by Roland D. Hallee

Maine’s famous great black hawk was back in the news last week when it was announced that the raptor, which succumbed to its wounds last year, was going on display at the Maine State Museum, in Augusta, following its preparation by taxidermist, Tom Berube, of Poland. The mount of the rarely seen South American raptor appropriately depicts it standing over a squirrel.

The great black hawk, the first of its kind known to visit Maine, was originally spotted in Biddeford in August 2018. It disappeared for a while, only to reappear in Portland’s Deering Oaks Park, in November, stalking a gray squirrel. The park is known for its abundant population of squirrels. During its brief stay in Deering Oaks, it didn’t lack for food.

It was rescued during a snowstorm on January 20, 2019, and transported to the Avian Haven bird rehabilitation facility, in Freedom, in an attempt to rehab the raptor. The bird was euthanized on January 31, 2019, because of extensive frostbite which prevented blood from reaching either leg or foot.

While at the rehab facility, the bird received national attention. “This bird is certainly our most famous patient,” Diane Winn, the executive director of Avian Haven, where the hawk was being treated, wrote in an email to Audubon.

According to Audubon, “from its usual haunt at Deering Oaks Park, in downtown Portland, the hawk occupied itself by hunting squirrels and rats and fared well despite the snowy conditions, according to its many attentive onlookers.

“Then, the mercury dropped.

“On an icy Sunday morning, with temperatures hovering around 8°F, a man strolling through the park discovered the hawk on the ground, unable to stand. He was soon joined by a skier who recognized the famed animal from signs hanging around the park, which also advertised Avian Haven’s phone number in case the hawk appeared in distress. She brought the bird home in a cardboard box, called up the rescue, and arranged for its transport through a volunteer-run shuttle. The drive usually takes an hour and a half; on January 20, it took almost four hours on the sleet-covered roads.

“The hawk was unresponsive when it left Portland. But along the route, in the car’s welcome heat and shelter, it began perking up. The bird opened its eyes at a handoff between drivers, and was active by the time it arrived at the hospital in early evening, according to a Facebook post by Avian Haven. Hospital staff bandaged the bird’s feet and by morning it was alert and standing.

“After a full exam and initial bloodwork, a staff veterinarian said the hawk would lose part of its outer toe to frostbite, but was doing well and eating meals of mice with gusto. Now, the big question looming over the recovering bird is what happens next.”

The bird had originally been sighted in South Padre Island, in Texas, in April 2018.

According to Louis Bevier, a research biologist at Colby College, in Waterville, it could be the same great black hawk spotted in Texas last year. The Maine great black hawk had similar markings as those of the Texas bird, which identified it as a juvenile. It is often mistaken for a common black hawk.

The great black hawk is native to Central and South America, and rarely leaves its surroundings. What brought this particular great black hawk to Maine is unknown. Although that particular species has been known to wander.

With regard to diet, it is a generalist, feeding primarily on rodents, bats, birds, fish, crabs, reptiles, and amphibians; there also are reports of these hawks eating fruit and eggs, often while pursuing its prey on foot. This species can be seen soaring above woodlands. Along the Amazon river, its normal range, it has been seen raiding hoatzin – nesting colonies looking for eggs and chicks. Hoatzins, also known as the reptile bird, skunk bird, stinkbird, or Canje pheasant, is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South America. It is notable for having chicks that have claws on two of their wing digits.

The great black hawk belongs to the same family as the bald eagle, and all others of the eagle species.

The great black hawk is large but slender, at about 22-25 inches in length. Despite its size, it weighs about 2-1/2 pounds. Adults have very broad wings, and is mainly black. The short tail is white with a broad black tip. The bill is black and the legs and cere are yellow. The sexes are similar, but young birds have dark brown above with spotting and steaks. Their underparts are buff with dark spots, and the tail has a number of black and dusky bars. The call of the great black hawk is a distinctive piping ooo-pwheeeeee.

It was determined what the age of the great black hawk was, but why it was attempting a relocation to much colder weather conditions is not known.

This particular great black hawk is not the first bird to visit our state from other, far away, places on the planet. Other species to have wandered here came from as far away as southern Europe, Asia, Africa, but are not indigenous to North America.

So, in one respect, the great black hawk that visited Maine lives on, as it can be seen on display at the Maine State Museum, in Augusta.

Like all taxidermy work, it lets the animal live on in a way, and many people will get to admire him up close at the Maine State Museum.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What was the last Eastern Conference team in the NBA to win the league title?

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

Huhhhh!

It’s time again to bundle up and make my trek through the snow fields of center Vassalboro in search of my old friend, Woodrow Charles. As folklore goes, Woody is a weather prognosticating groundhog. With Groundhog Day coming on February 2, I always visit him a little early to give our readers a head start on the possibilities of the weather for the next couple of months.

As I headed out on that day, it was a pleasant start to the day, clear skies with the temperature in the low 30s. Really balmy for the last week in January.

As I walked through the fields, I couldn’t help but notice that, had it not been for the five inches or so we received the previous week, there would not be much snow to trudge through.

As I approached his lair, I spotted the usual smoke billowing from the chimney above the stump, and the glow of lights through the only window he has. There were many tracks outside with groundhog footprints headed in every direction.

I arrived at the door, knocked and waited for an answer. I noticed things were a little different from last year.

If you remember, Woody was off the grid. He had given up all his electronics, given away his 60-inch TV, had his electricity turned off, and basically went all natural with everything. Sustainability, they call it.

But today, I see an electric light on inside.

I knocked again.

Silence.

“What is going on,” I think to myself.

I knocked a third time. Apparently, he’s out. I didn’t notify him that I was coming today.

Suddenly, I heard something behind me.

It’s Woody, waddling through the snow, carrying a bag.

He stopped, looked at me, and said, “Oh, I didn’t know you were coming today. You should have called first. I’ve been out foraging”

“Well,” I responded. “The reason I didn’t call is because, as of last year, you were off the grid, and swore you were in it for the long haul.”

He had a strange look on his face. “It didn’t work out. I was out of touch with everything. Couldn’t talk to my buddies, Frank, Butch and Slim. I didn’t know what was going on in the world with no TV. It just wasn’t working.”

He continued, “Luckily, Slim gave the TV back to me, but I had to promise to invite him to every one of my Super Bowl parties.”

That got me to thinking. “Hey, the Super Bowl is on Groundhog Day this year. Any predictions?”

I don’t know how he does it, but he’s usually correct.

“If you remember last year I predicted the Patriots by 10 points,” he started bragging. “And the final score was 13-3.”

“OK,” I responded, “you nailed it! Let’s see how you do this year.”

Woody rubbed his chin, and said, “This one is a little tough. I don’t know that much about San Francisco. Being a west coast team, they are not on television that much.

“From what I have read and heard, Kansas City’s offense is generally unstoppable, and the 49ers have one of the top defenses in the league. I usually like to go with defense. So, here goes, San Francisco by four points, as long as Jimmy Garoppolo can put up enough points against an improving Kansas City defense.”

Finally, I remembered. I was here to get a weather prediction, and somehow it always turns to Super Bowl picks.

“What about the weather?” I asked. “It’s been a pretty mild winter so far.”

Woody looked at the floor, then looked up, scratched his head, and spoke: “The worst of the winter is still ahead of us. I get mixed messages on snowfall, but I predict a little more snow than we have received so far, but with no major snow events. Temperatures, however, will plummet, with most of the precipitation being in the form of some snow, but a lot of wintry mix, with rain, sleet and freezing rain.”

I smiled wryly. “That doesn’t sound very encouraging.”

“Also,” Woody continued as though I hadn’t said anything, “the winter will be prolonged into late March, and into early and mid-April.”

That being said, Woody turned to me and said, “Cup of coffee?”

“Sure,” I replied. “I have a little time on my hands.”

So, for the next hour, we had coffee, and talked about many different subjects. I didn’t realize he was so well informed.

In all, everything he had a couple of years ago was back in its place, including his cell phone, WiFi, weather equipment, even Siri.

“Cost me a bit,” he said embarrassingly. “I needed to get everything out of hawk.”

So, what about Siri? “Gives me someone to talk to,” he said. “She knows a lot about a lot. It gets lonely here during winter.”

“So, you’re fairly well connected,” I asked.

“That’s what happens when you have communication with the outside world,” Woody said. “It’s amazing what you can learn with Google. And on television, there is the Home Shopping Network, CNN, FoxNews, Home & Garden Network, and my favorite, Animal Planet.”

Coffee finished, I got up, put on my coat, hat and gloves, and headed to the door. Once there, I turned, and wished my host a good day.

“Stay warm, and I’ll see you next year,” I said.

“Be safe, my friend,” Woody responded.

With that, I began my journey back home.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

The San Francisco 49ers have appeared in six Super Bowls, winning five. Who defeated them in Super Bowl XLXII, in 2012?

Answer can be found here.