Hawk Ridge August Banding Report 2014

It's been a busy month working on banding projects, but the work has payed off.  The stations are ready to go, nets were repaired, blinds reworked and banding equipment checked. We are catching and banding hawks and passerines.

 We completed two new projects that I've wanted to do for some time now. In late July, Josh Yokel and I installed 16 American Kestrel boxes up in the Sax-Zim Bog. We have another 10 or so to put up in early winter. This is a joint effort between Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and Friends of Sax-Zim Bog.

Josh installing a box (image by Frank Nicoletti)

David Barber, a researcher from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and I captured an adult Turkey Vulture and placed a wing tag and satellite transmitter. This is the first one in the Midwest to be fitted with a tag or transmitter. The data already collected has given us information on roost locations, hourly and daily movement. The bird was tested for lead and the reading came up low. We look forward to following it's migration path, winter and breeding home range. This was a joint effort between Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory.

Turkey Vulture with tag and transmitter (image by Miranda Durbin)

Hawk Ridge Passerine Banding Report by David Alexander

Passerine banding at the main station in 2014 has been a welcome relief from 2013. We banded 682 passerines this August as compared to only 407 in 2013. There has definitely been an improvement in productivity of young, this year. Most species are at or better numbers than last year. So far, we seem to be down on thrushes, but the major migration time is still to come. If the weather cooperates, we should have several days of over a hundred birds banded in the next week or two.

The numbers breakdown so far for 2014:

            682 birds banded in 13 days of coverage

            30 species total

            18 species of warbler

            Most numerous bird is Nashville Warbler with 176 birds banded

            Busiest day so far was 8/26 with 116 birds banded

The most unusual bird so far was a hatch year Sora banded on 8/26. This is the first rail banded in recent history and was quite a surprise for the banding crew on Tuesday morning.  We have many returning volunteers this year, and Margie Menzies and I hope to staff at least 5 days a week through the end of September. We look forward to updating you on the exciting things happening with passerine banding at Hawk Ridge.

            -- David Alexander

Hatch-year Sora Rail (image by Miranda Durbin)

Hawk Ridge Raptor Banding Report by Frank Nicoletti

Hawk banding started on the 13th August this season with the passage of a cold front. Two Red-tailed Hawks and two Merlin were captured on that day. Unfortunately, migration afterward slowed with persistent easterly winds and days of fog and precipitation. The month ended with 47 raptors which included: Northern Harrier-4, Sharp-shinned Hawk-30, Cooper's Hawk-4, Northern Goshawk-1, Broad-winged Hawk-2, Red-tailed Hawk-3, Merlin-6 and certainly the highlight was a  Prairie Falcon banded on the 26th . It was seen by Karl Bardon and called to us at the station. It was an hatch-year female. It represents the first banded in Hawk Ridge's long banding history. 

Kaitlin Alford holding her first Sharp-shinned Hawk (image by Karen Stubenvoll)

This season we have our first traineeship program. Kaitlin Alford from the state of Virginia arrived in late August and will be with us through the fall. Along with Kaitlin, Chris Neri and Nova Mackentley are our returning raptor banders and will operate the two other stations, Moose Valley and Paine Farm.

Prairie Falcon (image by Kate Nicoletti) 

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped with set-up and at the station throughout the year!

 

Report by Frank Nicoletti, Banding Director

Raptor and non-raptor counts August summary

We have finished two weeks of counting already at Hawk Ridge, but due to a lot of rainy and foggy weather, migration appears to be a bit behind schedule. A total of 560 raptors were counted in August, which is below average, but this is largely due to the weather, since three full days and parts of four other days were lost due to rain and fog. This is already  more weather days than we typically have all season! The highlight among the raptors was a juvenile female Prairie Falcon seen over the main overlook on August 26th, which was called in to the main banding station and promptly trapped!

This stretch of west winds was also good for warblers, with counts of over 500 on the 26th and 1200 on the 27th, over half of which were Nashville Warblers on both days. These little leaf-colored warblers dominate the warbler flight every August, but 22 total species of warblers were seen in August, including several migrant Pine Warblers (rarely seen in migration compared to other species). Despite continued nightly vigilance, the nighthawk flight has been disappointing, with only about 6,000 total seen, including a peak of 3104 on August 24th. This compares to over 43,000 total nighthawks last year, including a peak of over 30,000 on August 21st. Every August there is a sharp peak of Cliff Swallows, and this year was no exception, with 2707 counted on August 26th, our largest flight of this species so far. Typically, August non-raptor flights are dominated by Red-winged Blackbirds and Cedar Waxwings, but very few of either of these species have been seen. My hope is that some very large waxwing flights will develop in early September.

Nashville Warbler about to take off from willow, showing how it blends into the vegetation

juvenile Peregrine Falcon chasing Osprey at Hawk Ridge. 

juvenile female Prairie Falcon trapped for banding at the Hawk Ridge main station on August 26th

Hawk Ridge Count Director - Karl Bardon's art exhibition ends 9/8!

On behalf of the Hawk Ridge Board of Directors, I would like to welcome back our staff, volunteers, and visitors to another season of migration at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory! We have several new staff members this fall and several who are returning. Hawk Ridge Count Director, Karl Bardon, has returned for his 8th season with Hawk Ridge.

Most of you know Karl as the guy who counts all the birds at Hawk Ridge during the fall season -- songbirds in the morning, hawks during the day, and right now, migrating nighthawks in the evening. In fact, Karl has tallied many Minnesota state records for bird counts, ranging from Golden Eagle to American Goldfinch and innumerable species in between. Among his other awards, Karl was honored by the Minnesota Ornithological Union both in 2010 and in 2013 for special achievement in field ornithology.  However, what you may not know about Karl (an art graduate of the University of Minnesota), is that he currently has an exhibition that is ongoing at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth through September 8, featuring his paintings and his photography. His subjects include warblers, waterfowl, raptors, and other birds. The show is a visual feast, including my favorites "Ovenbird Flight Song", and "Herring Gull at Knife Island". The photography exhibit features amazing warbler images from Park Point, and raptor photographs from throughout northern Minnesota. If you haven't seen the show, I encourage you to take advantage of the next ten days to see these uniquely expressive paintings and beautiful photographs.

A Celebration Of Birds

 
~by Karen Stubenvoll, Chair, Hawk Ridge Board of Directors

Karl Bardon, counting hawks at Hawk Ridge

"Ovenbird Flight Song", acrylic on canvas, on display at Great Lakes Aquarium

Raptor and non-raptor count summaries August 15-25, 2014

Raptor and non-raptor count summaries
August 15-25, 2014

Another fall has begun at Hawk Ridge! This is my eighth season counting raptors and non-raptors for Hawk Ridge, and the excitement at starting another fall migration is as exciting as ever. We started counting on August 15th as usual, but the last week has had quite the stretch of rain and fog, even by Duluth standards, so not many hours have been put into counting, and not many birds have been seen. The raptor migration has been especially slow with the foggy weather, and as a result only about 108 hawks have been seen through the 25th. A normal August averages about 1000 birds, so we have lots of catching up to do! Luckily the fog has cleared and west winds are blowing, so hopefully this week the counts will improve.

In contrast, the songbird migration has been quite good, especially if you're a warbler. These colorful jewels are often more visible in foggy weather when they become "grounded, although we have also had good numbers on the sunny days as well. This fall we are noticing very high numbers of Cape May Warblers with day counts of 21 and 40, many juvenile Blackburnians, and definitely more Golden-wingeds than usual (often several are seen in a day, which is unusual). On Park Point, a Brewster's Warbler spent several days hanging out with a Golden-winged Warbler (Brewster's is a hybrid between Golden-winged and Blue-winged and is seldom seen in Duluth). Warblers have been about the only group of birds moving through in any numbers. We are still waiting for a big push of Cedar Waxwings, Cliff Swallows, and Common Nighthawks, all of which usually peak in late August. Although there was an evening flight of 3104 Common Nighthawks, we are hoping for a larger flight in the next day or two. Perhaps it is even possible to beat last year's amazing count of over 30,000!

I have posted a bunch of warbler photos I took in the last week along the shore, including a Cape May Warbler in flight that I took with Steve Kolbe's camera. Steve is our new assistant counter. He has counted previously at Holiday Beach, Kiptopeke, Derby Hill, and other locations, and arrived early just to see the nighthawk migration. He loves to count and photograph all the birds he sees, especially the ones in flight, and so he will be a great addition to our Hawk Ridge crew. When you look at the warbler photos and notice how amazing and colorful they are, keep in mind that some of these are probably juvenile birds, supposedly the dullest plumage. Do not believe that thing about "confusing fall warblers", they are just as beautiful in the fall as they are in the spring!

Karl Bardon
Count Director
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory

Cape May Warbler in flight

Blackburnian Warbler with bug

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Come Volunteer at Hawk Ridge this fall!

Imagine spending time outside, watching hawks stream overhead, looking down to the beautiful fall colors, viewing the ever changing Lake Superior and talking to visitors from all over the world!

If this sounds like something you would enjoy, come and volunteer at Hawk Ridge. Every fall we are recruiting new volunteers to help us during the busy migration season. Our new-volunteer training dates are set. So spread the word and come along!

 

You don’t need to know how to identify raptors, we’ll teach you what you need to know.

All we ask is that you:
1. be friendly!!!
2. attend ONE of our training sessions
3. commit 24 hours of volunteer time between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31.

How easy is THAT??

We need people for a multitude of jobs including greeting visitors, selling merchandise, assisting naturalists with programs, pointing out birds, running errands, construction, trail maintenance/grounds work, office help and serving on planning committees.

Training Dates/Times
Session 1 (attend both evenings):
Tuesday, August 26th, 5:30-8:30pm at Bagley Nature Center
Wednesday, August 27, 6-8:00pm at Hawk Ridge Nature Center

Session 2
Saturday, September 6, 9am-3pm at Bagley Nature Center in the AM and Hawk Ridge Nature reserve in the PM

RSVP is not required, but will be appreciated.  Please contact Volunteer Coordinator

Katie Swanson, kswanson@hawkridge.org or 218-428-6209 for more information. 
Thanks!

The Adventures of our Fledgling

The young male Peregrine Falcon has indeed taken the journey into flying. No one that we know of was there to watch his first flight but we did not have to rescue him from the street so it was a success to us. It was either the night of Monday, July 7th or the morning of Tuesday, July 8th when he decided to take flight. When we went to look for him on the 8th, he was not in or on top of the nesting box. So it was time to search all the buildings and streets to find the new place where the fledgling was perching.

At this time, both of the parents were around so we thought that the fledgling was close. It was a difficult day to look for the bird because it was raining and this made it hard to hear and see. After about an hour of searching, the fledged falcon was spotted. He was on the Greysolon Plaza building, under a neat decorative sculpture. He seemed like he was in a pretty good spot so I decided to leave and come back later to check on him. When I did that, he had already made it across the street to a perch that was a little higher. Although I had not seen him fly, I was already feeling good about his flying skills. The next day we came to set up for the Peregrine Watch program and watch him for the day.

When we first arrived at the top of a parking ramp, where we look for the birds, we did not see anybody around. Shortly after, we saw the young bird and an adult swoop over our heads and go straight towards the Greysolon Plaza building. We were very suprised to watch the young falcon fly to the top of the building. This was only his second or third day of flying and he was already heading back to the top of one of the tallest buildings in Duluth. Needless to say, this was very promising to see. For the rest of the day, we continued to see him take short flights and land on a few different perches. We also watched the adult female swoop at him to get him to fly. Even though we was doing very well flying, he still was not the best at landing. We watched him try to land on perches, fail, and then come back and try again. It was obvious that he did not have the skills of his parents.

Now, it has been a little over a week of flying and he is continuing to succeed in flying, as well as, get better at his landings. He has started to swoop at his mother and play with her more. We have yet to see him attempt to catch any prey but I am sure this will start soon. A few days we have gone to observe them and cannot find any of the family. The young one is already expanding his flying range and finding new perches. However, just today he decided to hang out on top of the nesting box before flying off to the clock tower. It is hard to know how long we will be able to observe this family easily but I think it may not be much longer because this little one is so good a flying already. Hopefully we will be able to observe some new skill developments this week!

Close to Fledging!

Today the young falcon was 37 days old and he was doing a lot of good moving. In just the last 3 days he has advanced so much. On Wednesday he was coming out on to the perch bar and hoping back into the box for his first time. Today he was coming out to the perch bar and flapping and then eventually worked his way up to the top of the box.

We had been watching the young falcon stand on the perch bar and flap, flap, flap, flap. Then we looked away for a few moments to talk to people and when we looked back he was on top of the box. We were unsure if he would go into the box again because it seems a little harder to get back into the box then out. We watched the falcon run across the top of the box and flap his wings for a while. This area was a whole new world for him today and it was neat to watch him explore it. He was looking all around at birds, bugs and feathers passing by. He seemed pretty content in his expanded world. However, he did not stay up there as long as we had thought.

Eventually the young falcon made it back into the box. He was a sneaky bird. We looked away for another brief moment and then he was gone again. We were a little worried that he had tried to fly and we did not see where he went. We did not have our monitor for the camera in the box today because of all the time he had been spending out of the box. After a bit of observing we noticed the parents were calling and coming to the box and then flying to another perch and coming to the box again. We still did not see the young bird appear to greet his parents so we continued to wonder where he was. Eventually we did see him peak his head out of the box and begin to flap inside the box. We were happy to see he did not try to fly yet.

The parents continued to fly to the box and back to another perch on the Greysolon Plaza building. They did this over and over again. It was really some neat action.  They could have been encouraging the young bird to come out of the box again and teaching him about flying. Since he does not have any other siblings, he will have to rely on his parents to "play" with more.

We are excited to see how the next few days roll out. This young bird looks like he is really getting ready to fly. It takes about 40-45 days for a young falcon to develop enough to take its first flight. Males will usually fledge sooner then females and in just 3 days this one will be 40 days.  However, it is all up to the bird so we will just have to wait and see.