Photos or it didn't happen....

Gear - Luke Tiller

One of the biggest recent developments in birding must be the invention of digital photography! In a galaxy far, far away the acceptance of records of rare birds was often based on years of developing your reputation with the local birding community and more importantly perhaps the bird police (records committees). Now all one need do is snap off a couple of shots of the rare bird you’ve witnessed and Bob’s your uncle, rarity committee (and eBird reviewer) easily satisfied. Many citizen science projects rely on a review process to validate rare or uncommon records and this is something I believe HMANA are considering for Hawkcount in the near future.

In some ways it’s a double edged sword, now you can get rare records accepted of birds without having to build the years of trust, but it sometimes feels like we might have become almost completely reliant on getting pics to both confirm a rarity and even to conclusively get an ID. Last Fall, for example, I was chasing Spizella sparrows through a field for a while before my friend decided rather than chase the bird down further he’d just zoom in his camera and check the shot of the bird in question for the median crown stripe and other features that would ID our bird as a brighter Brewer’s or dull Clay-colored Sparrow.

Obviously we are doing our best to collect accurate data at a hawkwatch, but let's face it, people make mistakes. When I say people I mean everyone. Hawkwatching is tough and I’ve seen great hawk watchers make bad calls – so imagine what us mere mortals are up to. A quick identifying snap, often no matter how bad, can produce something that is identifiable to support one's claims – check out the distant dark Red-tail that we had on the HMANA Raptor ID tour in 2014 (report here)!

Dark Red-tailed Hawk at Braddock Bay - Catherine Hamilton

Of course getting those identifying shots is much easier with perched birds than it is with ones in flight. The arts of digibinning and digiscoping aren’t really aimed at capturing soaring birds, though the adapters at least make it almost possible. In fact I have managed to get handheld record shots of birds in flight through the scope - like the following Golden Eagle. That said if you thought digiscoping in general was frustrating, and I know I do, getting flying birds is pretty near impossible in many situations.

Hawkwatchers have plenty of things to do when they are juggling a busy count day and it may be that one of the last things they want to do is think about recording birds. That said, as well as for the nasty things in life (like humoring eBird reviewers), cameras are there for the good things too. Everyone knows the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Raptors are beautiful and hawk migration can be visually stunning. Having a ready supply of great images that you can use for publicity, outreach or that you can loan to local papers for articles are all invaluable. You can also use them just to create a buzz on social media with birders and members of the local community alike.

The great thing is that you now no longer need to break the bank to help record what is happening at your hawkwatch. DSLR setups don’t have to cost a fortune (though they can of course) and super zoom and bridge cameras can often be really reasonably priced. Even better, most have decent video technology too. It certainly makes for more fun reading when you can share images with your daily hawkwatching updates. I loved looking at the Borrego Springs Hawkwatch blog to see how they were faring (link here) this past Spring and keeping up with goings on at Derby Hill was made infinitely more fun by seeing the photos Dave Wheeler would share on his hawkcount checklist (link to his flickr account here) and the video in the following link certainly makes migration more vivid (link here) 

Digiscoped Golden Eagle at Braddock Bay - Luke Tiller

One other great thing I was reminded of about digital photography the other week, whilst out looking at California Condors, is that it can often give you the ability to accurately pick up stuff like wing tags on a moving bird. They can often be almost impossible to read through bins or scope, but with a nice photograph it is often simple.

So, to conclude, photographs create memories, help keep our ID’s honest, create great promotional and outreach opportunities and can even aid in the processes of citizen science. If you haven't already, it's a great time to invest in a camera. Over the season HMANA will share what we hope will be some useful photography tips here on the blog. We hope they inspire!

California (raptor) dreamin'....

     In February the Bear Valley, like many other parts of California, is green with spring.  Farms, orchards, and vineyards carpet the valley floor.  Bordered on the west by the Gavilan Mountains and on the east by the southern Diablo Range, the valley is a visible manifestation of the San Andreas fault.  A quiet two-lane highway runs the western length of this striking landscape, a road enough off the beaten path that one can pull off to the side without fear of causing a traffic catastrophe.  And that's a boon to birders, especially hawk gawkers.

     It was one gorgeous late February day that we ventured southward from Hollister along the verdant fields and hillsides. The valley must be home to uncountable small furry critters and lizards and other tasty fare because we saw raptors almost everywhere.  A wide range of behaviors were exhibited: many were hunting, some of the birds were in dramatic courtship displays, some were engaged in what appeared to be territorial disputes, some were migrating, and some were possibly hangers-on from winter, not quite ready to head north.  

photo by S. Fogleman

     Red-tailed Hawks predominated, providing great opportunities to study a wide range of color variation.  I believe I have come to love the dark Western morph the most.  American Kestrels seemed to be everywhere, and I think I can truthfully state that I have never seen so many in one day anywhere other than a coastal migration watchsite.  They hover-hunted over fields, they were perched on utility lines, on fence posts, on small saplings.  They pestered Red-tails, they pulled the wings off large insects, they preened, they mated, and made us wonder if this was the Kestrel Shangri-la.

     Northern Harriers were probably the next most numerous, with silvery adult males as well as "brown" birds drifting back and forth above the grasses and marshy areas, and sometimes sitting on a fence. Red-shouldered Hawks were often perched on utility poles along the road.  We spotted the occasional Merlin zipping along parallel to the road, or perched on a snag on the steep slopes on our west side.  Here and there a delicate-looking White-tailed Kite captured our attention. Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks were frequently spotted.  A side trip up into Pinnacles National Monument rewarded us with awesome albeit too-fast-to-get-the-camera views as a Prairie Falcon whipped over us at about 30 feet.

     When the frequency of Golden Eagle sightings equals what you might have of Red-tails in the East, you know you're in great raptor country.  Two Goldens acting a bit "courtship-ish" caught our attention as we scanned a horse pasture below us.  At another stop one appeared to be mantling over prey .  Sometimes, while watching a pair of Red-tails in the sky, a Golden would drift into view.  Then there'd be one that was perched on a rocky outcropping, or the archway of a ranch entrance.  At overlook pull-offs where we would be looking down on these birds, their golden nuchal feathering gleamed in the afternoon sunshine.

     Best of all to this Easterner, were the Ferruginous Hawks.  I spotted the first one when we were still about 400 meters north of it as it perched on a fence post.  It was definitely a "wow" moment for me, but the next three or four sightings of that species were just as "wow," as each of those long-winged buteos made certain we appreciated their majesty.

Ferruginous Hawk - photo by W. Fogleman

     Had we visited a week later would we have seen as many raptors?  Would we have seen as much diversity(12 species, including the abundant Turkey Vultures)?  What might it have been like a month earlier in that valley?  Perhaps some light could be shed on the situation by systematic monitoring such as the Winter Raptor Survey.  I'd volunteer, except that I live 3000 miles away!

Look at the Hawk Watchers, Too! Not Just the Hawks.

October 29 I was hawk watching at Lighthouse Point, in New Haven, Connecticut, one of the best hawk watch sites in New England. The day was not what I had expected; the winds were far weaker than forecast and the count was only a little over 100 by early afternoon, but with a good mix, highlighted by a Peregrine perched for an hour and an immature Bald Eagle that spent some time soaring over us, trying to determine what it wanted to do.

Activity was slowing in the early afternoon, when I believe Lynn James said she had a large hawk out front. Lynn, who has incredible distance vision, said the bird was in a large gray cloud above a blue slit in heavy cloud cover. Everyone scanned for the bird and gradually we found it. People remained glued to their scopes as the bird was way out and still quite small, but acting like a very large bird. Someone had earlier remarked that the site had not had a Golden Eagle yet this season, so it was about time, though it was clearly not typical “Golden” weather.

I got on the bird fairly quickly and soon felt very good about it. It had a Red-tailed Hawk kind of dihedral, visible at great distance. The bird was quite large but gliding straight toward us without apparently moving a muscle or a wing, so we couldn’t pick up any contrast on it, much less a head/tail ratio. I think everyone was thinking “golden,” but just could not see enough to call it. As the bird angled slightly, I was able to see a bright white basal third of the long tail and the smaller head. I shouted Golden, and everyone began cheering and concurring. The excitement was palpable as the bird continued to glide towards us.

I had been hunched over my scope straining to watch this bird. When I stood up to relax for a second, I noticed that half the scopes were pointing north and half east. I shouted there must be two goldens, that half the people were looking at a different bird than I had been. Everyone looked up, and then over, and sure enough, half of us had found one golden eagle and half another. The northerly bird slowly glided over, revealing a lot of white in the flight feathers, a long rectangular white patch in each wing. My golden, following a few minutes later, had a lot less white in the wings. Strangely, after not having had a golden for two months, two occurred at the same time, They were followed by a third golden just a few minutes later, a bird with very little white in the wings or tail. It was a terrific fifteen minutes, but we all had to laugh. If one of us had not looked briefly at the hawk watchers instead of the hawks, would we have ever noticed there were TWO Golden Eagles?

Golden Eagle photograph by Joseph Kennedy. Used with permission. (Not one of the "Lighthouse" birds.)