My name is Karen O’Brien and I am a member of Seabrook Island Birders. I share my time between Seabrook and my home in Portland, Maine. On December 3, I had the opportunity to see a rare Great Black Hawk. I thought my friends on Seabrook may like to share my experience. That Monday, I spent a very very special three hours in a large park in the middle of the city of Portland, ME watching, with at least 200 of our closest friends, a Great Black Hawk devouring as many squirrels as he could. He has never been sighted in the U.S. , so I’m told, living between Mexico and Argentina . I spoke with many people who had flown in from the Midwest and other parts of the country!!! It was a thrill and privilege to look up and revel in the grace and beauty and sheer fortitude of this amazing vagrant.An article in the Boston Globe provides more information.
The bird remains in the area so maybe some of you want to take a field trip to cold Maine for this rare experience. It IS very cold and icy here with about 8 inches of snow
Submitted by: Karen O’Brien
Photo by: Andres Picon of the Boston Globe
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