Upcoming NJ Raptor Event

The Friends of the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge will present a program on the hawks and owls that winter at the refuge on Saturday, January 19 at 2 p.m. at the refuge headquarters at 1547 County Route 565 (Glenwood Road) in Vernon, N.J.

Live raptors from the Avian Wildlife Center will be featured in the indoor introduction. Then Ken Witkowski will lead the second half of the program at the Liberty Loop trail. Participants can drive to the trail to look for several species of hawks, short-eared owls, and maybe a bald eagle.

Bring binoculars if you have them and dress for the weather. Loaner binoculars are available free of charge from the Friends group. There is a suggested donation of $2.00 per person/$5.00 per family. The event is free for members of the Friends. For additional information, please contact Giselle Smisko at the Avian Wildlife Center at (973)702-1957 or Ken Witkowski at (973)702-7266 ext. 14 (Mon-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).

The Friends of the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, offer public programs throughout the year. For more information about the Friends group visit http://fwrnwr.org.

Note: HMANA will be happy to advertize your watchsite's or club's upcoming raptor event on this blog and on our Facebook page.  We will also publish them in Hawk Migration Studies if we receive notice of fall events by June 15 or spring events by January 15.

Broad-winged Hawks of the Pacific Flyway

The Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) is one of North America's smaller Buteos being about two thirds the size of a Red-tailed Hawk.  It is common and wide spread in the eastern half North America with an estimated breeding population of at least 1.7 million individuals.  It breeds throughout deciduous and mixed conifer-deciduous forests and hunts mostly small mammals and reptiles, but also includes the occasional bird, amphibian, or even more occasional insect.  Breeding densities have been estimated to range from 1 pair every 2 to 5 square kilometers.  However, breeding bird surveys appear to be inadequate at detecting Broad-winged Hawks do to how secretive they are when on their nesting territory.  Migration has proved to be a better point in their annual cycle to monitor population levels.

Along with the Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni), the Broad-winged Hawk is one of the raptor species that migrates the longest distances between its breeding grounds and non-breeding grounds which stretch from Mexico to Brazil.  As might be expected from the combination of how common they are and this long migration distance, this species is a very common member of fall hawkwatch counts in the eastern USA and in Central America.  Numbers in the 10s of thousands are not unusual at many sites (such as Hawk Mountain PA) and several sites have counts of 100s of thousands (such as Corpus Cristi, TX) and even over 1 million (such as Vera Cruz, MX).  It is unusual for a raptor in that groups of these birds migrate in flocks frequently forming large kettles that fill the sky as they move south.  But these are all eastern sites.  Do Broad-winged Hawk occur in the western half of the continent?

Before the 1980s the answer would have generally been no, but during the 1980s something started to change.  Sightings during migration have been increasing in many western states including Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.  This suggests that the breeding range of the Broad-winged Hawk is extending to the west into Alberta and British Columbia.  The Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO) in California have been seeing them regularly since that fall migration was first discovered in 1972.  It remains the best place to spot a Broad-winged hawk west of the Rocky Mountains.  This year was an amazing Broad-winged year at the GGRO.  Most fall seasons see between 25 and 240 Broad-winged Hawks with numbers generally concentrated in the last half of September.  But during the 2012 season (and only through the end of November, since the count season is still ongoing) hawkwatchers have counted a record-shattering  755 Broad-winged Hawks!  This total included one day which recorded a total of 295 which is higher than the previous record season total of 248!  No one is completely sure what caused this boom of Broad-wings, but one interesting facet is that of the 755 birds seen this year, about 99% of them were hatch-year birds.  This indicates that the population of Broad-winged Hawks that breed in western Canada had a very good year this past spring and summer.

The western expansion of the Broad-winged Hawk breeding range roughly matches the westward movement of the Barred Owl (Strix varia).  It also roughly matches the eastern expansion of the Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus) across the same geographic area of Canada, although the Evening Grosbeaks moved east earlier than the hawk or owl moved west.  All three of these species prosper in mixed deciduous-conifer forests, and that hints at a possible explanation.  These range expansions could be the result of increasing edge habitat that results from timber harvesting in areas of what would otherwise be wide swaths of coniferous forest.  They could also be due to the increased numbers of trees that are being planted in and around cities in the great plains of Canada and the USA as wind-breaks.  Such human-induced changes to the landscape will no doubt cause changes to the distributions of other organisms, and these three species may be examples.  More investigation into these changes in range are needed before any convincing explanation is reached.

Winter Raptor Surveyors can now enter data on line!

Surveying the landscape
W.Fogleman photo

Although HMANA has been encouraging its members to participate in Winter Raptor Surveys for a number of years, there has not been an easy way for surveyors to enter their data a la HawkCount.  The Winter Raptor Survey Committee has now succeeded in developing an on-line data entry procedure.

Log on to http://www.hmana.org/wrs.php and find out how to participate in what promises to be a valuable citizen science effort.  Winter Raptor Surveys provide an opportunity to a) bridge the gap between fall and spring migration; b) contribute to the growing understanding of seasonal raptor dynamics; and c) have fun.  

When you log on you will see the guidelines for selecting an area and designing a route.  You can then register your route, download a field data sheet, and look forward to having a lot of fun in the field this winter.  The data you collect will provide researchers with important information for, among other things,  studying the effects of global climate change on raptor distribution, for looking at fluctuations in gender and morph demographics; and population statistics which can be combined with migration studies and contribute to fine-tuning the Raptor Population Index.

Those who have done surveys in the past will be glad to know that they can register their routes and enter that past data for those routes.  If you have been doing surveys for a while, you should check the website above to read the changes in the instructions and to download the revised field data sheet.

Rough-legged Hawk photo by Vic Berardi

This HMANA WRS data entry system is now ready for survey data entry. Because in the “back-ground” it is techni-cally still under development, the WRS Committee requests you report any problems or suggestions to wrs@hmana.org.  The Committee hopes that any “glitches” during this initial phase will be minor, and that participants will find the process of entering data to go smoothly.

Male Northern Harrier photo by Vic Berardi

Watching a hover-hunting Rough-legged Hawk illu-minated by bright sunlight reflected off a snow-covered field, seeing how amazingly silver a male Northern Harrier looks as it courses back and forth over that same field, determining that the
lump of weeds off to the left is really a Short-eared Owl --- all these experiences await you this winter.  Record them!  Ten years from now that information could be of great value.

Short-eared Owl photo by Shawn Carey

Hitchcock's Eagle Migration festival

Hitchcock Nature Center in Honey Creek IA will hold its annual HawkWatch Eagle Migration festival November 10 from 1-3 p.m. The event will include a live raptor demonstration by Raptor Recovery Nebraska, activities for children, scheduled programs and refreshments, weather permitting. Cost is $3 per person with children 5 and under admitted free. Hitchcock is one of the top hawkwatches for viewing migrating bald eagles, and November is the ideal time to see the birds on their journey south.

Hitchcock Nature Center is located 5 miles north of Crescent IA off the Old Lincoln Highway. For full directions and details about the event, visit www.pottcoconservation.com or www.facebook.com/hitchcocknaturecenter

If you would like HMANA to publicize your site’s raptor event, please contact info@hmana.org.

HMANA's Counting for the Future Conferece - A Success!

On October 13 and 14^th, some of HMANA’s biggest raptor enthusiasts gathered at Audubon Greenwich in Connecticut for two days of raptor presentations, field trips, and all around great discussions on hawk watching and raptor research .

Personally, as HMANA’s Monitoring Site Coordinator, I spend a lot of time emailing and talking with site leaders and hawk watchers throughout the year, but this is one of few opportunities each year to actually interact face-to-face with many site representatives and HMANA supporters. The Conference in Greenwich offered just that for others, too – a reunion, of sorts, a chance to catch up with friends old and new. Attendees included everyone from first-time conference goers to those who wouldn’t dream of missing one.

There was something for everyone! We had a really nice array of presenters – covering current research and education efforts around New England and across the map. To name a few, we learned about golden eagle tracking and the potential risk from wind power development, osprey telemetry efforts and exciting new data on their migration, navigation, and mortality. We heard about current kestrel nestbox programs in CT, saw-whet banding in MA and Red-tailed Hawk Natal Dispersal in NY.

Education was a major theme of the conference and we were lucky to have so many inspiring educators speak about their programs and how they engage all age groups with raptors – in both the classroom and the field.  We heard about using raptor banding as a way to connect with special education students, the use of nest cams in society and how to transform people into supporters, repeat visitors, and eventually informed constituents and conservationists.  The education panel discussion covered lots of issues including best ways to connect people to nature.

 

During the regional hawk watch session we had an opportunity to hear about eight New England sites across the Northeast. Site Coordinators discussed everything from staffing and fundraising to raptor migration trends. It was valuable to see how sites are both so different and so alike, and to learn about what works well and what doesn’t.

Field trip destinations included such famous locations as Lighthouse Point Hawk Watch, one of the falcon capitals of the Northeast, and the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch in nearby New York. Throughout the weekend, people popped out during conference breaks to visit the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch a few steps outside the Audubon Center for some hawk watching. Among the observations for the weekend were plenty of Accipiters, high streaming Buteos on the move, and two Golden Eagles.  Snow Geese and a possible Ross’s Goose were highlights for some observers, and songbirds were spilling south in loose flocks throughout the weekend.

A personal highlight and undoubtedly one for many attendees was keynote speaker, Pete Dunne. Always a treat to hear, Pete took us on a trip down memory lane, sharing stories from his 36 years of hawk watching, as well as some interesting insight about the future of hawk watching – the theme of this very conference.

If that wasn’t enough, we also had a great array of table displays from local organizations and booksellers, live birds from the local rehabilitation center and a chance to try out some binocs and scopes from Swarovski, a sponsor of the conference.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Counting for the Future conference; presenters, planners, volunteers and attendees. Folks at Audubon Greenwich did a fantastic job hosting the conference; from handling the technical computer setup to food prep. They kept everything running smoothly all weekend long.  I left the conference feeling inspired and refreshed about the work HMANA continues to do thanks to its many dedicated members and contributors. The future of hawk watching is bright, indeed.

Season Record for Peregrine Falcons set at Florida Keys Hawkwatch

Congratulations to Florida Keys Hawkwatch –the new Peregrine Falcon “capital of the world.” On October 16 at 14:49 Peregrine #3220 was tallied for fall 2012, breaking the previous seasonal record of 3219 set in Kekoldi, Costa Rica, in 2004.

By the end of the day, the new season total at Florida Keys stood at 3242. And yesterday (October 17) the site on Little Crawl Key added 27 more Peregrines, so their current total stands at 3269, at least until today is over.

Along the way to this historic number, the site also broke its own previous high daily count for Peregrines, tallying 651 Peregrines on October 10. The previous daily record was 638 set on October 11, 2008 at the site, which was then named Curry Hammock.

Along the way to both the season high and the high daily could total were several multi-triple digit Peregrine counts, starting with 113 on October 5, and followed by 237 on October 6, 155 on October 7, 230 on October 8 and 318 on October 9.

The count at Florida Keys runs until November 13, so the new high seasonal number for Peregrines will only continue to grow. Congratulations to everyone at the site!

Hazel Rocks and Wedding Bells Ring!

Those who keep up with the fall migration reports from the various "hotspots" around the continent might recognize the familiar sign-off phrase from the Corpus Christi watch:  "Hazel Rocks!"  Dane Ferrell and Libby Even have been the count leaders at Hazel Bazemore (Corpus Christi Migration Project) for several years now.  With soaring spirits and hearts they have counted several hundreds of thousands of hawks passing the site.  And Hazel (the affectionate nickname for the site) indeed rocks during fall migration.  So far this season over 225,000 individual hawks of 23 raptor species have been counted there.  The highest numbers by far are provided by the huge kettles and streams of Broad-winged Hawks heading toward their wintering grounds in Central and South America.  Dane's and Libby's clickers kick into overdrive as they concentrate on the counts.

Broadwings streaming from a kettle over Hazel Bazemore County Park

Along with small kettles and streams of Mississippi Kites and smaller numbers of Swallow-tailed Kites, Hazel's skies also yield some great views of south Texas "specialties," such as White-tailed Hawks, Harris' Hawks, Crested Caracaras, along with the occasional but regular Zone-tailed and less-regular Short-tailed Hawks. The second half of Hazel's season sees increased numbers of Swainson's Hawks.  Check  www.hawkcount.org for more information on the counts from Corpus Christi.

It was on the watch platform (worthy of another essay another time!) that Dane and Libby brought the migration day to a close on the twenty-second of September this year.  Earlier in 2012 an email had announced "Save the date!"  Friends of the couple from as far away as England and the west coast, convinced that Dane was a confirmed bachelor, rejoiced at the happy news.  So on September 22, surrounded by family members and their many hawkwatching friends, Libby and Dane were married.  As the ceremony began, the last of the day's migrant Broad-wings settled into the trees for a night's rest.

In a magical moment acknowledging the miracle of migration and their own soaring hearts and spirits the couple released over a dozen monarch butterflies into the air. Some immediately flew skyward while others came to rest on the bride's bouquet where they remained as the newlyweds left the platform.  Best wishes, Libby and Dane.  Hazel rocks!