspicious- looking white stain, on the border of the nearest high cliff. and this I now
(47)
