As the season winds down there is no shortage of action at the raptor station. Late spring migration can sometimes be better for catching raptors due to the fact that this is the time when young birds are primarily moving and they are a lot easier to catch then adults. The reason being, they are still learning how to be successful hunters and consequently are easier to bring into our station.
Since my last post on the 14th, we have added an impressive 24 Red-tails and 1 Northern Harrier. Among the highlights was our first ever Dark morph Red-tailed hawk and that bird was a real stunner! Out of all 24 RTHAs recently captured all were juveniles. This now puts our cumulative RTHA total at 134 which is remarkable! We have also now passed 200 raptors on the season which is a great milestone in and of its self. We will just have to wait and see what the end of the season has in store but if I were to wager, I would assume many more young Red-tails!
2021 Spring Season Totals
57 + 2 (foreign) Sharp-shinned Hawk
4 Merlin
6 Northern Harrier
3 Coopers Hawk
1 Red-shouldered Hawk
132 + 2 (foreign) Red-tailed Hawk
2 Rough-legged Hawk
Season Total: 205 New 4 Foreign
Grand total = 209
