A different kind of birding story

[John Morgan <jmorgan1 at integrity dot com>]

Well folks, I've only been on birdnet a few days, following my initial
joining as a result of my Eurasian Dove sighting. I see that there are
some very dedicated people who practice this hobby/love with all
diligence. That's impressive. I've enjoyed birds all my life, but have
never been one to actually go out in search of anything specific.

So humor me as I relate something special.

I fly radio-controlled sailplanes: 10' span...the type of plane that could
compete with any hawk in any thermal at any elevation....even low to the
ground Controls include flaps, ailerons, elevator/rudder. Surfaces can be
cambered slightly to achieve wing shape changes. These are launched by
means of a winch system. We can usually achieve 350' launch heights. Once
in good lift, 1,200' feet vertical is about where the plane gets so small
you have to bail out and come back. It's rare to recover, or find new lift
once the plane gets below about 30' above ground....at that elevation,
thermals don't have enough energy (yet) to keep a 5-lb sailplane up.

This past November, a group of us were flying at a sod farm just over the
mountain, immediately west of Tremonton UT. It was a day when inversions
were causing the thermal activity to be quite weak. There are several
types of hawks that frequent the area, and for lack of a complete
identification, I'm going to say that the hawk on this day was a Goshawk.

I had just bailed out of one thermal and was in search of others, at
fairly close range...maybe 50' elevation and 150' away. I noticed this
hawk kind of "tailing" my plane as if he was curious as to who this new
friend was. Suddenly, my plane signaled lift, and I began to pull the
plane into careful circles, trying to find the center of the lift. The
hawk did the same (hawks often find lift by noticing other birds
circling....even if those birds are sailplanes) and soon we were both
working this weak lift--the same thermal--with great care. Our paths more
than once crossed within 5' feet of each other. That hawk did not seem
bothered at all by this new bird. I was surprised at how close he let our
paths cross...and I was not trying to intimidate him or purposely fly too
close. I was in a constant rate of turn, flying smoothly and he allowed
this proximity.

For a moment it was man and bird united in something beautiful. And here's
the really unusual part! My plane outperformed this particular hawk, and
within 2 minutes, I had him beat by some 20-30' of altitude. That is rare,
because birds have the advantage of being able to feel the air and
capitalize on every subtlety of lift.

Anyway, with the inversion, the thermal was short-lived...the hawk finally
bugged out went elsewhere and I landed shortly thereafter, feeling a
little closer to the birds. Amazing.

I've heard stories of hawks attacking planes in this hobby, but have never
seen it. When it comes to thermaling, they seem perfectly willing to share
their airspace.

John

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