Sammy Riccio

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

Back when the Goshute Mountains HawkWatch first began, the ridgetop housed nearly a small village of people—including a chef! These days we have just a crew of five at the top (check them out below), and visitors are asked to camp at the bottom of the mountain. For one night, however, you’ll have the rare

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 Corpus Christi HawkWatch

I’ve been at HawkWatch International (HWI) for a little more than two decades now, with the majority of that time focused on Golden Eagles. While they’ve undoubtedly become one of my favorite species, I didn’t set out to be a Golden Eagle specialist. This focus evolved quite naturally, as I followed the concerning story the

Alarming Cat Statistics As a bird-lover, you’ve likely seen some talking head videos bemoaning the impact of domestic cats on wild bird populations. The most commonly cited study is “The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States,” published in the journal Nature Communications in 2013. Researchers Scott Loss, Tom Will, and