WHAM! The window behind my head shook as I jumped up in total surprise. My friend and I, who had been having a pleasant conversation, ran outside to see what had hit it. Lying on its back was a stunned juvenile Haida Gwaii Goshawk (HG Goshawk). Brown with streaked underparts, it looked at us as if to say, “What was that and who are you?” Within moments it had regained its composure and scooted off through the tall mossy spruce of North Beach. I was both excited and concerned to see such a rare bird up close and I was curious about what its dramatic appearance meant. To learn more, I went to our good friend Teresa’s teepee on the beach to consult her Animal Medicine Cards. “Messenger and the gift of higher perspective” was the hawk card message. And so, the HG Goshawk brings us a profound communiqué: the need for action founded on a higher perspective.

And that message is “Help.”

The HG Goshawk is federally listed as threatened but it is truly endangered on Haida Gwaii and therefore protected. It has such an involved relationship with forest health that by taking care of them and the environment around them, we help to safeguard their survival.

This genetically distinct subspecies is unique to Haida Gwaii and is on its way to extinction unless we help. And we can. We have information from 20 years of monitoring and research to guide us to make informed landscape management plans. For example, we know that access to chickens kills goshawks. So, thanks to initiatives led by the BC Ministry of Forests, we are presently covering chicken coops islandwide. Bringing the HG Goshawk into the spotlight not only inspires change but spurs action for a recovery plan as well.

Known as both Accipiter gentilis laingi and Daw gaatl’lxagaa.nga, the HG Goshawk is the epitome of a fierce and wild bird. The adult has a striking dark blue, slate gray back with gray barring on a whitish chest, a sporting white eye stripe punctuated by a deep red eye, like one of those exquisite glowing scarlet agates, and topped with a raw argillite colored crown. To a birdwatcher, it is a rare sight to behold as it keeps to itself flying beneath the canopy of large mature old-growth trees. It’s broad, rounded wings give it needed agility and maneuverability as it hunts prey such as blue grouse, woodpeckers, squirrels, and marbled murrelets. It is believed that the HG Goshawk survives the winters here by hunting ducks and other seabirds.

Biologist Frank Doyle, who is a prominent HG Goshawk expert, reported that in 2016, out of the 16 monitored areas on Haida Gwaii, there was no evidence of breeding and fledgling young - except one fledged young reported in Gwaii Haanas. Although bird populations have always been fairly low on Haida Gwaii due to the small size of the islands and the far distance to the mainland, this news is very concerning. Doyle’s research has identified that compatible forestry practices such as:

• restoring riparian zones,
• thinning and pruning second growth to speed up goshawk habitat recovery,
• sustainable harvest management strategies that support future breeding areas,
• continued research and monitoring of their nest sites and foraging areas and,
• forest worker training to identify HG Goshawks and report sightings immediately, will assist in the survival of the HG Goshawk.

CBC Radio has reported that every dollar spent on conservation brings six dollars back into the local economy, and that there is a similar return on dollars spent on the arts. Developing a forest economy focused on habitat restoration, value-added forest uses, Haida cultural revival and tourism are just a few of the options that we have yet to fully explore.

Under the Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) Land Use Agreement, HG Goshawk nesting areas on Haida Gwaii are protected by a reserve zone of 200 hectares around a nest tree. Creating and maintaining foraging sites is also critical. All islanders and visitors can help to save this bird by keeping an eye out for it and/or any signof it and then report sightings to the CHN Heritage & Natural Resources Department at 250-626-6058 and to the Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations Species at Risk Coordinator at 250-559-6200.

This rare and stunning bird of prey can be identified by its “cac, cac, cac” scream and by its rather untidy and inconspicuous nests located under the canopy of hemlock or spruce trees. Underneath the trees, one will also find the remains of prey (feathers and bones) and after-meal pellets.

Tourists I talk with – especially people here for the first time - are visibly moved by the beauty and specialness of Haida Gwaii. Their trips to Gwaii Haanas and Naikoon Park leave them sparkly-eyed and speechless and the sense of “Island Time” reminds them how much the pressures of city life demand of them. The HG Goshawk lives on island time; time where patience and respect prevail. It is the natural world, the untouched, pristine, treasured world that these birds live in and need.

Recently, I painted an HG Goshawk as a part of the Masset Post Office mural. One of 18 stamps featured, it brought back so many good memories as I painted it. I remembered seeing that fallen bird outside of the cabin window. Another time, I stumbled across feeding on a grouse among the enchanted groves on the White Creek trail. I have also seen one barrel across a windy gray sky towards the Delkatla Sanctuary, owning the air. These are all spots in time in a bird lover’s life, and they confirm our interconnectivity with nature. In the book “H is for Hawk”, Helen Macdonald describes the goshawk as “A griffin from the pages of an illuminated bestiary. Something bright and distant, like gold falling through water.”

With our help, how uplifting, empowering, and awe-inspiring it will be to see the Haida Gwaii Goshawk stabilize and THRIVE!