Second Weekend of Banding 2024

Hi All,

This is my second report of the 2024 banding season, covering the weekend of September 7th, 2024.

Saturday, September 7th, 2024

Trudi wasn't able to go up this weekend, so I drove up alone and arrived at Hawk Harbor around 8:30 am. Rick got there earlier and was already visiting with Todd, who came up on Friday. Todd had set up his trapping rig on the Hawk Harbor site where he was hoping to catch a bird for falconry. We loaded Rick's truck and drove out over the hay field to the banding station. Setting up this weekend was a lot easier as the brush was cleared and some of our equipment was already in the blind. We were ready to start at 10:00 am. The skies were clear with a light wind blowing from the Southwest.

It was a beautiful day on the North Shore, cool and sunny. Hundreds of Blue Jays started migrating past us and there were still plenty of Dragonflies moving about. The first hawk we saw was at 11:25 am, a Sharp-shinned hawk that came in to take a shot at our fake owl. Rick pulled the lure and it came right in. We banded it and Rick released it. There were not a lot of hawks migrating that day and we didn't get our next and last bird of the day, another Sharp-shinned hawk, until 1:52 pm. It was passing to the North of us when Rick pulled the lure and it shot right in. We banded that one and sent it on its way. One more shin came in and took a shot at us around 3:00 pm. It was a small male shin that hit the front net but bounced out! We closed down at 5:00 pm, and headed into the Culver's in Two Harbors for supper.

Some of you reading my reports may remember the great joy I had in the past, at the end of the day, when I would have a hot meatloaf sandwich with fried onions, mushrooms, and extra gravy at the Lighthouse Restaurant. The Lighthouse closed a couple years ago but before that, I had managed to have about 70 of those sandwiches over the years! Well, I have a new substitute for that once renowned meal: it's the Culver's double ButterBurger sandwich on sourdough bread which I order with extra fried onions. I place it, open face, on one of their plastic plates and then order two cuplets of their brown gravy with mushrooms, which I generously pour over the open face double ButterBurger. Ahhh Heaven!!!

We got a total of 2 birds and one bounce-out on Saturday.

2 Sharp-shinned hawks.

Sunday, September 8th, 2024

Sunday looked like it would be a repeat of Saturday. A beautiful sunny day but the winds started out super light and were still out of the Southwest. The wind was supposed to move a little more westerly and increase as the day went on. We set up the station and were ready to start at 7:00 am.

About a half an hour later some blackbirds were foraging out in front of the blind when a young male Sharp-shinned hawk shot in to attack them. They scattered and the shin pulled up into a tree near us. Rick worked the lure and at 7:30 am, we had our first bird of the day. Two hours later, a Merlin zipped into the field from the south, saw our lure, and powered right in! We banded it, took some photos and Rick released it. Wow!!! Those little falcons can sure bite hard!

Our next bird was a young female Sharp-shinned hawk that came in after stooping the fake owl at 10:23 am. On its way in, another shin followed it, and hit the back net! That one bounced out. The one we caught in the front net had a full crop! It always amazes me that some of these birds will come in after finishing a meal while their crop is so full! I guess they still feel hungry as they have not moved the food over from their crop into their stomachs yet. Our fake owl was working double time today and at 11:05 am, a female American Kestrel started attacking it. It pulled off the owl and did a "merlin-like" straight powershot into the center of the front net! We banded it, got bit up, and Rick released it.

We were not seeing any hawks moving at all for the next hour or so, and were planning to close down at 12:30 pm, so I could go back to Hawk Harbor and get some mowing done. Around 12:28 pm, some Blue Jays were raising a huge ruckus just south of us along the tree line. Usually when we hear jays' alarm calls, it means a shin is giving them the "what for". So, Rick dutifully worked the lure and to our great surprise a young male American Goshawk powered into the back net!!! This is way earlier than we usually see them up at the banding station! We banded it, took some photos, and Rick released it. We closed down at 12:30 pm. While we were processing the gos and closing down, an adult female Peregrine Falcon came in and was stooping and kacking at the fake owl. Even though it was a slow day, we got 5 birds of 4 different species!

Later that day on my way home, I stopped up at Hawk Ridge to renew my membership and buy a hat. I also donated some of my digital prints to the gift shop trailer parked up on the ridge. Lisa and Tania were so nice taking in the prints and helping me to renew my membership. While I was still there signing up, someone came up and bought one of my larger prints from the gift shop!

We got a total of 5 birds and one bounce-out on Sunday.

2 Sharp-shinned hawks, 1 Merlin, 1 American Kestrel and 1 American Goshawk.

7 total birds and 2 bounce-outs for the weekend.

17 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!