2012 Banding Totals

Hi All,

Well, this is it, my final tally for the 2012 banding season.
This year we banded a total of 87 birds, one of our worst years out of the past five.
Last year we got 141 total and in 2010 we got 167.

We didn't get a lot of birds but we had a great time!

We get lots of birds visiting each year, but we also get a good number of relatives, 

friends, 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 48 individuals and 7 organized groups containing 60 people. 

A total of 108 people were able to have an exceptional hawk viewing experience up at our site this year! 

I hope their visit inspires all 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 hot 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-third year in a row.

Also a big THANK YOU goes to Ken Holkestad 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 ALL SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Here it is, the final breakdown.

Peregrines   1
Immys  01 . . . Males  00 . . . Females 01
Adults   00 . . . Males  00 . . . Females 00

Merlins   9
Immys  09 . . . Males  02 . . . Females  07
Adults   00 . . . Males  00 . . . Females 00

Goshawks   12
Immys  09 . . . Males  07 . . . Females  02
Adults   02 . . . Males  01 . . . Females  01

Cooper’s   1
Immys  01 . . . Males  00 . . . Females  01
Adults   00 . . . Males  00 . . . Females  00

Sharp-shins   52
Immys  30 . . . Males  12 . . . Females  18
Adults   22 . . . Males  07 . . . Females  15

Red-tails   12
Immys  05 . . . Males  03 . . . Females  02
Adults   07 . . . Males  04 . . . Females  03

No Kestrels

No Harriers

No Broad-wings

No Rough-legs

No Eagles

2012 Total Raptors 87

We caught only one banded bird this year, an immature female Goshawk.

We had a total of 23 bounce-outs. (34 less than last year)

Thanks for being such great friends and sharing an interest in our modest program!

Next year will be our 44th 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