Hello Everyone,
This is my fourth report of the 2019 banding
season, covering the weekend of September
21st, 2019.
Scroll down to
the bottom of this report to see all the photos from this weekend.
THIS SEASON MARKS OUR 50th CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF
TRAPPING HAWKS AT THE MATTSON FARM ! ! !
Saturday, September 21st
Saturday
morning, Chuck and I arrived at Hawk Harbor to meet Rick and Todd, who both
came up on Friday night. Nancy and Trudi stayed home this weekend. Todd set up
his rig on our land and Rick, Chuck and I drove up to the banding station. We
got everything set up and ready to go by 8:45. The weather was not ideal, to
say the least. Dense fog and light drizzle hung over the field for the next
three hours. Not a bird in sight; everything was sitting tight in the rain and
fog. We sat in the blind watching rain radar apps on our cell phones to see
when we might get a break. At times the fog was so dense we could barely make
out the fake owl in the draw. So, as long as nothing else was happening, we had
our traditional banding station lunch just before noon. It includes Diet Pepsi,
Cheetos and Blind Burgers (Blind Burgers are sliced summer sausage on Ritz
crackers). Aaahh, my favorite things!
Just
after noon two vans from the Minnesota Zoo pulled up. Zoo staffers Dawn and
Leah brought up a group of 13 people who had signed up for the zoo's Adult Ed
Ventures field trip. The weather still looked pretty bleak as they trudged up
from the vans to the blind. We gave them a tour of the station, explained how
the nets worked, (not thinking that we would even get a snowball's chance in
hell of using them), and then settled everyone into the main blind and the
overflow blind.
As
soon as everyone was situated in the blinds, the weather started looking
better, and sure enough, a shin showed up hunting in the draw out front. Rick
pulled the lure line and everyone got to watch a classic shin attack and
capture in the front net. They all rushed out to watch Rick and Chuck take the
shin out of the net, while I took photos with my new Canon SX70 camera. We
showed them how we measure the bird, take down the pertinent data, and then
place the band on the bird. After everyone got as many photos of the shin as
they wanted, we had them pick a number to see who would do the release and Mary
won. I took some photos of her holding the shin and then releasing it.
The
weather continued to improve and about a half an hour later, another shin saw
the lure from high over the horizon and made a long slanting stoop into the
front net. The zoo group all watched us band that shin and after we picked a
winning number, Valerie did the release. One more bird, a Merlin, came in while
the group was visiting. It was out buzzing the owl when it saw our lure and
made a fast pass, just missing the net. It flew up in front of the overflow
blind, turned around and shot right back into the front net. We banded it, took
photos, and then played the numbers game to see who would release the Merlin.
Josh picked the winning number, but because he had released a bird at our place
on a previous visit, he passed the opportunity on to Betsy and Adam. What a
nice guy!
I
gave the zoo group art prints and handouts just before they left for Hawk Ridge
around 3:30. After they left, we saw more birds moving but nothing else came in
that day. We closed down at 4:45 and went in to Do North Pizza in Two Harbors
for supper.
We
got a total of 3 birds and no bounce-outs on Saturday.
2 Sharp-shinned hawks and 1 Merlin.
Sunday,
September 22nd
After
the usual Hawk Harbor morning gathering, with hot chocolate and waxy donuts,
Rick, Chuck and I went back out to the banding station and reset the nets. We
started banding at 7:45 and at 7:50 a Merlin came blasting in from the owl. It
hit high on the top of the front net, but bounced out! Aarrgh!! We didn't get
much of a chance to feel bad about the bounce out, since the next bird, a shin,
came in three minutes later. We caught another shin a half an hour later and
then, a young male Cooper's hawk made a long gliding stoop in from the
Northeast. Another bigger Cooper's was right behind it and they both sailed
right by into the woods, just missing the top of our nets! Seconds later, the
young male came back in from the woods and hit the back of the back net. Got
it! We banded it, took photos, and I got to release that one.
Todd
wasn't seeing much at Hawk Harbor, so he closed his site and came up to sit in
with us. Shortly after he arrived, the skies opened up and we started catching
shins every few minutes. Cloudy skies and moderate West winds kept most of the
birds from "thermalizing" out of range. They came in low from the
draw, high from the owl, from just out above the horizon, and from everywhere
else! We caught 27 more shins and had only one more bounce out that day, before
closing down for the weekend at 3:00. What a day! We ended up catching 30 hawks
on Sunday!
We
got a total of 30 birds and 2 bounce-outs on Sunday.
29 Sharp-shinned hawks and 1 Cooper's hawk.
We
got a total of 33 birds and 2 bounce-outs for the weekend.
29 Sharp-shinned hawks and 1 Cooper's hawk.
What seemed to be starting out as a disastrous weekend,
ended up with a good show for the zoo group and a record high capture day for
this season, so far.
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)
Midwest Peregrine Society (https://midwestperegrine.umn.edu/)
Raptor Resource Project (https://www.raptorresource.org/)
Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch (http://ospreywatch.blogspot.com/)
Keep
your eyes on the skies!
Trudi &
Frank Taylor
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01. This adult Sharp-shinned hawk was one
of the thirty birds we caught on Sunday.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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02. The Saturday morning fog was so thick,
we could barely see the fake owl out in the draw.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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03. My favorite lunch at the banding station: Diet Pepsi,
Cheetos and
a Blind Burger (Summer sausage and Ritz crackers).
Fourth Weekend 2019
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04. First bird of the day on Saturday, a young Sharp-shinned
hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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05. The Minnesota Zoo's Adult Ed Venture Tour group
watching Rick and Chuck take the shin out of the nets.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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06. The Minnesota Zoo's Adult Ed Venture Tour group holding
a shin.
Left to right: Josh, Alanna, Pam, Andrew, Leah, Sharyn,
Betsy, Chuck,
Adam, Rick, Nancy, Al, Mary, Eduardo, Valerie, Larry and Dawn.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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07. Mary about to release the shin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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08. Mary releasing the shin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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09. The second Sharp-shinned hawk of the day.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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10. Chuck showing the shin to the group in the overflow
blind.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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11. Larry and Valerie holding a Sharp-shinned hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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12. Larry and Valerie releasing the shin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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13. The third and final bird of the day was a Merlin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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14. Chuck showing the Merlin to the group.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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15. A nice looking Merlin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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16. Betsy and Adam holding the Merlin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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17. Adam releasing the Merlin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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18. Our first bird on Sunday morning was a young
Sharp-shinned hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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19. Rick and Chuck with the first bird of the day.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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20. Chuck chucking the shin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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21. A young male Cooper's hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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22. Chuck banding the Cooper's hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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23. Frank holding the Cooper's hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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24. Frank releasing the Cooper's hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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25. Another shin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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26. Todd holding two shins.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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27. Todd doing a double release.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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28. An adult Sharp-shinned hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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29. Frank looking at the adult shin.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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30. An adult and a young shin for color comparison.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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31. Young and adult shins.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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32. An adult Sharp-shinned hawk.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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33. Chuck and Rick holding four shins.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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34. Chuck and Rick doing a four-shin release.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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35. Rick and Chuck holding our 30th and final bird of the
day.
Fourth Weekend 2019
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