Paddy French

Jan 24 1925  - Aug 22 2012

 Ace Hawk Watcher at Hook Mountain NY

To hawk watchers at Hook Mountain, Paddy French was the smiling dedicated friend, with keen eyes, sharp identification skills, and welcoming words.  He knew hawks, planes, and people.  Conversations centered around the recent hawk flight, but often drifted to the B52 that flew over the Hook that morning.  His interest in aircraft no doubt related to his service in the 82^nd airborne in WWII.

Vince Plogar (left), Paddy French (center), and Hugh Martin (right) on the summit at Hook Mountain

Always scanning the sky, Paddy would find and successfully identify the raptors when they were merely specks on the horizon.  Paddy was frequently joined by Hugh Martin, another retired and passionate hawk watcher.  Together, they easily found the hawks before I did - it was my first season on Hook, so I was learning then.

One late October day Paddy called a Goshawk on the horizon.  It was coming head-on against the Hudson River, off the right shoulder of Mill Hill.  Hugh agreed - it was a Gos.  I found it easily enough and followed it all the way in, right over our heads!  It was so close I felt as if I could reach up to touch it.  I saw the red eyes of my first Northern Goshawk, an adult, staring right down on me from under that stark white eye line.  What a thrill!  And, every Gos that I have seen since then reminds me of Paddy.

Thank you, Paddy French, Ace Hawkwatcher, for my life long memories!

      Trudy Battaly

More Memories Below

The Paddy French Memory Book

I am sure that many of you have memories of Paddy that you would like to share.  Please enter your comments below, or send them to me at merlin@pipeline.com   It would also be great if you could email any photos.   I plan to eventually add your comments to the web page directly.

Paddy and Anne with Rick Gaeta at the 1994 Hawk Watch Dinner   Hook Mt. Lost a treasured alumnus this year, Paddy French. I have too many memories and stories to share about times up there with him. Here's a poem I presented to him over 20 years ago at a hawk watch dinner. The Man On The Mountain Who is that man that sits on high? Watching hawks as they fly by Whose wisdom and knowledge he gives to many Compensation, he never asks for any Through Summer heat and Winter cold He sits there daily, steadfast and bold A lone watchful sentinel That’s always kind and gentle You’ll find him there each migration season As others do for the same reason That some call friend, others call Mensch I’m proud to say he’s Paddy French © Rick Gaeta 2012

A Memorial for An Old Friend On August 22, 2012, Rockland Audubon lost an old friend and long-time supporter. Paddy French lived most of his life in Rockland County, on South Mountain  Road in New City. He knew the county when trees were few (because of farming) and  when he was a boy, he could skim up a tall tree near his house and see a friend who lived in Centenary in another tree near his own house. Paddy attended the Street School on Main Street when it was only a small building. He had a number of careers and several avocations, including birding, hawk-watching and building rustic furniture. I met Paddy at my first RAS board meeting back in 1980. He was a past president of Rockland Audubon and was still leading field trips. He organized a series of trips that covered every foot of the Long Path in Rockland County. I went on many of those treks. One was on the portion of the trail between Central Highway and the Gurnee Amphitheater Park, above the French’s house. Another venture with Paddy and Anne was to Jamaica Bay, on a chilly May morning when the refuge was jumping with birds. There I saw my first Swainson’s thrush which came out from under a bush and stood still by the side of a grassy path. Paddy and Anne churned out our RAS newsletter, The Observer, for about 20 years. While Anne worried about the articles and other verbal content, Paddy drew images and  pasted up the layout before taking the project to the printer. Paddy and Anne spent their summers in New Mexico, near their daughter’s home, and when Anne found out I could create a document on my computer, I became the summer editor for a couple of years and that’s how I became the editor for eight years. Most of us, however, remember Paddy from the Hook Mountain Hawk Watch. He was always there! I remember having enough energy, as a young teacher, to climb the Hook after a day of teaching - and Paddy would be there. I knew my identification skills were improving when Paddy asked me if I could take a day while he and Anne took a short trip. After he retired from school bus driving for the Clarkstown district, he would climb the mountain every day, often as early as 7 AM and he would stay until 5 or 6 PM. He took charge of the Hook Mountain hawk watch for at least 10 years. Visitors to the mountain still ask about him. The footpath we now use from 9W, the one with the yellow blazes, was marked by Paddy and was recently named for him; it’s Paddy’s Trail. This old friend will be sorely missed and long-remembered. Carol Weiss

Paddy and Linda Peskac at Hook   I was introduced to Hook Mountain back in 1983 when I was in NJ Audubon Bird watching class with field trip leader Jean O'Bleinis.  I immediately fell in love with the site and the hawks!  After a few visits to The Hook and meeting Styles Thomas, I became a counter in 1985.  Paddy was on the watch with me most of the time from the first day I started through his last days on the Hook. Then the year following his last trip to the top of The Hook, for Paddy couldn't make the climb any more, we drove to Rockland Lake parking lot and, looking up to The Hook from there, saw the kettles of broadwings from below.  On the days I covered the watch without him, I  would call and report what I had seen and how the watch was going. Paddy was my mentor and friend. He taught me everything he knew about the site and birds of prey through his personal experiences. He was on The Hook watching the hawks before The Hook became a watch. He read a lot of material on the subject so he could converse with anyone on just about any topic and make those slow migration days bearable. He was very sociable with everyone who came up on the watch. He welcomed students from the High Schools to the watch and gave instructions about the importance of this location and how the thermals provide lift for the hawks off the ridges. We all helped point out the flight behavior of the the different hawks that came through and their particular field marks if they were flying in close.  Weekends always had various hiking clubs walking through, stopping to have lunch and curious why the Owl is up on a pole?  Paddy recorded everything he saw, including the people that visited Hook Mountain. Maybe his wife Anne could write a book of Paddy's memoirs.    It will be hard for me to be on the Hook without dear thoughts of him. So now my friend is with our other hawk watching friends who've passed away and hopefully have the best view of all the raptors from on high. Linda Peskac