Rare Hawk Sighted On Morris Island

CHATHAM – A rare hawk never before seen in Massachusetts was spotted on Morris Island earlier this week.

 A ferruginous hawk, common in the plains and western states, was identified Sunday. Mark Faherty, science coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, confirmed the sighting Friday. Birders from throughout the region were flocking to Morris Island to try to catch a glimpse of the rare hawk.

“Any time there’s a first state record, especially in Massachusetts, with such a long ornithological record, that’s a big deal,” he said. This is only about the fifth time a ferruginous hawk has been seen on the east coast, and the second time in New England. One was seen in Maine in July, Faherty said.

But this isn’t the same bird. The ferruginous hawk seen in Maine had a light morph, which refers to the bird’s coloring; the one seen in Chatham has a dark morph, which Faherty said is even more rare.

“Everything about this is strange,” he said. “It’s the rarest form of an already rare hawk, in a place it has no business being.”

“Ferruginous” refers to the hawk’s rust color. It is sometimes mistaken for a red-tail hawk, although it is much bigger, Faherty said. It is longer with pointier wings and a larger head and wings. “It is really a little more eagle-like,” he said. Its usual diet is squirrels and prairie dogs, and Faherty speculated that it could be feeding on rabbits that inhabit the dunes in the area.

There have been several western avian species spotted on the Cape in recent weeks, he said. How any of them came to be here is “a mystery,” he added.

“They made their way here for whatever reason. They flew the wrong way. Sometimes that just happens,” he said.

Dennis birder Sean Feeney captured photos of the hawk on Jan. 1.