The Hawk Migration Association of
North America is excited to present its 2012 Conference “Counting for the
Future” hosted by The National Audubon Society at the Audubon Center in Greenwich,
Connecticut. The conference will be held
on October 13 and 14, during peak migration season at one of New England’s
oldest Hawk Watch sites, Quaker Ridge.
To sustain and
advance raptor conservation, “Counting for the Future” will seek to actively
engage participants in bird conservation efforts, with a strong emphasis on
educating the next generation of hawk watchers.
The conference will feature an array of scientific presentations, panel
discussions, raptor identification workshops, and field trips to local hawk
watch sites and birding hotspots.
Registration is open to all raptor enthusiasts! Conference activities will begin at 8:00AM Saturday, October 13th and continue throughout the day. A social event on Saturday evening will be held prior to our keynote address. Activities will continue throughout the day on Sunday, October 14th, and will wrap up at 5:00PM.
The conference will feature keynote speaker Peter Dunne,
noted author, bird conservationist, Chief
Communications Officer for New Jersey Audubon, and the Director of Cape May
Bird Observatory. Sponsored by Swarovski Optik, Mr. Dunne will look back
on his amazing career and highlight, in his keynote address “Islands in the
Cloud Stream: A Reflection on 36 Years
of Hawk Watching,” the events and people that profoundly influenced his work.
A full program schedule will be
available soon. A handful of conference
activities are listed below.
PROGRAM
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Raptor Population Index Project Update – New North
American Population Trend Results. Presented by Julie Brown, HMANA
Monitoring Site Coordinator
- Osprey Satellite Tracking. Presented by Dr. Robert Bierregaard,
University of North Carolina
- Raptor Photography – A Seasonal Approach. Presented by Steven Sachs
- Red-tailed Hawk Natal Dispersal at Braddock Bay. Presented by Daena Ford
- Golden Eagle Satellite Tracking. Presented by Mike Lanzone
- Bald Eagle Restoration in NY State. Presented by Mike
Allen, retired Wildlife Technician from the NY Department of Environmental
Conservation
- Raptor Education: Everybody’s Doing It. Presented by Rodney Olsen, Special
Education Teacher from Addison Central Schools in Vermont
- Using Raptor Nestcams for Educational Outreach. Presented by Laura Erickson, educator
& author
- Raptor Education Panel Discussion
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
- Digi-scoping and optics demonstrations by Swarovski Optik
- Hawkwatching on site at Quaker Ridge Hawkwatch
- Hawk Identification Workshops for all skill levels
- Early morning bird walks on the grounds of Greenwich Audubon
- Live Raptors from the Sharon Audubon Center
FIELD
TRIPS
Saturday,
October 13 - Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch, New York
Located in the southern foothills of
the Taconic Mountains this hawkwatch sits at the highest point in The Nature
Conservancy’s Arthur W. Butler Sanctuary, Bedford Hills, NY. Chestnut Ridge has been operated by the
Bedford Audubon Society for over 30 years. Season totals average 10,000 to 15,000
raptors of 16 species. Just last year,
counters tallied 9,655 Broad-winged hawks in a single day, which is more than a
typical season’s count!
Sunday,
October 14 - Lighthouse Point, Connecticut
Located at Lighthouse Point Park, in
New Haven along the Long Island Sound.
This hawkwatch is a coastal plain site which receives impressive numbers
of falcons and accipiter in the fall season.
Visit the HMANA Conference webpage for registration information.
Hope to see you there!
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