Fourth Weekend of Banding 2024

Hello Everyone,

 

Saturday, September 21st

We got an early start on Saturday since I had to take Trudi to the airport for an early flight to Florida. She was heading down there for two weeks to visit our daughter Tasha and her brother Rudi. That gave me an early start for my drive up to Hawk Harbor. Todd and Rick were already there when I arrived, so we loaded Rick's truck with the banding gear to get started. (Todd had come up on Friday night and was sitting at the Hawk Harbor picnic table when a large Black Bear walked in through the front gate and passed within 10 feet of him, between the table and the trailers, and then kept going straight back into the woods! Todd didn't move a muscle and the bear paid no attention to him!) We drove up to the banding blind and Todd went over to set up at his spot. We wanted to get an early start since my grandson Jack was coming up with his Boy Scout troop at 9:30 am.

 

We were set up and ready to start banding by 8:45 am. I was hoping we would get a bird before the scouts arrived. However, the winds were very light out of the south and we didn't see any hawks moving. Just as the 18 scouts and 7 adults pull up on the road, a young male shin started stooping the fake owl. Rick pulled the lure, the shin came right in, and we had our first bird of the weekend. The scouts gathered around as we took the shin out of the net and showed them how we band it and record the data. My grandson Jack helped me hold the bird while all the scouts lined up for a group photo.

 

We had the scouts pick numbers to see who would get to release that shin. One lucky scout picked the closest number and he got to release it. We had just settled the scouts into the main blind and the overflow blind when another shin, this time a young female, zoomed by right in front of the whole gang and hit the front net. We repeated the banding show and another lucky scout got to let that one go. While the scouts were there we had a Bald Eagle swoop down and land in the trees just above us. A Red-tailed Hawk also came in on a lightning stoop but pulled up, just missing the nets. The scouts stayed until just after noon and then they headed up to Hawk Ridge. It was a great feeling to have my grandson bring his troop up to show them our banding station.

 

About an hour after the scouts left, Rick spotted a Red-tailed Hawk soaring way out over the barn at the other end of the field. He worked the lure and it "locked on" making a long slanting and accelerating stoop toward us. It pulled up at the last second, hitting the top of the net and bouncing out! Arrggh!!! About half an hour after that red-tail, a young female shin popped up over the draw, came in, and hit the front net. We banded it, took photos, and Rick released it. Our last bird of the day was another shin that came in from the north around 4:00 pm. It hit high on the front net, bounced out, and flew straight into the back net. Whew! We closed down at 5:00 pm, and went in for pizza at Do North Pizzaria in Two Harbors.

 

We got a total of 4 birds and one bounce-out on Saturday.

4 Sharp-shinned Hawks.

 

Sunday, September 22nd

Northwest winds 10 to 15 miles per hour were predicted for Sunday, so we were hopeful as we drove out before sunrise to the banding station from Hawk Harbor. Brynn, who now lives in Duluth, had been a banding assistant for three years at a Raptor Resource banding station in Iowa. She was happy to be able to come out and help us do some banding at our place. Edwin, who is our neighbor on the east side of Hawk Harbor, is attending college for wildlife management and also joined us for the day. We were set up and ready to go at 7:00 am.

 

Our first bird of the day was a female adult Sharp-shinned Hawk that came in low across the field from the north at 7:13 am. We banded it, took photos, and Brynn released it. Fifteen minutes later, another female adult shin shot in from behind out of the woods, and into the back net. We banded that one and Edwin let it go. At 8:45 am, a Merlin started making repeated stoops at the fake owl. It took a while for Rick to get its attention, but when he did, it powered in low into the front net. We banded it, took pictures, and Rick let it go.

 

Mark, a falconer friend from Lincoln, Nebraska, had obtained non-resident permits to take a Sharp-shinned hawk and a Merlin. He and his wife Jessica had arrived at Hawk Harbor late Saturday night and were hoping to set up a trapping rig Sunday morning. Rick, Brynn, and Edwin were taking care of the main banding station, so I went down to help Mark get his rig set up. While I was helping Mark, the main blind had three shins zipping around, chasing some Blue Jays, and taking shots at the lure. All three had hit the nets but they all bounced out! When I got back to the main blind, they had caught our third shin of the day. I had Brynn measure, band, and release that bird. Mark called a little later and said he had caught his Merlin! We caught our fourth shin of the day around 11:30 am, and then had another one bounce out an hour later.

 

Just after noon, I noticed a bunch of people standing on the road looking up toward the blind. I went down to meet them and found out it was a group of birders from Hawk Ridge who were on a North Shore birding tour, guided by my friend, professor Bill from Ely, MN. We didn't have room for them at the blind and being unannounced they didn't expect to go up. However, I did have the materials in the trailer that I used for my migration talk to the scouts the day before. So, I took the whole group back to Hawk Harbor and did an impromptu talk about migration and our banding operation. After my talk, I handed out my prints and signed each one for them personally. One young man had asked specifically about Gyrfalcons, so I gave him one of my large signed prints of a Gyrfalcon. They thanked me for the visit and the prints and headed on up the shore.

 

We caught two more birds that day, a male American Kestrel that was stooping at the owl around 1:30 pm, and another young female Sharp-shinned Hawk at 2:00 pm. That one had a full crop and came in from a long way out! Just after that, Mark called to say he had caught his shin! We closed down at 3:00 pm and packed up for the drive home.

 

We got a total of 7 birds and 4 bounce-outs on Sunday.

5 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Merlin, and 1 American Kestrel.

 

11 total birds for the weekend.

33 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. Showing the scouts how the nets work.

02. Our first bird of the day, a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

03. The scouts watching us take the hawk out of the net.

04. Showing the scouts the shin.

05. Grandson Jack helping me set up the group photo.

06. 18 Scouts, 7 Scout Leaders, and 2 Hawk Banders with the shin.

07. The first lucky scout picked to release the shin.

08. First lucky scout releasing the shin.

09. A second shin coming in.

10. A young female Sharp-shinned Hawk.

11. The second lucky scout picked to release a shin.

12. Lucky scout 2 releasing the second shin.

13. A Bald Eagle came in and landed in the tree above the scouts.

14. A Red-tailed Hawk buzzed in but missed the nets.

15. Rick releasing the third shin of the day.

16. Frank holding the last and fourth shin of the day.

17. Frank releasing the shin.

18. Sunrise setup at the banding blind.

19. A Sunday morning shin coming in.

20. The first bird on Sunday was a shin.

21. An adult female shin.

22. Brynn, Rick, and Edwin with the shin.

23. Brynn holding the shin.

24. Brynn releasing the shin.

25. Another adult female shin.

26. Edwin holding the shin.

27. Edwin releasing the shin.

28. A Merlin coming in.

29. Rick holding the Merlin.

30. A male Merlin.

31. Brynn, Edwin, and Rick releasing the Merlin.

32. A young female shin.

33. Brynn holding the shin.

34. Brynn measuring the shin.

35. Brynn releasing the shin.

36. I handed out prints to a group from Hawk Ridge that stopped by.

37. I gave a large signed Gyrfalcon print to a young man who asked about Gyrfalcons.

38. A male American Kestrel back.

39. A male American Kestrel head.

40. A male American Kestrel front.

41. A male American Kestrel.

42. Brynn holding the Kestrel.

43. Brynn releasing the Kestrel.

44. Mark with his Merlin.

45. Mark with his Sharp-shinned Hawk.