Declining Augur Buzzard Populations Found in Areas With Increasing Human Development
Though the IUCN defines Augur Buzzards as a species of Least Concern, a recent study shows a loss of nearly half of Augur Buzzard territories in two decades. The Peregrine Fund has been studying these iconic raptors since 1995 in order to see if urbanization has affected Augur Buzzard populations.…
Welcoming a New “Normal”
We are excited to share with you that our whole staff is fully vaccinated! With this new development, we have elected to return to some of our pre-pandemic programming. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we paused our long-term monitoring efforts at 5 of our migrations sites and asked our incredible…
Meet Our Interns!
HawkWatch International started our Conservation Internship Program in order to provide field experience for early career biologists, particularly experiences open to all that don’t require the ability to go months with little or no financial support. The response we saw affirmed that there is an overwhelming interest in internship programs…
"El Águila" The Mysterious Visitor of Laguna del Rey, Coahuila
*¿Hablas español? Check out this story in Spanish on Pronatura Veracruz's Facebook* Originating in Alberta, Canada, a male Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis), ‘303’ was tagged by Research Biologist Jesse Watson of HawkWatch International (co-founding organization of the Veracruz River of Raptors). In 2014, Watson attached a satellite transmitter and a…
Peak Raptor Migration at Gunsight Mountain
After receiving his vaccine, HWI Research Biologist Jesse Watson traveled to Alaska to join counters Arthur Green and Cory French at our northernmost HawkWatch, Gunsight Mountain. Jesse timed his visit in hopes of observing peak buteo (Red-tailed Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk) flight, and he was not disappointed! From April 11th…
Help Study Flammies—from Home!
Each year, our own Dr. Dave Oleyar works with Dr. Markus Mika—and a whole team of community scientists—to study the breeding ecology and habitat relationships of small, cavity-nesting owls, like the Flammulated Owl. Perhaps you've even joined us for an expedition to help collect data for this Forest Owl Study,…
Buteos Arrive at Gunsight
Late last week we received another update from Arthur Green and Cory French—this year's counters at Gunsight Mountain. The crew counted 495 migrant raptors, bringing their season total up to just over 1,500 birds. The crew continues to count primarily Golden Eagles, with 426 counted between April 1st and April…
Endangered vulture mortality highest in southeastern Europe, largely from human-causes
March 31, 2021—Declines in migrant bird populations in Europe and North America have often been suggested to be caused by threats in the Global South. However, new research from a multi-continent study tracking the movements of the Egyptian Vulture indicates that the opposite is true. More Egyptian Vultures are dying…
AK! We're back at Gunsight Mountain!
We’re excited to announce that migration is on once again this spring at the Gunsight Mountain HawkWatch in Alaska—North America’s northernmost migration monitoring site! This valley count is known for large Red-tailed Hawk and Golden Eagles counts, but also sees good flights of Rough-legged Hawks. and Northern Harriers. These 4 species comprise nearly 80% of the…
Hawk Shooting Near HWI Headquarters
Despite HWI’s 35 years of working to conserve raptors and our shared environments, persecution and even outright hostility towards raptors in many areas across the globe remains a significant threat today. These threats stem from misperceptions about raptors as competitors and/or threats to human endeavors, whether that be our backyard…