Lighthouse Point is one of the best hawk-watching sites in New England because each autumn birds of prey from Northern New England and Canada migrate south across the region and, avoiding large open bodies of water, turn west at Long Island Sound toward New York City and concentrate along the coast at this south-protruding peninsula. More than 12,000 raptors pass through each fall, and during peak migration in September and October, thousands can pass in a single day. These raptors include hawks, eagles, ospreys, kites, falcons, and owls, all predators that use excellent eyesight, sharp talons, and strong curved beaks to catch and tear apart prey such as other birds, small mammals, fish, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, or carrion. Some eat a wide variety of animals, while others specialize, such as ospreys, which eat mostly fish and are adapted for fishing with nostrils they can seal underwater and rough pads on their feet to hold slippery fish. Hawks migrate because winter leaves too little food to sustain many of them, as some prey hibernate, amphibians and reptiles become dormant, and many lakes freeze over, limiting access to fish. Birds can travel thousands of miles between summer and winter homes, probably navigating by the sun and stars, Earth’s magnetic fields, and local landmarks, with some passing through on their way to the southeastern United States and others continuing to Central or South America. Frequently observed raptors here include sharp-shinned hawks, Cooper’s hawks, ospreys, northern harriers, red-tailed hawks, and American kestrels; bald eagles appear consistently in small numbers, and a few golden eagles pass through each year. One of the most impressive sights is a kettle of broad-winged hawks flying overhead in groups that can number in the thousands; although smaller here, these groups grow as the birds travel south and others join them. Broad-winged hawks nest in Connecticut forests, where they hunt rodents, insects, reptiles, and other birds by waiting and then swooping down with sharp talons, and some that pass overhead have come from Canada and continue as far as South America, more than 4,000 miles away, using rising coastal air currents called thermals to save energy on the journey.