While we were there the beetle had completed another cycle, and no adults were to be found, though we did find a close relative. The hawk traffic was fairly heavy while we were there, though not a lot of other birds were found. From the tip of that peninsula it is a twenty mile flight across open water. If the circumstances are against the hawk's crossing, such as a southerly wind which would push the bird out to sea, or an empty stomach, the hawk is likely to double back onto the peninsula, to emerge in places like Savage Neck. The list of likely suspects is short, as one might think.
Foxes leave hawk wings behind their occasional kills.
Although there was some speculation as to an owl perhaps having done this, not long afterward we found the paw print of what may have been a bobcat. Hikes like Savage Neck are really the reason I became a birder. Even if there was not an over-abundance of avian activity the day we were there, it is amazing the stories birds tell, even beyond their short lives. To find a bird, look down Over the years I have become accustomed to spending much time looking down at the ground while birdwatching. This may seem a bit against the grain, but the truth of the matter is close to earth.