Sumac Cycle

 

Beginning with its emergent leaves in the springtime, Staghorn Sumac plays a sustaining role at Halibut Point.

Like all plants that bring forth new generations by seed production, Sumac has developed a season of flowering.

A honeybee approaching Sumac flowers

The tiny fragrant flowers, born in clusters, attract pollinators to accomplish cross-fertilization on behalf of the plant.

A Syrphid fly Eristalis transversa nectaring on Sumac

Many different insects take advantage of the pollination bargain to feed themselves on the nectar produced by the Sumac flowers.

Later in the year Sumac contributes dramatically to the pageantry of fall foliage.

Chickadee with Sumac seed

After the seeds have matured within the flowers birds play a role in eating and dispersing the fruit.

Robin foraging on Sumac berries

In winter a second bargain is under way in the ecology of the landscape where plants and animals take interdependent roles.

Starlings in the Sumac crown

What we see as fuzzy ornaments at the ends of bare branches are vital bundles of nourishment to many species of birds.

Cardinal eating Sumac seeds

Falcon Lore

Falcons are the fastest animals alive. Their name comes from the Latin word falco, meaning sickle, referring to the shape of their wings.

One nature writer has referred to our local Peregrine Falcon as a crossbow in the sky.

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine spends much of its time sitting on ledges or elevated perches. At an opportune moments it strikes out to intercept prey on the wing. It also hunts by flying high and then diving to knock a bird out of the air. Sometimes it wings low over the water or ground to take prey by surprise.

The falcon was chosen as mascot of the United Sates Air Force Academy, awing crowds with its aerial maneuvers at stadium contests.

Falconry as a sport developed from ancient hunting practices in many cultures. The Persian word yarak describes a raptor's prime state of alertness riding the fist in anticipation of release after being kept hungry but not weak.

The word has larger cultural significance as a warrior's motivational state of preparedness. More generally, and properly managed, yarak enhances the ways we interact with the world around us. Getting it wrong might end in catastrophe. Yarak straddles the divide between success and death.

Falcon perched atop the Halibut Point Visitor's Center

This elegant bird has everywhere been a symbol of unrestrained freedom, liberty, pride and invincibility.

Peregrine Falcon on Gloucester City Hall tower, 2006

At times one has chosen Gloucester's City Hall as a prime vantage point for surveying downtown's rooftop pigeons.

The falcon had special symbolism in dynastic Egypt, where it represented the rising Sun, the Higher Self, and connections with the spirit realm. Many depictions of the Gods bore a falcon head, most notably Ra the solar deity. As the “king” of birds it signified victory, rulership, and overcoming. At one time the path of the pharaoh's ascent to the throne was known as ‘a falcon’s flight.'

 In the Arab world falcons are a symbol of dignity, valor and pride. 

Mississippian Indians believed peregrines have special, supernatural powers and that the bird was able to travel between heavens and earth, carrying messages from forces that reside in the upper world and look over the people.

Peregrine means wanderer or pilgrim. This falcon can be found on every continent but Antarctica.

The Eye of the Falcon

 

Peregrine Falcon

Kiting in a strong breeze above the Halibut Point overlook this Peregrine Falcon caught my eye. It hung there almost stationary on long tapering wings while it surveyed the shoreline, giving me time for a photograph. A few seconds later it was half a mile away on a mission.

The eye of the falcon

The photograph revealed the remarkable protrusion of the bird's eye, like the pilot's canopy at the head of a jet fighter. That image raised a lot of questions.

Juvenile Peregrine on hunting perch

The visual acuity of peregrine falcons is legendary. One website enthusiast reported, or conjectured, that they can spot their prey more than one mile away which to us is "like seeing a rabbit from 17.6 football fields." Another made the case that "a peregrine falcon’s vision is eight times better than that of humans. They can spot small prey from 2 miles away." No matter how you squint at it, their eyesight is phenomenal.

A Merlin, a small falcon

The Merlin is local falcon with similarly outsized eyes providing a long focal length for telescopic magnification. Where we humans have about 30,000 receptors in our retinas, birds of prey have over a million. These rods and cones are distributed between two foveae in each eye, allowing the bird to focus on close and distant objects at the same time. This has been described as "seeing the world through both a macro and zoom lens simultaneously."

Peregrine Falcon

The falcon's binocular vision is optimized by the location of its eyes towards the front of its head pinpointing prey which, on the other hand, have eyes on the sides of their heads to scan in all directions for danger. The difference has been quipped as “Eyes in the front, they hunt. Eyes on the side, they hide.”

Falcons have three lids around each eye. The top and bottom eyelids are opaque for closure when the bird is sleeping. The third, a translucent membrane, moistens the eye and protects it from damage during flight. Like see-through goggles it facilitates high-speed hunting.

The distinctive plumage below the falcon's eyes likely evolved to minimize reflected sunlight from obstructing its vision. Known as malar stripes they serve the same purpose as an athlete's "eye black" in reducing glare. Furthermore, by soaking up a blinding flare, they improve contrast sensitivity, or the ability to see details and discern objects from their backgrounds—like high-speed prey against a bright sky. 

The human eye and brain can process light images comfortably at up to 60 per second to form meaningful vision for normal activity when walking or running. At higher speeds the world appears blurrier to us. The Peregrine Falcon, diving on its prey in excess of 180 miles per hour, gathers information at over 100 images per second.  The qualities of its vision have taken it to the upper limit of aerial performance.

Learning to Rule within the Rules

A young hawk's ascent to mastery of the air proceeds through many small sorties. Its long tail and relatively narrow wings place it in the accipiter group that specializes in chasing and catching other birds in flight. Those anatomical features make it fast and maneuverable even through trees in woodlands.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk

By late fall it is on its own to choose and survey its domain from a hunting perch.

The hawk and the crow

The Cooper's Hawk's prowess as a predator incites hostilities from competitors and victims. It has to keep an eye out for burly antagonists with an inborn resentment of all raptors.

In flight

A promising flock of starlings appeared nearby. The hawk went up to reconnoiter.

The hawk pursuing starlings

After a quick evaluation it chased after them with strong steady wingbeats.

The hawk closing on the flock of starlings

It gamely pursued the starlings but wasn't quite able to single out a target.

The crow returns

The young hawk returned unfulfilled to its perch. The crow, which had departed from its summit perhaps for a better view of the proceedings, came back to harass the empty-clawed hunter.

Eviction by intimidation

The hawk dropped down into shrubbery by the parking lot to escape the bullying, presumably glimpsing opportunity in the understory where sparrows often scratch for food in the litter.

Overcoming one antipathy for another

Its focus, or hunger, was singular enough to set up operations in the human zone and afford an unusually close look to the camera man about to depart in his car after an otherwise uneventful ramble in the Park.

Scanning the ground for prey

Every day in its young life the juvenile hawk has to solve the problems of survival. It carries a marvelous endowment for success, and is constantly tested by challenges. With every encounter it sharpens its skills and judgment. It learns and adapts the rules that have brought its forebears to mastery of their aerial hunting niche.