Sammy Riccio

“All right, give ’em a toss!” Conservation Biologist Dr. Jordan Herman crouched first to give herself some momentum, then launched the 3.5-kilogram Golden Eagle, freshly accessorized with a metal USGS band from the Bird Banding Lab a blue-colored band with the alphanumeric “WV”), and a backpack-mounted satellite transmitter, into the air. We both stood in

As you may have seen, wildfires across the West have made the 2026 fall migration season one of our most challenging yet. According to InciWeb, over 4.5 million acres have burned in the United States this year as of early September. This includes 2.3 million acres in Oregon and more than half a million acres

A few years back, I tried my hand at making a hat featuring an embroidered raptor. No matter how many times I worked back and forth with our embroiderer at the time, we couldn’t get it right. I fully own that it was mostly my fault for having no idea how to best set up

EDIT 9/23/26: Due to continued fire activity, clean-up efforts, and forest closures tied to the Grasshopper and Whiskey fires, we have suspended operations at the Bonney Butte and Manzano Mountains HawkWatch for the 2026 season. To honor our commitment to offering crew members hands-on experience, we’ve added a fourth member to the Grand Canyon HawkWatch

One of Jerry Liguori’s most admirable qualities was his passion for making science accessible. Whether it was answering your raptor questions on the blog, writing renowned identification field guides, or simply passing along tips and tricks while hawkwatching next to you at a migration site, Jerry believed hawkwatching is for everyone. Our 2026 awardees exemplify