New Life Bird- Swainson’s Hawk 11/9/2025

     For the past week I have been seeing reports of a Swainson’s hawk hanging around in Cape May, NJ. I have been looking to add a Swainson’s hawk to my life list for a while now.  It is a bird of the Great Plains and the western United States.    My several trips out west over the years, including this year, have never allowed me to cross paths with one.  The bird is rare in New Jersey, but seems to appear annually during migration in Cape May.  My past visits to the southern tip of our state also have never synched with that of a Swainson’s.  Usually sightings of this western hawk are of one day, often as they pass over the distinguished Hawk Watch platform at Cape May Point.  The fact that this bird has hung around for several days roused my attention.  

Friends of mine headed down for the visiting bird Sunday morning and I dismissed the opportunity to take the ride with them.  Of course, as the morning wore on I became indecisive on whether to go try for the bird on my own or stay home.  The bird met my personal requirements to chase, but the 80+ mile one way drive would cost me a minimum of three hours just in travel time for the round trip, plus gas and tolls (nothing is free in NJ).  Finally, when my friends messaged me that they got the bird soon after arriving, I stopped contemplating and headed out for it.  Like the chestnut-collared longspur that I made two trips for a few weeks back, I knew I wasn’t guaranteed to find it.

Unlike the longspur odyssey though, I had better luck this time.  The bird has been staying close to an open field on private property with “No Trespassing” signs posted.  Fortunately there is a wildlife management area across the street with a parking lot.  When I arrived there I wasn’t sure if  I had the right spot.  The WMA has two entrances and the lot I pulled into was empty.  That didn’t make sense to me since the rarity should have attracted other birders, especially on a weekend.  After a couple of short text message exchanges, my friends confirmed I was in the right spot.  I walked across the street and immediately saw a few raptors in the sky over the field.  Two I knew right away were turkey vultures, but a third one, about the size of a red-tailed hawk, was suspect.  I took a few photos of it before I lost it by the tree line on the opposite side of the large field.  I looked at my pics and could see it was not a red-tailed.  Having not seen a Swainson’s before, I wasn’t sure if this was it, plus I felt that I could not have spotted it so quickly.  I sent a pic to my friends and they replied, “Nice, that’s it!”  Wow, hit the Staples button, because that was easy.

Swainson's hawk soaring overhead.  © S. Weiss

Swainson's hawk hop-flying in the field for insects.  © S. Weiss

Within minutes other birders did show up and we refound the bird.  It spent some time hunting insects on the ground in the tall grass.  It also spent some time flying and soaring overhead for better views.  I spent close to an hour observing it.  I try to enjoy times like this, always reminding myself that I may never see what I’m looking at again.  Plus, it gave my car’s engine a little time to cool down.

Northern harrier, gray ghost, flying over field.  © S. Weiss