Deploying Cutting Edge Satellite Technology on Kestrels -- a Full Cycle Phenology project
by Jesse Watson and Jay Winiarski Visit the Full Cycle Phenology website to read their latset blog post and learn more about the project. In 2014 we initiated our American Kestrel Study along the Wasatch Front to address concerns about reported population declines over the past few decades. In addition…
Share with Wildlife: Raptor Migration Surveys
Story and photos by Ginny Seamster, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Share with Wildlife Coordinator Visit the NMDGF website to view this story, and other Share with Wildlife partner stories (click the Project Highlights tab). Some species of birds migrate and, due to local topography, distribution of water…
Sky Migrations on the Banff World Tour
In the fall of 2016, ecologist and storyteller Charles Post and photographers/videographers Max Lowe and Forest Woodard joined our migration crews at our Goshute and Manzano HawkWatch sites to experience the wonder that is raptor migration. “We felt inspired by what we had seen: beautiful birds that we banded and…
Ethiopia Project Update
Our team has just returned from an exciting and productive trip to Ethiopia, in East Africa, where we have been investigating the status, ecology, and conservation of endangered vulture species. Ethiopia is host to the highest diversity of vultures anywhere in the world, with seven spectacular species regularly found around…
Black Diamond Equips HWI Migration Crew
Working at a migration site for HawkWatch International can be challenging. Crews work six days a week for a small seasonal stipend that covers their basic costs while on site. Days can be long, and this time of year may begin with chipping ice off their drinking water, followed by…
A 2017 Farewell from the Manzanos
Text and photos by Danny Erickson Greetings from Capilla Peak! The fall raptor migration is sure starting to slow up here for the Manzano Mountains HawkWatch with fewer birds counted and trapped as we close in on the end of the season. It is well past peak migration, but we have…
A day in the life of a migration monitor on Chelan Ridge
Text and photo by Magill Schumm A day in the life of a migration monitor at the Chelan Ridge HawkWatch: 0630 Your alarm goes off. You stick your head out of your sleeping bag, try to sit up, realize how much colder the outside world is and then hit snooze…
Manzanos Counting Strong
Text and photos by Jessica Taylor The past few weeks at the Manzano Mountains HawkWatch have been very exciting. It started out with four consecutive weather days right as peak migration was kicking off. The team was worried we were going to miss all the birds as we headed down the…
A Diversity of Migrants at the Grand Canyon
Text by Earl Johnson It's peak season here at the Grand Canyon HawkWatch and the birds are continuing to move through. Some great birders from the Prescott Audubon Society braved the weather on September 27th and came up to see some migrant raptors. As always, it was a blast to…
Manzanos: The Peak is Still to Come
Text by Tucker Davidson Migration has really been taking off as we’ve recorded almost a thousand birds in just the past week. Our biggest day of the season so far has been 229 migrants from Obs and 44 Accipiters in hand. Our current count as of 9/25 is 2,276 raptors…