What has been happening at the ‘watches? Check out these updates from our fantastic 2024 Fall Raptor Migration Monitoring Crew Members!
Bonney Butte HawkWatch
It has been a great season at the Bonney Butte HawkWatch so far, with 2,738 birds counted as of October 14th. Highlights include counting 1,000 birds before the end of September and banding a Prairie Falcon, American Goshawk, and a Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk!
This year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of HWI monitoring at Bonney Butte and invited you all to the site for a day of hawkwatching, along with a handful of events in the surrounding area. It was a treat to meet former crew and friends of the site who were so important to its foundation, including Dan Sherman, Carole Hallett, Perry Cabot, Barb Bresson, and Tom Jordan.
When fire restrictions allow it, the crew enjoys spending time around the campfire and playing board games.
Commissary Ridge HawkWatch
Fall migration fieldwork is going great at the Commissary Ridge HawkWatch! As of early October, the crew has counted 3,902 migrating raptors and safely trapped and banded 131 raptors. Commissary Ridge is typically known for its extreme weather, and this season is no different. The site received its first snowfall early on September 17th and clocked its first 100km+ wind day of the season on September 29th with 107km winds. However, the snow melted quickly, and the crew also experienced wind droughts at times. Besides the early snow event, this season has been surprisingly warm (so far). Migration continues despite the circumstances, and the flight has been fantastic, featuring Swainson’s Hawk kettles of 200+ birds, a few mini Broad-winged Hawk pushes, and thrilling streams of dozens of Sharp-shinned Hawks breezing by observation. Finally, each crew member has been treated to studying the elusive American Goshawk in hand—a fall favorite! Other than raptors, the crew has seen countless pronghorns, and recently, moose around camp and up at observation! Other notable critters include weasels, chipmunks, and large herds of sheep!
The crew recently hosted a small school group from Logan, Utah. Crew members introduced the students to migration monitoring and raptor ID and the school group graciously treated us to delicious carnitas for dinner and good company around the campfire.Â
After hours, the crew enjoys nightly campfires and good conversation, often paired with s’mores or other sweet treats!
Goshute Mountains HawkWatch
The Goshute Mountains HawkWatch has had a great season so far! This year’s count is above the season average for migrating hawks already, and, very excitingly, the crew counted the most Swainson’s Hawks seen in a day at this site– 607! Witnessing the huge kettles of Swainson’s has definitely been a season highlight for the crew. The site also had an unseasonably warm October, and as such, it’s still t-shirt weather during the day! So far, the crew banded almost 300 birds, with many Cooper’s Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks and a few special highlights of a Peregrine Falcon, a Prairie Falcon, a Merlin (Prairie subspecies), a Swainson’s Hawk, and three American Goshawks!
The site has had a great selection of visitors this year, with many Goshute Mountains crew alumni coming up to visit! So far this year, a combined 21 seasons of Goshutes HawkWatchers have been represented, ranging from 1995 to 2023. The crew has dubbed it the #HawkWatchHomecoming!!
The wildlife highlight this season has definitely been the owls! The crew has seen or heard SIX species of owls: Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Great Horned Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, and Western Screech Owl. Another fun addition to camp this year has been the Chukars, which have been seen at the site on occasion over the years, but seem to have moved in this season! The crew sees and hears flocks of them every day from observation as they wander around the nearby cliffs.
After a long day of fieldwork, our crew often settles down for a night of board games. We rotate through quite an assortment, but Catan, Bohnanza, and Wingspan are some of the favorites.
