The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-02


Ve.uect and Good VIII in which
the bird Is Held.
From the New York Sun.
n.j Beach, n. J.-"You won't see no
ess rswks this year until the very last
AN Of the limit" said the old beach
Gambler continuously.
.,r3 when is that last day of the limit"
amin. "a of March. Nobody ever knew a
si ae March to pass on this coast with
.+ 4.rnawks being seen. If there has
,,sr hard winter there is generally a
n,rd -uring. Then the fshhawks may
me AS early as the 18th of the 10th of
/ ,r,r.h When its an open winter like this
-,s March generally cuts up rough. The
4 a.tb40ls will hang off then until the I'D
,ba month But if there hadn't be n
4 t,ull on the coast up to the night Q.
,ts afsf you'd find them on hand bright
and sirly on the morning of the 22d. They
ar. AS certain as taxes on that day"
rb. contact of the Jersey coast beach
Gambler with the outside world as repre-
t.l nv the summer visitors has made
s,, little shamefaced about some of
,,.,r.nore superstitions. But the supeIsti-
,.,gs are lust the same and among these
.,,srsritions the fishhawk cuts no small
slre 1t is not too much to say that if
March . actually did pass without the
,.,.s7rlnce of the hawks it would cast
Gloom over the comber mnd from cape
1f.r to Sandy Hook. Why or how this
Ls,uHfll shore bird came to be a har-
t.rge- of good fortune among the coast
.1are il is hard to guess. Perhaps ii is
bes5u-e it's advent is always the first pos
Give signal of the coming of spring aud
bHeatuess and sunshine.
Ru, whatever the cause, the superstl-
tion exists For a fishhawk with It's SOFT
tain+ive cry high up in the air to fly over
r,,s.. is a presage of good fortune for
Tha+ house and for all who dwell within
II When one actually lights on a roof
AR "a chimney ii is almost as good as a
b5nd That no evil shall come upon that
house. Thus there is among the rough
esi of the shore people feeling OF attec-
ton for the bird which is tinged with a
sort of reverence.
This sentiment alone would be sufficient
10 protect the bird even if the laws did
mai take a hand. But they do A pen
alv of mot less than $40 nor more than
SEQ with costs" is the price of killing a
fshhawk or for molesting its nest or steal
fng it's eggs Thus protected both by af-
lection and law, the birds have come and
gone Tor years upon the Jersey shore, liv-
ing often in close contact with man, and
laeir habits are as well known TO the peo-
p.e as are those of domestic animals.
once in a while, indeed, their fearless
sooiability makes it absolutely necessary
to Interfere with their domestic arrange
ment Notwithstanding the law against mo-
testing them in any way. They nave, for
Instance a fondness for building their
1T 4 - f,1fr
queuuy happens that when fire is start
ed 10 a house that has been vacant for
season only binding smudge of smoke
results, for the chimney is filled with the
bushels of twigs, grass, seaweed, pine
boughs thick with cones and other litter
with which the fishhawk nests are con-
structed. 1t is a good deal of bother 70 get
the mess cleaned out. but you mustn't
swear about 1t, for its the very quintes-
sense of good luck to find fshhawk' 5
uest in your chimney. In order to give
good fortune a shunt their way, the shore
farmers not infrequently make sort of a
platform on a pole near their homes for
tAe tshhawks to build their nests on. And
some of the regular seashOre visitors from
the city erect ornamental structures of
the same sort in order that they may have
the picturesque feature of a hshhawk' s
nest near their summer cottages.
The hawk and his wife year after year
return to the same nest which they patch
up here and there in the spring and put
in order for the winter when they leave in
the autumn. How strongly constructed
are these nests may be guessed when the
uerceuess of some of the winter storms
They have to Withstand is remembered
The hawk rather likes an isolated tree
standing in an open field for his nest, 50
That the furious gales have fun sweep at
~. 81 none was ever known 10 be quite
torn down A fshhawk tree is very read
iy picked out in the melancholy shore
landscape for it invariably dies after the
hl"ks have had their nest in it for a few
wears. This is thought TO be from the
salty dampness and the fish oil which the
BIRDS bring ~ the trees and which eatu-
rate the nest.
The hawks eggs, about the size of hens
esss, range in number from two TO four,
tAd are creamy white in color delicately
marked with yellow and brown spots.
lleF are laid about May /. and a month
iat0i the little chick hawks, covered with
u'"n make their appearance. By the
liHe autumn comes they have learned to
H.. ana do a little fishing on their own aC-
count Then they go off South, get mar
,It1, and come back next March 10 set up
i''sfk Keeping for themselves. During the
'ii' Inc hen hawk is busy with maternIi
cares the old man is very devoted He
"oi over the ocean Itself, looking for fish
ron the family. When ne darts down and
S'zes one and rises into the air with It
r''Nus in his talons he makes a Decline
nor his tree residence. and tears off the
A.>A strip by strip, feeding it to the wife
ava Young ones. Fish is the sole food
Oh Tine bird, and he is in no sense a scav-
'Nsr He must have his FISH fresh and
"'' or water. He win not even deign to
I''h 1t up if he drops it in its flight
ana II falls to the ground.
nen fishing in his ocean he frequen w
s.1's nigh in the air. How his eye sees his
N"lm swimming below the surface we
viii know when we know now it is the
''iler pigeon finds his way home over
H-ues OF land and sea. But the instant
JUS hawk eye does see the victim, down
GOES IN a bullet-like plunge, which car
MN far under the surface. The Ital-
call the fiesh-hawk "aquila plum
'"''' or 'leaden eagle" because of this
'i"elty of dropping like a shot from the
There is a great splash when the
brd strikes the water, a foamy tur-
d." beneath the surface for moment.
p" , then IN he comes holding n great