The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21
ARE BIRDS OF GOOD OMEN.
FIsHHAWkS vENERA TED BY NEW
JERSEYS SHURk-D UELLERS.

because Of the tniNersnl respect ana
Good win In which tho bird IL Held.
DEAL BEACH. n. j., Jan lT--"You won't
see NJ fishhnwks this year until the very last
day Of the limit" said the old beachcombsr
sentcniiOusly.
And when is that last day Of the limit
The 22d Of March. Nobody ever knew .
I'D Of March to pass ON this coast without fish
hawks being seen. II there has been q hard
winter there is generally a mild spring. Then
the fshhawks may come as carly as the 10Th
or the 10Th Of March. When is an open
winter like this one March generally cuts up
rough The GshhGwks will hang of then until
the 22d Of the month. But II there hadn't been a
hawk on the coast up to the night Of the 2lst,
you'd find them on hand bright and early on the
morning OF the 22d. They are as certain as taxes
on that day"
The contact OF the Jersey coast beachcombor
with the outside world as represented by the sum
ner visitors has made them a little shamefaced
about some Of their shore supersuuons But the
superstitions are there Just the same and among
these supersutons the lshhawk cuts no small
figure. Ii is not too much TO soy that II a March
22d actually did pass without the appearance Of
the hawks il would cast a gloom over the comber
mind from Cape May " Sandy Hook. Why or
how this beautiful shore bird anne TO be a har-
binger Of good fortune among the coast people
It is hard ~ guess. Perhaps it is because its
advent is always the first positive signal OF the
coming Of spring and brightness and sunshine.
But whate,erA he cause, the superstition exists.
For a ishhawk with its soft plaintve cry high up
in the air " fly over u house Is a presage OF good
fortune Ior thathousc AMI for all who dwell within
it, Mheno one actually lightson a roof or a chimney
II is almost a. good as a bond that no evil shall
come upon that house Thus there is among the
toughest 81 the siiore-p'ople a feeling Of affection
for the bird " Inch il tlnged with II sort of reverence.
Inns sentiment alone would he sufficient ~
protect the bird even II the laws did not hke a
hani But they do \ penalty Of not less than
$40 nor more Than $50 wIth costs is the price Of
killing u nshhawk. or for mole, ilnS us nest "
stealing us egs&, Thus protected bot by, affection
and Law, the birds have come and gone for years
upon the Jersey shore living often In close contact
with man, and their habit,. are as well known 10
the people as are those Of domestic animals
once in n while, indeed, their fearless socia'
bility makes it absolutely necessary to interfere
with their domestic Grrang enenls notwithst dnd-
ing the law against moleS,ing them in any way.
They have, for instance, a iondness or building
their nests in dismal Chimneys and II not inite-
quently happens that when a hre is started in
house that has been vacant for II seaS,n only o
binding ,smudge OF sm, he trsuits, iot the chim-
ncy Is filled with the bushels Of tWigs. grass,
sedweed, pine ,boughs thick with cones and otter
ht.r with which the fShhawk nests are con-
slructed. II is n good deal Of bother to get the
mess cleaned out, but you mustn't swear about
II for its the very quintessence Of good luck 20
find a 1shhawk's nest IN your chimney. In
order to give good fortune a STUNT their way,
the shore ianiers MT, inirrqueutly, make a sort
OF a platform On q pole near their homes Tor the
nsAhn wks to build their nests on. And some
of the regular Seashore visit rs rom the city erect
ornamental structures Of he same sort in order
that they may have the picturesque feature Of q
fshhawk's uest near their summer cottages.
The hawk and his vi = year hiler year return
10 the same nest which they patch up here aud
there in the spring ana put in order for the winter
when they leave in the autumn How strongly
constructed are these nests may be guessed When
A. a.,,a,saG ~ SaTpp lf Ia uintp II rms fhax
have t. withstand is r~emembered. he hawk
rather likes an isolated tree standing in al pen
full sweep AT it. Yet none was ever known to
BE- quite { rl down \ %hShhawt tree Is very
readily picked out in the melan'h' ~ shore land
scapc Tor II invariably dies after the hawks have
had their |nestinit ter a few years 1hisi is thought
To- be from the salty dampness and the fish oil
which the birds bring 10 the trees and which
The hawk ) eggs, about the size Of hens eggs.
range in number rom two TO four, and are creamy
Nhite in color, deliCately marked with yellow and
brown srots. They are laid about the LIST Of May,
and a month later the little chick hawk covered
with down, make their appearance. BY the Tins
autumn comes they have learned TO fly, and do a
little fishing on their own account Then they
20 of South. get married, and come lack next
March 10 set up housekeeping for themselves,
During the time the hen hawk is busy with mo
,erual cares the old man is very devoted. lie
scars up and down over the sea lnlets and uut
over the ocean itself looking for fish for the fam
lis. When he darts down, and sel2es one and
rises into The air with il kicking IN his talons he
makes a heeliue for his tree residence, and tears
of the flesh strip BY strip, feeding II 10 the .Hha
and young ones. Fish Is the sole food Of the bird.
and he is in no sense a scayenget He must have
his FISH fresh and out Of the water He will not
even deign 10 pick II up II he drops II IN lis tlgbt
and il falls 10 tie ground.
When fishing Y his ocean he frequently scars
high in the air How his eye sees bis victim swim
ming below tho surface We will know when v.
know how IT is the carrier pigeon finds his way
home over leagues Of land and sea But the II
slant his hawk eye does see the victim, down he
pnaa i'm a bullet like plunge, which CHTTleS MN
far under the surface The Italians call the fish
hawk "aaulln rluml ina" Or Iesden eagle, be-
the sky. There is a great sllash when the bird
strikes the water, a foamy turmoil fenealh the SUI
face for a moment, and then up he comes, holding
a great w~riggling fish often a four or flve-pound
iluefsh in hs sharp talons. Rising a few yards
above the surface, the tud stops for a moment 10
"ut Of his plumage. then away he wheels, often
with low, lahnrious flight from the weight Of his
burden, to his wife and little ones in the tree that
happens that he hawk gets even too strong a grip
upon his prey beneath the surface, and is himself
by fish loo heavy for him 10 III INTO Hhich
his sharp talons have sunk so deeply that he can
not pull them loose. And SO the wife and little
far away nest The old man returns no more,
inr lie is cruising far teneath the ocean derths;
d"Dmei % carry him thus until by natural Process
Of dissolution The lIri's body is washed away BY
hts. t]ishermen tell Of frequently taking big
1Sn WIN lF lhlpIN dHu a IcIuul u ~ oh
skeleton still fastened 10 its lack. Only q few
years ago u great drumiish came ashore Al AZ,
lantic Highlands beach with a recently drov ued
fish hawk fast H. Its back.
Perhaps II adds n little TO the fshhawks dig
nifty to know that he is nothing more nor less
than the osprey whose almost total disappear
anCe from British waters Is so much lamented
by many Englsh writer's. Kingsley wrote years
ago that only a few we're then 30 b. found IN some
remote places on the Scottish coast, the secret of
their abode being iealously guarded by those
whukrew il and their eggs being highly prlzed
as great rarlties by Englsh collectors The
reason Of their practical extinction in treat Britain
il that there for many years neither superstition
nor the law protected them as both have long
done on the Jersey coast ] here are many ot
them on the Australian coast and the Australian,
British and Amer can species are all practically
identical In the American species the female
is rather longer than the male with a five foot
spread Of wing 10 support q body VIII lch. feathers
and all, measures about two feet in length. The
feathers are oily and closely SET, especially on
the under side IT the body, like those Of geese or
ducks. But even this does not prevent the bird
something's. after q prolonged struggle beneath
the surface, from being boo much water logged
~ BE- atle IN raise itS-lf in fight, and 6she men
now AMI then nd them iioaung thus he lplcssly
upon the water until they get dry enough N M
themselves alnft
Plum Island, Conn is a great breeding place
for fshhawks II Is n barren place with few
trees and the hawks there often make their nests
on the ground and lay their eggs in the sand.
Some Of theS, nests thus built up are OF great size.
atr,r,nra f,,p, nIa a.. f., 40 fnat uhnva tho prNin1