Seventh Weekend of Banding 2022

Hello Everyone,

This is my seventh report of the 2022 banding season, covering the weekend of October 15th, 2022.

Saturday, October 15th

Trudi and I met Rick and Todd at Hawk Harbor around 9:00 am Saturday morning. Nancy and Chuck had some things to take care of at home and would not be able to come up for the weekend. Earlier that morning we had to drive through sleet and snow on the way up and everything was soaked when we got there. We decided it was too wet to set up the banding station since the weather forecast called for more rain and sleet until late that afternoon.

The weather forecast for the North Shore didn't look too bad earlier that week, so when falconer friend Eric, who teaches at the Pine City Community College, called on Thursday to see if he and his raptor class might be able to stop by the banding station on Saturday morning, we said "sure". However, when they arrived, it was still raining and we had already decided not to set up. So, due to the unpredictable weather of the North Shore, we all did the "Wish-bird" symbol and then we handed out some of my art prints as a consolation for the banding cancellation.

Just before noon, falconer friend Greg stopped by Hawk Harbor on his way up to his hawk trapping site. It continued to rain, so Greg, Trudi, Rick, and I headed into the Culver's in Two Harbors for lunch. It kept on raining, so around 3:00, Trudi and I decided to go for a drive around the area and do some sight-seeing. When we got back, the skies started clearing and some birds started moving. But, by then it was too late in the day to set up since everything was still soaking wet. We did take an evening walk down to the river at the end of our road. The sun came out while we were there, and on our way back we had some eagles pass over us, including a Golden eagle. When I scoped the field from the end of our driveway, I saw our first Rough-legged hawk of the season. It was a very light colored bird that was way over on the other side of the field. I hiked out across the field to see if I could get a photo of it and managed to get a couple shots even though it was still pretty far away.

To finish the day, Trudi, Rick, and I went back again into Two Harbors and had supper at Do North Pizza.

Rained out - no banding.

Sunday, October 16th

It was still drizzling when we got up Sunday morning and the wind was howling out of the northwest. We thought it would be a good day and a chance to catch up on the banding we missed the day before. Trudi, Rick, and I set up the blind and the nets, put on some hot chocolate, and started looking for some birds to band. A lot of birds started moving, but they were so busy fighting the strong winds that they did not pay any attention to us.

Around 9:00, our friend Lynn who had been at the banding station many years ago brought her husband Sean and their son Vireo up to see us. We all sat there watching the birds go by, until we spotted a young Red-tailed hawk hunting the far side of the field. It kept moving from perch to perch, all the while getting closer to our end of the field. Finally at 9:45, Rick got its attention and it made a low approach and hit the front net. We banded it, took photos, and Lynn got to release it.

A few more red-tails came in, but they all pulled up in the trees above us, sat there for a while, and then took off. Later, a lone Sand-hill crane flew over the blind. It seemed odd that it was traveling all alone. Our next bird came in at 11:15, an adult Sharp-shinned hawk that was hunting the north side of the field. It saw our lure and came straight in, hitting the front net. We banded it, took photos, and Sean helped Vireo release it.

Things really slowed down, so around noon Lynn and her family left for Two Harbors. We had one more bird come in just after they left, at 12:08. It was another adult shin. We banded it, took some photos, and Trudi released it. We closed down at 1:00.

We got a total of 3 birds and no bounce-outs on Sunday.

1 Red-tailed hawk and 2 Sharp-shinned hawks.

3 total birds for the weekend.

61 birds total for the season.

Please help hawks by supporting:

Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory ( https://www.hawkridge.org/ )

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

National Eagle Center ( https://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/ )

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

The Raptor Center ( https://raptor.umn.edu/ )

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

Keep your eyes on the skies!

Trudi and Frank Taylor

01. Eric's Raptor Class doing the "Wish-bird Symbol" after getting rained-out on Saturday.

02. Trudi and I walked down to the river at the end of our road where she took this photo.

03. A Golden eagle flew over as we were walking back from the river.

04. A young Bald eagle going over.

05. I walked up the field to get a photo of the first Rough-legged hawk we saw this year.
Trudi said I was "outstanding in my field," so she took this photo.