Derek Lovitch, left, co-owner of Freeport Wild Bird Supply, points toward a broad-winged hawk during Hawk Watch Workshop atop Bradbury Mountain in Pownal on Saturday. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

After five seasons as lead Hawkcounter, Zane Baker was asked a question he’d never heard before atop Bradbury Mountain on Saturday.

Baker spends eight hours a day, six days a week for two months tracking migratory birds of prey with The Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch as they fly north for spring, passing over the 485-foot mountain in Pownal.

Normally, Baker is asked the same questions over and over, often multiple times a day. What is he doing? Why does he need to track raptors? How does he know he’s not counting the same bird twice? How doesn’t he get distracted staring at the sky from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day? How does a person get rid of hawks?

But during “Feathers Over Freeport: A Birdwatching Weekend” at Bradbury Mountain, someone managed to surprise Baker.

“What attracts hawks?” Kelly Greenwood asked.

Greenwood has a family horse barn in Westford, Massachusetts, where there is a major pigeon infestation. But one hawk has lent a hand by snacking on the pigeons. And Greenwood would like to get some more in there.

“The pigeons are a really horrible problem. They poop all over our horses’ stuff, the blankets, the stalls,” she said. “So having a hawk come in and hunt them is very nice.”

It was a delightful question for Baker, Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch founder Derek Lovitch and general bird-watchers who all share a mighty adoration for these birds of prey.

“If it’s not a far commute, and there’s an abundant food source – like all the pigeons – trying to attract them in the first place is really just a matter of the birds noticing, ‘Hey, I can find food here,’” Baker told Greenwood.

Along with the essential research collected, Lovitch sees the Hawkwatch and day of bird-watching at Bradbury Mountain as an opportunity to educate, do away with negative perceptions and encourage conservation for the animals sitting atop many food chains.

“The first step to concern is compassion and care. But there is apathy, so some people just don’t care,” Lovitch said. “We had broadwing hawks flying right overhead. People were interacting because it was really fun and cool. With that, I have a better chance at teaching why you shouldn’t use rat poison than someone (else), for example.”

Zane Baker, of North Yarmouth, scans the sky for migratory raptors as part of his duties atop Bradbury Mountain in Pownal on Saturday. For six years now, Baker has spent his days on the summit keeping track of migratory birds. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

WHY HAWKS?

The Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch was founded by Jeannette Lovitch and her husband, Derek, in 2007. From March through May, researchers observe and record the migratory patterns of all raptors. They do it at Bradbury Mountain, which Baker said is the most productive Hawkwatch site in the Northeast. That’s because Bradbury Mountain’s expansive south-facing views make for easier spotting and identification.

Baker identifies and counts 13 species of birds of prey, known as raptors, that migrate during the day. That includes eagles and falcons, but the research mostly amounts to the different hawk families.

At the height of the season, with the right wind patterns and weather, up to 1,800 hawks might pass over Bradbury Mountain.

That research helps track the raptor populations – hard to track outside of their travels – and inform research on how other species below them on the food chain are faring.

“Most raptors are at the top of their respective food chain. What happens in their population is an indicator of what’s happening everywhere below them,” Derek Lovitch said.

Derek Lovitch and Baker spent Saturday sharing that information with crowds that trekked up to the summit during a stacked day of events. There was a birdwalk, a vernal pool exploration, the Hawk Watch Workshop, an art class on bird drawing and a meet-and-greet with owls.

Some attendees were devoted bird-watchers. Richard Fortin, of nearby North Yarmouth, had already been to the Bradbury Mountain summit to hawk-watch with Baker 10 times this season. Fortin made another visit Saturday because he couldn’t get enough.

Others were just there by coincidence but enjoyed the surprise lessons. A handful of attendees dressed in medieval garb stopped in from across the park at a cooking event with the Southern Maine Society for Creative Anachronism, a community for fans of the Middle Ages.

All in all, Park Manager Chris Silsbee estimated that 650 to 700 people came to the state park to do some bird-watching throughout Saturday.

A broad-winged hawk flied directly over Bradbury Mountain on Saturday during Hawk Watch Workshop. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

WHY HAWK EDUCATION?

Hawks, along with many other birds of prey, often get a bad rap.

“We do hear it up here a lot, like, ‘Hold on to your dog, there’s an eagle going by,’” Baker said. “Hawks have to eat, too, and some of them eat songbirds. And a lot of people don’t like the idea of that.”

Long considered vermin, raptors have been persecuted, some studies say, since the 17th century. With conservation laws now in place, there’s less persecution out there, but it still happens, according to Derek Lovitch.

“People still will shoot a hawk because their chickens are outside,” Lovitch said. “Yes, a red-tailed hawk occasionally will kill a chicken. But they’re eating so many other things that would eat our crops. We wouldn’t have farming without raptors because we would be inundated with mice and voles, and we wouldn’t be able to grow a damn thing.”

Despite their reputation, bird-watchers at Bradbury Mountain were most eager to see a hawk.

“Hawks seem badass to me,” Baker said. “Birds of prey are agile, like the athletes of the bird world.”

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