After a busy first couple of weeks, we were slowed down this past week due to inclement weather. We were unable to work a few days that came with rain, snow, and even some hail. These conditions are not ideal for raptor migration, so the days that we could work, we did not see too much movement. A few exciting notes however: we had an adult Bald Eagle make an attempt to come down to our nets; something that Nick had never seen happen before as Bald Eagles tend to do more scavenging than hunting. We also banded our first female Northern Harrier of the season this afternoon. Cross your fingers that these next few days bring better weather!
Pictured above: a female Northern Harrier which can be determined by brown plumage and dark eye color, whereas a male would have gray plumage, and a juvenile would have less streaking and lighter colored eyes
Our totals for the season are as follows:
Red-tailed Hawks: 54
Red-shouldered Hawks: 2
Northern Harriers: 4
Cooper’s Hawks: 5
Sharp-shinned Hawks: 13
American Kestrels: 1
Northern Goshawks: 1
Merlins: 3
Total: 83
