This winter Ed Pike, Russ Edmonds and Steve Baker conducted Winter Raptor Surveys for the Hawk Migration Association (formerly HMANA). The survey route covers the Rudyard/Pickford areas, utililzing the same route for each survey. The surveys were conducted once each month in Dec. Jan. and Feb. as protocols call for.
The first survey was conducted on Dec. 21, 2024. Ed Pike and Steve Baker were the observers, the weather was nice with light winds from the SE, temps. in the mid 20’s F., cloudy with about 6 inches of snow on the ground. The raptors counted were Snowy Owl – 9, Rough-legged Hawk – 25, Bald Eagle – 9, and Red-tailed Hawk -2; for a total of 45 Raptors. Also observed on the route were 9 North Shrike.
The second survey was conducted on Jan. 24, 2025. Ed Pike, Steve Baker, and Russ Edmonds were the observers. The weather was cloudy, with light winds from the south, temp’s starting at 5 rising to 19 degrees F., with about 10 inches of snow on the ground. Raptors counted included Snowy Owl – 12, Rough-legged Hawk – 10, Bald Eagle – 8, American Goshawk – 1, and American Kestrel – 1; for a total of 32 Raptors. One Northern Shrike was also seen.
The third survey was conducted on Feb. 19, 2025. Ed Pike and Russ Edmonds were the observers, the weather was cloudy and cold with temps 3 rising to 10 degrees F, with light west winds, with some sunshine in the afternoon. There was about 16 inches of snow on the ground. Raptors counted included Snowy Owl – 6, Rough-legged Hawk – 1, Bald Eagle – 6, Red-tailed Hawk – 2, Short-eared Owl – 1 and 1 Unidentified Buteo. A total of 17 Raptors were observed. No Northern Shrike were seen.
