As the crow, or perhaps the hawk, flies, it's a few hundred miles from the headquarters of the Rhode Island Audubon Society in Smithfield to Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania, the new roost of Lee C. Schisler Jr., former Audubon director.
Schisler departed Audubon in August to become president of the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, a private, nonprofit organization whose mission, according to the group's Web site [www.hawkmountain.org], is to protect birds of prey around the world and improve the understanding of Appalachian ecosystems.
He said in a telephone interview two weeks ago that these days he finds himself perched atop a 1,500-foot mountain, an ideal spot for observing the migration of hawks and other raptors.
"We just got through with the busy season," he said. "Fall is the big migration season." He said from 1,000 to 1,500 people per day visited the sanctuary on weekends.
Besides, it's his home state.
Schisler grew up in State College, Penn. He graduated from Penn State University in 1977.
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, 15 miles north of Reading, lies along the Kittatinny Ridge of the Blue Mountains. Its trail system dovetails with the Appalachian Trail.
How far is it to the nearest point of civilization?
"It depends what you call civilization," he said. "I'm definitely more out in the weeds than in Rhode Island."
The mountain behaves like a magnet for the big birds, he said.
"As hawks migrate out of New England and the maritimes of Canada this ridge system provides excellent lift with thermals," Schisler said. "They just get in that bubble of air and when they get as high as want they set their wings in a long glide until they hit another thermal. That way they work their way south, saving energy. When you get to mid-to-late fall and definitely now in winter, the prevailing northwest winds hit the side of the mountain and you get updrafts going. Eagles like to ride those down South. It's a pretty neat spot."
Hawk Mountain had always been a favorite spot to find big birds of prey, Schisler said, and many people would gather during the migration season. But their presence was not due to admiration. They were there to gun the critters down.
The sanctuary was hatched in 1934, he said, when founder Rosalie Edge discovered the use to which the mountain was being put, and started buying land to exclude hunters. Over the years the sanctuary grew to its present 2,600 acres.
When Schisler arrived in August it was the beginning of the busy season, so he took on some temporary lodging. But he has since found a farmhouse in the country with 40 acres, he reported, and at the time of the interview he was busy moving in.
"There are good challenges, good opportunities here," he said. "I can do a lot in developing an education program here, which is what we were successful with at Audubon. Just as I left Audubon we were starting into urban education, and I think we can do a similar program here. I have been meeting with funding sources and politicals, and the funding opportunities look pretty good. There are a lot of things we can do here, but it was a great 11 years up in Rhode Island. I thoroughly enjoyed my tenure. Audubon is a good place to work."
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