Second Weekend of Banding 2022

Hello Everyone,

This is my second report of the 2022 banding season, covering the weekend of September 10th, 2022.

Trudi and I drove up to Hawk Harbor on a rainy Friday so we could prepare our place for hosting the September meeting of the Minnesota Falconers Association. Although we are not scheduling any large groups anymore at the banding station, our land on the North Shore of Lake Superior is a nice camping destination for a northern meeting of the club.

Saturday, September 10th

Rick, Nancy, and Chuck met Trudi and me at Hawk Harbor Saturday morning at 8:00 am. We loaded up Rick's truck and drove out to the banding station to set up. Winds were light and variable out of the Northwest and the skies were clear. We were ready to start at 8:35. Trudi headed back down to Hawk Harbor to welcome club members, show them where to camp, and send them up to the blind.

Our first bird to come in, at 8:40 am., was a young male Sharp-shinned Hawk that was out hunting the draw. We banded it, took some photos, and Brandon got to release it since it was his first time up at the banding blind. More members of the MFA came up and started filling up the over-flow blind. Not as many hawks were moving as we hoped there would be. About an hour later, a female American Kestrel shot in from the gap in the draw, hit the front net, but bounced out! Then it took another hour before we got our second bird of the day, a young male Sharp-shinned Hawk. It was one of two shins that came in and landed in the trees behind the blind. The other shin took off when we ran out to secure the one that got caught. We banded it, took photos, and Jason got to let it go. At 11:00, a larger accipiter made a long, low stoop from the South and hit the front net. It was a young male Cooper's Hawk! We banded it, took more photos and Brynn got to let it go.

Around noon, Don, our neighbor to the East, drove up in his atv and brought us some cherry tomatoes from his garden. A short time later, Don and Mary, who own the Mattson farm, came up and brought us some sweet corn and tomatoes. It is so nice to have such great neighbors! A little while later, some friends from Indiana stopped by on their way to a family outing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area near Ely, Minnesota. Carly, an apprentice falconer, her husband Tyler, and their kids Maxwell and A.J., could not stay long but wanted to meet us and see the banding site.

Later, while I was sitting in the over-flow blind with Amber and Colin, we noticed a kestrel right above us diving at something that was blocked from sight by the trees over us. When it made a circle out over the field, we could see that it was a young male Peregrine falcon! It immediately saw the lure and made a couple passes at the nets, but didn't commit, eventually flying off. WOW!!! Nice to watch that!

The last bird of the day was a young male Merlin. It came into the field and started bombing the fake owl. After a few passes, it saw the lure and powered straight into the front net. We banded it, took more photos and Amber released it. We closed down at 4:15. Everyone headed back down to Hawk Harbor for the cookout and meeting, followed by a nice campfire.

We got a total of 4 birds and 2 bounce-outs on Saturday.

2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Merlin, and 1 Cooper's Hawk.

Sunday, September 11th

Sunday morning, Trudi fixed hot chocolate and put out some cookies and donuts for the campers. Then Nancy, Chuck, Rick, Trudi and I packed up Rick's truck and went back up to open the banding station. We were ready to start at 8:45. The skies were clear with no wind. Several members of the club who had camped at Hawk Harbor came up to join us.

At 9:15, a young shin that was out stooping the fake owl came in high, hit the net, bounced out, and then sat above us in the trees while Rick kept trying to lure it back in. It hung around in the trees chasing jays and flickers for about 20 minutes! The first bird we caught on Sunday day was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that came in high from the North at 9:48. We banded it, took photos and Holly released it. Around 10:30, a female Kestrel shot straight in from the draw and hit the top of the front net. Rick ran out to secure it, but at the last second it got loose and took off! Arrghh! Another shin dropped straight down out of a group of shins that were passing high over us. We banded that one, took some photos, and Jennifer let it go. At 11:30, another female American kestrel shot in from the draw and hit low into the front net. We banded it, took some photos, and Thomas got to release it. The last bird of the day, before closing down at noon, was another young female shin. We banded it, took photos and Rick released it. Everyone else headed for home while Trudi and I went back down to Hawk Harbor to close down and get it ready for next weekend.

We got a total of 4 birds and 2 bounce-outs on Sunday.

3 Sharp-shinned Hawks, and 1 American Kestrel.

8 total birds for the weekend.

12 total birds for the season.

Please help hawks by supporting:

Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory (www.hawkridge.org)

Midwest Peregrine Society (https://midwestperegrine.umn.edu/)

National Eagle Center (www.nationaleaglecenter.org)

Raptor Resource Project (https://www.raptorresource.org/)

The Raptor Center (www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu)

Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch (http://ospreywatch.blogspot.com/)

Keep your eyes on the skies!

Trudi & Frank Taylor

01. A young male Sharp-shinned Hawk was the first bird of the weekend.

02. Chuck, Nancy, Amber, Colin, Rick, and Brandon with the shin.

03. Brandon releasing the shin.

04. many MFA members joined us at the blind.

05. Jason, Holly, Jennifer, Brynn, Thomas, Chuck, Colin, and Amber with the shin.

06. Jason releasing the shin.

07. A young male Cooper's Hawk.

08. Chuck and Rick pulling the Cooper's Hawk out of the net.

09. A young male Cooper's Hawk.

10. Brynn releasing the Cooper's Hawk.

11. Friends from Indiana and the Mattsons came up.
Left to right: Frank, Carly, Maxwell, A.J., Tyler, Don, Trudi, and Mary.

12. The last bird of the day was a young male Merlin with a white feather on his head.

13. Amber, Chuck, Colin, and Brandon with the Merlin.

14. A young male Merlin.

15. Amber releasing the Merlin.

16. Group photo of everyone attending the MFA cookout and Meeting.
Left to right; Frank, Trudi, Curt, Dani, Josh, Joe, Jerry, John, Justin Jason,
Mattie, Brynn, Amber, Colin, Jennifer, Brandon, and Thomas.