The last week has brought us many productive days and we’ve enjoyed being busy after such a long delay at the start of the season. On our busiest day we caught 15 birds! It seems that the majority of adult red-tail hawk (RTHA) migration is slowing down and we are excited to start seeing more juveniles make their first journey north. It’s always fun to have both an adult and juvenile in hand at the same time. Contrary to their name, a juvenile RTHA does not have a red tail, making it easy to differentiate them from adults.
As we begin to catch more juveniles, we will likely start to see some pretty cool variation in plumage and molt. This young RTHA we caught had already started molting in some adult tail feathers creating a cool contrast.
The big highlight of this last week was catching an adult rough-legged hawk (RLHA). This was the 10th RLHA ever caught at this site! We were fortunate enough to catch 2 juveniles last year so it was fun to see an adult up close this year. These birds have feathered legs to help them withstand the cold where they breed in the northernmost parts of Canada.
Another bird that’s always a treat to see is the male northern harrier (NOHA). These birds are nicknamed “grey ghost” for their all grey/white color and the way they silently hunt low over field/marshes.
Season Totals:
Red-tailed Hawk – 42
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 17
Northern Harrier – 2
Coopers Hawk – 1
Rough-legged Hawk – 1
Total – 63