Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-01-22

Winged Messengers 81 Good Inca Nhn
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People who visit lbo northern ooas|
counties o. New Jofaey "a SIMMER ait
struck with the curious t1lky nests ol
Enc nsbhawta which ere 20 common In
chat locality These nests aro nboni 8
feet ncross and about 9 feet deep and afo
nothing moro or less than n big heap q
brush or dcnd branches Tho hawks aro
protected ID these ~conGtica by the im.
preston that they bring good luck so
that no ono would think of ofcn so
much as throwing q stone ot one Of the
big birda much less shoot nt one
There ia no sign Of spring 20 folislac-
tory to farmers along tho const ns the
coming Of tho nshhnwln Tho coming
and going Of these birds are poouliar.
You Rot up some informing in April and
thcy are here After their young are
Matched and grown mp 10 IS October. and
you get up some morning and find khom
gono The same birds come back year
after year. aud they occupy the same
nest which always needs n bic Of re-
building and occupies the birds for a
few weeks.
Il IS generally believed that there Is
q law protecting fshhawka bnt 10 Is q
mistake There Is an unwritten law,
and q well obeyod ono, Of custom. A
boy Is told that no must not disturb tho
birds, and he does not The good treat
mont that the hawks have received has
made Thorn 50 tame that their nests arc
built IN d~ooryards and BY the roadsides
and tho naturally timid birds have no
fear Of mankind Tho fshhawk is found
along many Of the inland waters Of the
state, but IL Is impossible to got near
them, and It is n rare thing to find o
nest They are the shyest Of birds ia
these places
Years ago tho fisher folk along tho
coast used to think that II a fshhawk
built It's nest on ones land it was an
omen Of good luck, and that success
would certainly follow him in whatever
pursuit no should undertake, and al
though there is less Of such feeling now
those who property on which the
hawks build welcome them in the spring
as old acquaintance aud look anxiously
for their coming as soon as the winter
breaks.
Fishhawks got their entire food sup
ply from the water. Their eyes are SO
constructed that oven at great heights
they can SEQ fish that swim near the sur
face, and then dive with lightning speed.
Tho fish is caught in the claws aud Is
taken to the nest Of the bird before be-
ing eaten. The writer has seen a hawk
make a mistake and catch q hard crab,
and when the crab got both his biz
claws fairly at work on the tender part
Of the birds legs there was somewhat
Of shaking and diving in the air to get
rid Of the crab, but it is not often they
get fooled. It is generally all in their
favor. A hawk will fly away with big
eel wriggling in its claws that n man
could not hold 30 seconds with both
hands. The hawks sometimes, however,
viii dive at things they do not want,
and a thing occurred a few years ago
which is worth telling.
A steamer was passing Seabright. Il
was a big coaster from Savannah to
New York. and q lady on board lost
overheard a handsome and valuable lace
shawl, which 1oated away after strik-
ing the water. TIE passengers, being
interested, watched the shawl rs far rs
they could see IL, and finally saw o fish
hawk dive at it, get II fast in his claws
and fly inland with it. The lady was
very much put out at losing the article
and advertised a reward for the same.
A lineman took a notion he could get
the shawl after hearing the circum-
stances, and with his spurs he started to
pay o visit to every fshhawk's nest in
the county Immediately back Of Sea-
bright. The shawl was found hanging
on the side Of anest on the Lewis White
firm, near Little Silver. What the
hawk wanted with the shawl Is hard to
tell, for hawks use no such thing in
building their nests.
The top Of a fshhawk's nest Is as
rough as the sides, and without any de-
preston. The eggs would roll of but
that tho top Of the nest is too rough for
Thorn to move. Tho tameness Of tho
hawks has IN many cases made them a
nuisance. They build on telephone
poles, on chimneys and cupolas Of houses,
aud il is sometimes necessary to con-
struct cupolas SO they cannot get any
landing place, for the hawks do not
mind in tho least having their nests torn
up, They build again right away.
A story is told Of q pair Of hawks
that built a nest one year In a small
apple tree on the Hance property, on
Rumson neck. Tho nest was built on q
part Of tho tree which could not stand
tho weight, and IL broke down. The
hawks built In another part. and 4 high
wind came and entirely uprOoted the
tree The birds then. for the third time,
built their nest IN the hole where tho
tree had been, and when they had
Matched out their young q weasel killed
Thorn ali, and they had to give up rails
ing q family that season.
IL is enormously stated that the trees
IN which hshhawks build die soon aft
erward. The truth is the trees more
often improve. The hawks select an old
soraggy tree, and, being about dead, It
does die, but oftoner tho trees Inn
prove from the fertilization given by
the PARTICLES Of fish dropped BY tho
hawks about the trees. Within q radius
Of Eve miles from Long Branch inland
there are no less than 800 Of these great
ecraggy. awkward nests hnt they form
part Of the picturesqueness Of the
scenery and arc q part Of is makeup-
Philadelphia nmoa
Book printing IA col0rs was begun by
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