By Jim Wright

Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY

   We are entering prime time for hawk watching, with thousands of broad-winged hawks likely migrating through our region in the next week. 

   We North Jerseyans are fortunate to live near three excellent places to see raptors: State Line Lookout in Alpine, the Montclair Hawk Watch, and Mount Peter Hawk Watch in nearby Warwick, N.Y. 

   Although I now watch migrating raptors mostly at State Line, my sentimental-favorite hawk watch is atop Mount Peter, where I saw my first kettle of broad-wings. 

   Mount Pete is also the longest-running volunteer hawk watch in the world, and as fate would have it, the man who founded it – Stiles Thomas – would someday become one of my dearest friends.  

     I remember the first time I visited the hawk watch during the fall migration. I was enthusiastically using my father’s World War II military binoculars that weighed a ton, and the leader gracefully answered all my goofy first-time birder questions. She also suggested (gently) that I might use a lighter pair of binoculars next time so that my arms wouldn't fall off.

   As fate would have it, the leader was Judy Cinquina, who would someday become a friend as well. Judy ran the hawk watch for 44 years before retiring last fall.

   I asked Judy for her tips for watching raptors. 

   “Hawk watching, like anything else, can provide spectacular days if you put in your time,” Judy says. “But no one can predict when that day or time will occur. Often it's 15 minutes before you arrive or after you leave. My advice: Be at a watch when it's convenient, and spend as much time as you can spare.”

   Her other tips:

   * Stand near someone who knows what they're doing, and watch and listen.

   * Ask questions during lulls in the migration, not when leaders are busy counting. Slow days are good days for beginners. That's when leaders have time to explain why that 's a Merlin and not a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

   * There are many hawk guides out there now, and even wonderful apps. Judy recommends “The Crossley ID Guide to Raptors,” published by the Princeton University Press. 

   “The large-format book has dozens of photos of every raptor species, compares similar-looking species, and offers photo quizzes to test what you've learned,” Judy says. 

   (Thanks, Judy, for all you’ve done!)

   FIELD NOTES: I will be the official counter at State Line Hawk Watch from 12:30 to 4 p.m. today and for the next two Thursdays in September. Stop by and say hi. You might even see some raptors.

   If you can’t get to a nearby hawk watch soon, no worries. You may see the most raptors in mid-September, but you’ll get far closer looks at other raptors as the season progresses. Wear sunblock and bring plenty of water.

The Bird Watcher column appears every other Thursday. Email Jim at [email protected].