Hawk perches in Washoe Valley

The next time you are driving on the freeway in Washoe Valley, between Carson City and Reno, keep a sharp eye out for something new on the east side of U.S. 395.

As you drive toward Reno and if you look very carefully, you should be able to see a total of four, brand new, hawk perches. That's correct, hawk perches.

Those four perches are located, well off the highway, between the Lakeview Interchange and the Bellview Interchange.

The perches are the result of a club project, sponsored by the Ormsby Sportsmen's Association (OSA) of Carson City. That project was first proposed by Dick Biggs of Carson City, several years ago. It is similar in concept to the hawk stands that are located along U.S. 395 in Carson Valley.

Each of the Washoe Valley perches consists of a 22' long steel pipe, buried about four feet into the ground. That 18' tall, pipe is cemented into the ground and has a wooden dowel, cross-member at the top.

The hawk perches were a joint work activity by members of OSA and personnel from Washoe Lake State Park.

Assisting in the project were: Biggs, Norm Budden, Don Hettrick and Jim Hettrick of OSA, together with Eric Johnson and Jordan Adams of Washoe Lake State Park.

The four perches are an experimental project to see if hawks will utilize the tall poles. If successful, additional perches could be installed in future years at other locations on the state park property.

For information, call OSA President Ed Young at 882-5721 or Dick Biggs at 882-2750.