Hello All,
Here is my ninth report of the 2026 banding season, covering the weekend of October 31st, 2026.
This is our 57th consecutive season of trapping raptors on the Mattson’s hay field!!!
I met Rick up at Hawk Harbor on Friday to set nets and be ready for Saturday morning. Later we went in to the Subway in Two Harbors for supper.
Saturday, October 31st
Saturday morning, Rick and I went in for a quick breakfast at Judy’s Cafe in Two Harbors and then drove back and met Brynn at Hawk Harbor. When we went out to the banding station, the wind was very light out of the east-north-east and the skies were “cloudy all day”. We settled into the blind and got started at 9:00 am. Since this would be our last weekend of banding for the season, we were hoping to band a few more birds before we closed down. To say that not much was moving would be an over statement! Things were deader than a Halloween skeleton!
The first bird we saw was a Northern Shrike out hunting the other end of the field. Then a few eagles passed by and a bunch of Ravens were moving about all over. Three deer crossed the field and a couple Rough-legged Hawks headed down the shore.
At 10:31 am, we saw a small falcon come swooping into the field from the north. It was just about to pass us on the south side of the field when Rick worked the lure and it turned toward us. It made a fast, low approach and hit the front net! We banded it, took some photos, and Brynn released it. A little while later our neighbor Don came out and placed the remains of a deer carcass out in the field to attract some scavengers. Eagles, Ravens and Crows scavenging a carcass make for a good show when there is not much else going on. Thanks, Don.
I figured I would help the scavenging show along by placing another fake owl and some of my “bobble crows” as confidence birds out by the carcass. My bobble crows are plastic crow decoys that I hollow out on the bottom, hot glue a bottle cap up inside the back at a balance point, and then place the decoy over a pointed dowel stuck in the ground. The breeze animates them to look very life-like. Some eagles came in, but they just sat in the trees. A few rough-legs and gulls came down to feed, but mostly it was Crows and Ravens getting the lion's share.
Around 12:30 we had a red-tail come in and buzz the fake owl and then take a pass over the blind. A little while later, a rough-leg came in, but pulled up at the last second and perched in the trees, and then a Raven chased it off. Nothing else came close, so we closed down at 3:00.
We got a total of 1 bird and no bounce-outs on Saturday.
1 Merlin.
Sunday, November 1st
Sunday morning, we woke up to thick fog so Rick and I went into the McDonalds in Two Harbors for breakfast. Later Brynn met us at Hawk Harbor and we opened the banding station at 9:30 am. The fog was so thick, we could only see halfway across the field.
While we were sitting there staring at the fog, a Pileated Woodpecker came down the lure tree searching for food. When it got to the bottom, it took off for the woods, but instead, it hit the back net! We took it out of the net and after I got the back of my hand hammered a few times, we thought it would be a good idea to put on a protective glove while we took a few photos. We got some photos and Brynn released it.
More eagles came in as the fog lifted, but they just sat up in the trees to the north of us. At 12:30, a (rare for us) Black-billed Magpie came in to feed on the deer carcass. It would grab a few bites and head off to the woods on the north side of the field. Each time it flew, a Northern Shrike would come in, give chase and harass it.
We sat there for hours hoping to get at least one more hawk to band and hoping beyond hope that we would not get skunked on our last day of the season. At 2:30, a young shin came in from the north, making us think it was “in the bag”, but at the last second, it flew up into the trees and would not dive on the lure! When it flew off, we did the “wish bird“ sign and closed down at 3:00.
We got a total of 0 birds and no bounce-outs on Sunday.
A Skunked Day!
1 total bird for the weekend.
184 total birds for the season.
(All birds are humanely captured, banded, and immediately released unharmed under a federal license issued by The U.S. Geological Survey through The Federal Bird Banding Laboratory.)
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. A Merlin coming in.
02. Rick and Brynn taking the Merlin out of the net.
03. A female Merlin.
04. A female Merlin.
05. A female Merlin.
06. A female Merlin.
07. Frank, Brynn, and Rick holding the Merlin.
08. Brynn releasing the Merlin.
09. Lots of eagles still coming through.
10. We saw adult Red-tailed Hawks moving through.
11. One took a shot at the fake owl!
12. A Red-tailed Hawk came over for a look.
13. A Rough-legged Hawk hovering over the field.
14. Lots of Rough-legged Hawks were coming over.
15. This one looked like it might come in.
16. It pulled up and sat in the tree above the blind.
17. Eventually a Raven chased it off.
18. Our neighbor put a dressed-out deer carcass out in the field for us.
19. My bobble crows and a roughleg at the carcass.
20. A very foggy Sunday morning.
21. We could only see halfway across the field.
22. A Pileated Woodpecker on the lure tree.
23. It was not happy about hitting the net!
24. A glove to protect the hand.
25. That is a big woodpecker!
26. Brynn releasing the woodpecker.
27. Some eagles came in for a look at the deer carcass.
28. A young one coming in.
29. It perched in a tree north of us.
30. An adult eagle coming in.
31. It also perched in a tree north of us.
32. They spent the whole day sitting in the trees just looking at the carcass.
33. A Black-billed Magpie came in to feast on the deer.
34. It was much bolder than the eagles.
35. One last shin came in, but it didn’t get caught.
36. Frank, Brynn, and Rick doing the “wish bird” symbol.
