 Oh My Goshawk Just north of town there is a tract of forested land which abuts commercial property to the south, and church property to the southeast. It is the territory of flying ghosts. I know they are there because I’ve encountered them several times, and whenever they manifest through sudden appearances, and disappearances, it always leaves me feeling surprised. Though it is hard to savour an experience that lasts only seconds, sometimes that is all you get. The Goshawk, a large hawk that hunts by stealth through forested lands is hardly ever seen. On one occasion I was nearly knocked over by a low flying adult Goshawk in the dense understory. Another time I watched a mature bird circle over a field on the north side of the forest. At another time, in the same area, I met an immature Goshawk. The brownish juvenile flew across the gas line right-of-way that passes through the eastern side of the forest. As I saw an immature bird in early fall, in the territory of adult Goshawks, suggests that this was one of their brood and that they are nesting somewhere nearby. When raptors of such power and mystery deign to live this close to town it makes each encounter even more special. Unfortunately living close to town does have a downside. One day, this last summer, as I drove into town, I noticed logging had commenced on the west side of the tract of forest where the Goshawks live. Recent rezoning removed this property from the agricultural land reserve and I assumed that at some point changes might take place, but still the logging was unexpected. I wondered how extensive the logging would be, and how it would affect the Goshawks? I recalled that the Northern Goshawk was red-listed in the province but I had the nagging suspicion that all Goshawks were not red-listed, only a particular subspecies. A search on the Internet gave me the name of the red listed subspecies as “accipiter gentillus laingi” also known as “Taverner’s Goshawk.” The Taverner’s Goshawk appears to live only on Vancouver Island and The Queen Charlotte Islands. I made a few inquiries about the protection afforded Goshawks, and as I suspected it is almost impossible to prove (with the exception of an active nest) that certain habitat is critical to a particular bird species. In other words, Goshawks which inhabit a tract of land and possibly raise broods really do not have a claim to the property. As a Goshawk is much like a ghost and difficult to point out, doesn’t help its case. And therein lies the rub; habitat vital to birds, that has been the mainstay of birds for hundreds of years cannot be protected by birds. They do not have lawyers, deeds or titles. Their claim to land must be noted by people and defended by people. If the logging is extensive, the Goshawks will slip away as if they had never been. And who will know they were once there? No one except me. Every day the natural world is forced to shrink away from human encroachment. Every day habitats fragment as humans take more and more land under new management. In light of our expansion, many species become true ghosts found only in books and limited-edition prints. As we pluck a moment from our busy schedules to look upon the image of a noble eagle and dream of flying with such freedom, some mossy place with myriad life forms will be bulldozed to make room for yet another shopping mall or subdivision. Some people find this demoralizing; others say it is the price of progress. Thankfully, the denizens of the wild world are speechless. To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
