"Journey of the Broad-Winged Hawk" Premieres on NHPTV in October

NHPTV "Windows to the Wild" Special Offers Unique View of Raptor's Flight

JOURNEY OF THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK – A WINDOWS TO THE WILD SPECIAL
Every year, broad-winged hawks embark on a spectacular 4,500-mile journey from New Hampshire to South America. This is the story of their flight and the connections they make with people and communities on this ambitious journey. Follow the migratory route of these magnificent birds from their summer home in New Hampshire’s White Mountains to their wintering grounds in the Andes of Ecuador, and the stories of those who revel in this wonder of nature. www.nhptv.org/hawk

Sunday, October 4 at 8 p.m. | Monday, October 12 at 8 p.m. | Thursday, October 22 at 10 p.m. 
Additional airdates at www.nhptv.org/hawk 

On NHPTV’s WINDOWS TO THE WILD series, host and outdoor adventurer Willem Lange offers insights into the history, ecology and special character of New England's wild places. Airs Thursdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. www.nhptv.org/productions/windowstothewild/

(DURHAM, October 1, 2009) — Every year, thousands of broad-winged hawks embark on a treacherous flight from New Hampshire to South America. JOURNEY OF THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK follows the raptors’ two-month, 4,500-mile migration from New Hampshire, over an Appalachian flyway in Pennsylvania, over Corpus Christi, Texas, and ending in the rainforests of Ecuador and the Maquipucunu Reserve. Along the way, people and communities follow and celebrate the hawks’ journey.

JOURNEY OF THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK, a one-hour New Hampshire Public Television “Windows to the Wild” special production, explores how the spectacular annual journey of these birds has affected those in its flight path. Birders along the migration route tell of their personal connections to the hawk. The program also offers a view of flight from the hawk’s perspective; when host Willem Lange takes a hang glider ride on the same thermal air waves the hawks rely on to make their passage from New England to South America.

The Maquipucunu Reserve in the rainforests of Ecuador, where the broad-winged hawks spend the winter, is featured in the program. The 15,000-acre forest preserve was established by New Hampshire businessman Thomas Butler as a wildlife habitat and place to educate people about the natural world they live in. Birders from around the world go to the reserve because it offers a rare opportunity to see an incredible diversity of bird species.  

In New Hampshire, students learn about the hawk by exploring nature as they learn about migratory patterns. At Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in east-central Pennsylvania, birders wait for hours with binoculars poised, looking for the group of hawks to fly overhead. Near Corpus Christi, Texas, birders experience the unique sight of over 20,000 hawks flying in swirling “funnel clouds” on large Texan thermals as they bless the migration in an annual festival. And in Ecuador, the hawks inspire awe and artistry in the communities where the raptors live, and along with their special habitats there, draw birders and eco-tourists to the area.

JOURNEY OF THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK shows the miracle of the hawk’s journey, and how the lives of people along its migratory path connect with this natural phenomenon. 

Featured in JOURNEY OF THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK:
• Host: Willem Lange, outdoor adventurer and host of NHPTV’s “Windows to the Wild” and “Wildlife Journal” series
• Dave Erler - naturalist with Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
• Robert Vallieres – NH Audubon – a veteran of Operation Desert Storm who works at NH Audubon
• Barbara Butler – daughter of Thomas Butler, founder of the Maquipucunu Reserve in Ecuador

RESOURCES – WEBSITES
http://www.nhnature.org/
http://www.nhaudubon.org/
http://www.hawkmountain.org/
http://www.hawkwatch.org/home/
http://www.hmana.org/
http://maqui.myweb.uga.edu/
http://www.ventbird.com/people/paul-greenfield
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/broad-winged_hawk/id
http://www.birdnature.com/index.html

Support for the production of JOURNEY OF THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK was provided by The Butler Foundation.