Hi
All,
Well,
this is it, my final tally for the 2013 banding season. This year we banded a
total of 127 birds. Last year we only got 87, so we are on an upswing! We still
didn't get a lot of birds compared to some years, but we had a great time. This
was my first season using my new Swarovski binoculars and I am so grateful to
everyone who contributed towards them. I was able to see with unmatched clarity
all those hawks that went by and that we did not catch!
We get lots of birds visiting each year, but we also get a good number
of relatives, friends, falconers, birders and students coming up to share in
the fun. I did a tally again this year of individuals who were up enjoying our
banding activities. I counted each person only once, even if they came up
multiple times. We had 70 individuals and 6 organized groups containing 52
people. A total of 122 guests were able to have an exceptional hawk viewing
experience up at our site this year!
I hope their visit inspires each of them to a greater appreciation for
our feathered friends, the raptors, and to make donations to
The Raptor Center
(www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu ),
The National Eagle Center (www.nationaleaglecenter.org) and
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory (www.hawkridge.org ).
Please support the people who work to help the raptors in our state.
Also, if you happen to be traveling along the North Shore, stop in at Emily’s Lighthouse
Restaurant in Knife River and have a really delicious smothered meatloaf
sandwich. Tell them Frank “The Hawk-banding Meatloaf Guy” sent you!
A
very special THANK YOU goes to Mr. Mattson for letting us use his hay field for
the forty-fourth year in a row.
Also
a big THANK YOU goes to Bob Crosbie for supplying our lure birds this year.
I
really must say a BIG THANK YOU to every one of our banding crew who came up to
do the banding again this year. What a great and dedicated team of regulars we
have. Trudi Taylor, Rick DuPont, Chuck & Nancy Schotzko and Todd Rosengren:
without your dedication and co-operation, we would not be able to do this thing
we love so much, year after year.
THANK
YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!!!
Here
it is, the final breakdown.
Eagles
- 0
Immys
0 Males 0 Females 0
Adults
0 Males 0 Females 0
Peregrines
- 1
Immys
1 Males 0 Females 1
Adults
0 Males 0 Females 0
Merlins
- 10
Immys
9 Males 8 Females 1
Adults
1 Males 1 Females 0
Kestrels
- 0
Immys
0 Males 0 Females 0
Adults
0 Males 0 Females 0
Goshawks
- 9
Immys
8 Males 7 Females 1
Adults
1 Males 0 Females 1
Cooper’s
- 1
Immys
0 Males 0 Females 0
Adults
1 Males 1 Females 0
Sharp-shins
- 80
Immys
57 Males 19 Females 38
Adults
23 Males 3 Females 20
Red-tails
- 21
Immys
10 Males 10 Females 0
Adults
11 Males 8 Females 3
Rough-legs
- 3
Immys
2 Males 1 Females 1
Adults
1 Males 0 Females 1
Broad-wings
- 1
Immys
1 Males 1 Females 0
Adults
0 Males 0 Females 0
Harriers
- 1
Immys
0 Males 0 Females 0
Adults
1 Males 0 Females 1
2013
Total Raptors 127
We
caught only one banded bird this year, an immature female Goshawk.
We had a total of 15
bounce-outs. (8 less than last year)
Thanks
for being such great friends and sharing an interest in our modest program!
Next
year will be our 45th consecutive year of hawk-catching in Mr. Mattson’s field.
I hope to see you then.
See
you next fall, and meanwhile keep your eyes on the skies!
Frank & Trudi Taylor
