Hi All,
Here is my fifth report
of the 2015 banding season, covering the weekend of October 3rd, 2015.
Chuck and Nancy went up
early this week to meet friends and do some banding on Thursday and Friday,
October 1st and 2nd. On Thursday, cold East winds blew most of the migrating
hawks inland, but they still managed to catch a large young Red-tailed hawk at
9:47. At 3:28 they saw a Peregrine falcon come pumping in from the farm, take a
shot at the fake owl and head on out of the field to the Southwest. At 4:15
that same day, they caught a young female Sharp-shinned hawk. They closed down
at 5:15 on Thursday. The cold East winds kept on blowing hard on Friday and
they managed to catch only one hawk that day, an adult female Sharp-shinned
hawk. They closed down Friday at 3:45.
Nancy and Chuck got a total of 3 birds
and 0 bounce-outs on Thursday and Friday.
1 Red-tailed hawk and 2
Sharp-shinned hawks.
On Saturday morning I met
Rick at the McDonalds on London Road for breakfast before heading up to meet
Nancy and Chuck at Hawk Harbor. Todd stayed home this weekend to pull his boat,
but Mike Klimas was there when we arrived. He was packing up his trapping gear
that he used over on our land. We got to see his beautiful male Peregrine
falcon that he caught a couple weeks ago under a special Peregrine take permit.
Nancy had to head home
but Chuck stayed on to help us band for the weekend. The weather forecast
looked pretty grim for the next two days with a continuance of the strong East
winds. When we got to the path that leads up to the blind, it was filled with
farm equipment ready to harvest the soybean crop. We carefully drove around it
and had our gear set up at the banding station by 9:00 am.
A strong cold wind off
the lake was blowing straight into our faces, chilling us to the bone. We broke
out some extra layers of clothes and hung in there. At 10:00 Joe Schultz, a
falconer friend, and his friend Cait Monette came up to sit in with us. We saw
a young male Peregrine falcon start soaring up over the barn at 10:30, but it
didn't even give us a glance and took off towards Duluth. After staring at a
blank sky for several hours, Cait and Joe decided to do some sightseeing up the
shore. We did the "Wish-bird" symbol and they took off. We had a
couple Merlins stoop the owl and buzz our rig that afternoon, but they didn't
hit the net. We were 10 minutes away from closing down at 4:30, when a young
male Merlin came in to take a shot at the owl. Rick pulled the lure line and
the Merlin made a straight run right into the front net. That was a close call
for getting our first "skunked" day of the year!!! We banded it, took
some photos and Chuck let it go.
Rick, Chuck and I were
the only ones around at the end of the day, so we headed over to Emily's
Lighthouse restaurant where I had my 76th hot meatloaf sandwich with fried
onions, mushrooms and an extra cup of gravy. Later that night Cait and Joe came
back to camp at Hawk Harbor and we had a nice campfire before everyone headed
off to sleep.
We got a total of 1 bird
and 0 bounce-outs on Saturday.
1 Merlin.
Sunday morning the winds
had died down to nothing so Rick, Chuck and I got an early start and headed up
to the blind. We had everything ready to go at 7:30. We saw a Harrier down at
the other end of the field but it wasn't interested in us. Some Turkey vultures
were getting up and a few eagles were soaring by, but not much else was moving.
At 8:15 a Merlin came in from the owl but passed by way out in front of the
net. At 9:47 one of the few passing shins we saw started stooping in from the
sun, when a little adult male shin cut it off and flew into the woods behind
the nets. Rick gave a tug on the lure line and the little shin came out of the
woods, over the back net and hit the back of the front net. Yeah, another
"Skunked Day" averted!!!! Just then Cait and Joe came back out to the
blind so we banded the shin, took some photos and had Cait let it go. A little
while later a couple of adult Bald eagles were chasing each other so hard that
they almost hit the ground out in the center of the field. Cait and Joe left
for home around 10:30. At 11:30 Chris Karraker, a falconer from Wisconsin,
stopped up to see us. Unfortunately due to such a slow day we had decided to
close down at noon. So, Chris and I did the "Wish-bird" sign for his
visit and we closed down.
We got a total of 1 bird
and 0 bounce-outs on Sunday.
1 Sharp-shinned hawk.
Total for the long weekend was 4 birds and 0 bounce-outs.
1 Red-tailed hawk, 1 Merlin and 2 Sharp-shinned hawks.
Grand Total for the year
is 112.
One of the nice things
about closing down early when it is slow is that I get a chance to wander
around the woods and see all the little details that make the North shore so
beautiful. It also means that I have a little time before heading home to stop
by Hawk Ridge. When I arrived up there on Sunday afternoon, there were a number
of birds going over, including Sharp-shins, Red-tails, Bald eagles and Turkey
vultures. I also got to see a Peregrine falcon fly by and visit with David
Carman, a past director of Hawk Ridge, and with Karen Stubenvoll, who is
chairman of its Board of Directors. What a great place to hang out! If I didn't
have my own banding station, I would be up there all fall. If you haven't been
there yet, go see it! A friendly and knowledgeable group of volunteers will
point out every passing bird and will help you experience one of the greatest
natural wonders that takes place every fall on the North shore.
Age and sex of all birds
that bounce-out are obviously a "best guesstimate" by the closest
witness and should not be considered hard data.
Please
help hawks by supporting:
Hawk
Ridge Bird Observatory (www.hawkridge.org)
The
Raptor Center (www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu)
The National Eagle
Center (www.nationaleaglecenter.org)
Keep
your eyes on the skies.
Frank & Trudi Taylor
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01. Nancy and Chuck caught a big young Red-tailed hawk
on Thursday.
Fifth Week of Banding 2015
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02. Nancy and Chuck also caught a young female
Sharp-shinned hawk on Thursday.
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03. An adult female Sharp-shinned hawk was the only bird
Nancy and Chuck caught on Friday.
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04. Farm equipment parked in the field Saturday morning.
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05. The big combine is ready to pick some soybeans.
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06. Interesting "Feather Clouds" formed over
the field.
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07. Joe, Cait and Frank doing the "Wish-bird"
symbol.
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08. Late evening Merlin.
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09. Rick and Chuck taking the Merlin out of the net.
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10. A pale young male Merlin. Photo by Rick Dupont.
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11. A "Profile" pose of the Merlin.
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12. Chuck banding the Merlin.
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13. Young male Merlin.
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14. The Merlin bobbing its head.
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15. Chuck releasing the Merlin.
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16. Rick's shot of Chuck releasing the Merlin. Photo by
Rick Dupont.
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17. Sunday morning sunrise over the Mattson farm.
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18. An early Sunday morning adult male Sharp-shinned
hawk.
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19. Chuck and Rick taking the shin out of the net.
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20. An adult male Sharp-shinned hawk.
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21. The shin doing a "Yearbook" pose.
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22. Chuck banding the shin.
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23. An adult male Sharp-shinned hawk.
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24. This shin had a mark on its iris.
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25. A closer look at the shin's eye.
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26. Cait holding the shin.
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27. An adult male Sharp-shinned hawk.
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28. Joe and Cait getting ready to release the shin.
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29. Joe and Cait releasing the shin.
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30. Chris and Frank doing the "Wish-bird' symbol.
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31. Slow days allow for time in the woods to see more
details.
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32. Lichen on a tree.
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33. Mushrooms on a tree.
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34. Mushrooms on the ground.
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35. Moss covered stumps look like fairy castles.
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36. Who's little home is this?
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37. The door is always open for your imagination.
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38. Another little dwelling in the woods.
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39. A stop at Hawk Ridge on the way home is always a big
treat.
Fifth Week of Banding 2015
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