Another First for the Season - Sunday, September 30, 2007

But not the kind of "first" that we want to record. Sorry. Sunday was a big old SKUNK. I'm sure Martin stayed until the very last bit of snow had melted, and the last glimmer of light had faded, hoping to at least see a hawk through the clouds and the mist and the snow.

But it was not to be today. Interestingly enough, out of all 7 years, this is the third September 30th with a zero day.

Answer to yesterdays quiz - Northern Goshawk - HY male

Todays quiz - sometimes all you see is a blur like this:

Check back tomorrow.

3 More Banded - Saturday, September 29, 2007

Today started out windy, but was flat calm by the end of the day. Mark Gleason headed the crew that saw a total of 15 raptors and banded 3, for a total of 258.

Photos may be scarcer for the next couple of weeks, but I will try to keep something interesting to look at.

Raptors banded:

3 ASY female COHA

Quiz for the day - Name That Silhouette - check tomorrow for the answer.

3 Banded - Friday, September 28, 2007

Another nice double catch - this one of Cooper's Hawks

The wind returned today along with much colder temperatures. The forecast was for freezing levels of 3500' and snow, but luckily the precipitation held off. Mike, Vicky and Dalene saw a total of 10 raptors the whole day. They banded 3.

We now have a total of 255. In the interest of fair reporting, I am including the updated graph which shows that we are currently behind 2005 and 2006.

Raptors banded:

1 SY female SSHA
1 AHY female COHA
1 ASY female COHA

Peak Week - Not This Year - Thursday, September 27, 2007

The catch of the day - HY female Northern Harrier

Our historically average biggest day turned out to be decent, but not worthy of peak week status. The weather was perfect with high overcast, almost no breeze and warming into the high 60's by afternoon.

Sue, Dalene, Mike, and Vicky banded 10 raptors today. They saw 37, almost a third of which were adult Red Tail Hawks on a beeline over the west valley heading North to South. That is typical of this time of year, but the numbers seen are lower than average.

But there is nothing like having a Northern Harrier in hand to make up for all the hours of looking at empty sky. She was a beauty.

Raptors banded:

4 HY male SSHA
2 HY female SSHA
1 SY female SSHA
1 HY female COHA
1 ASY female COHA
1 HY female NOHA


Size comparison of female and male HY SSHA



More NOHA photos

Banded 6- September 26th, 2007

ASY COHA

Sue and Dalene were joined by Meghan and Simone for another slow day. It started out windy and turned into an almost perfect day, but still only 6 banded. Coincidentally, the all women crew caught only female birds.

Raptors banded:
2 HY female SSHA
1 AHY female SSHA
1 HY female COHA
2 ASY female COHA

Accipiter Trifecta- September 25th, 2007

AHY female SSHA

Despite howling winds, Sue and Dalene were able to band 5 birds. And not just any five birds- but all three Accipiter species. They also had a rare sighting of a Bald Eagle heading South.

Raptors banded:
2 HY female SSHA
1 AHY female SSHA
1 ASY female COHA
1 HY male NOGO

This brings us to a total of 236 for the season.

11 Banded! - Monday, September 24, 2007

A great shot of an ASY female COHA in molt.


Martin Muller and Vivian Gross got us going again today with 11 raptors banded. They had clear skies with a few clouds on the horizon. They caught 10 of these by 12:40 PM and then the last one around 4 PM.

Raptors banded:

1 HY male SSHA
1 HY female SSHA
4 SY female SSHA
1 AHY female SSHA
1 AHY male COHA
2 ASY male COHA
1 ASY female COHA

We finally have the graph heading upwards again!

2 More Banded - Sunday, September 23, 2007

What a joy to be so happy with small things.

Jim and Kaitlyn got us through another day with at least something banded. They saw 35, which is more than we have been seeing the last few days, but most of the raptors today were showing little interest. They did have some fun watching another Golden Eagle coming in close and an adult Peregrine Falcon making many passes.

Raptors banded:

1 AHY female SSHA
1 SY female SSHA

Here is a graph showing the average # caught per day during 2001-2006. As you can see, we traditionally have a slow period mid September. Our busiest week historically is this coming week. Any bets on whether we will top our biggest day so far of 26?



Here we see the species breakdown for the years 2001-2006 compared to what we have banded so far in 2007. It appears to be the "Year of the Kestrel". Our Cooper's Hawk numbers are above average also, while some of the other species are below average. It is still too early to speculate, but on those slow days in the blind, what else is there to do? Suffice it to say, at this point, anything could still happen.

Little by Little - Saturday, September 22, 2007

Another windy day. Actually, in Jim's words, it was "howling". They saw 14 raptors and Banded 2, both around 4 PM. They had some very good looks at a Golden Eagle which helped spice up the day a bit.

Jim Shifflet was helped out by Kaitlyn MacIntyre and Penny Lewis.We are now at 218, and still ahead of last year by 21.

Raptors banded:

1 HY male COHA
1 SY male COHA

A happy bander with a SY male Copper's Hawk:

5 Banded - Friday, September 21, 2007

HY male Merlin


It was still windy today on the ridge, but thankfully less so. (It was only gusting to 20 mph instead of 30 mph!) The crew saw 14 today and banded a total of 5. They had a Prairie Falcon around the set for quite a while, but it was being harassed by Ravens and it finally flew away.

This brings our season total to 216. Mike and Vicki Elledge were joined by Penny Lewis.

Raptors banded:

1 HY male SSHA
1 HY female SSHA
1 ASY female SSHA
1 HY female COHA
1 HY male MERL

High Winds - 1 Banded - Thursday, September 20, 2007

It was a very windy day today with gusts reportedly up to 30 mph. Not only does that mean fewer seen and fewer caught, but it also means a wearing day on the team. They persevered and did succeed in banding 1 Cooper's Hawk.

Mike, Vicky, and Dalene were our intrepid crew. They saw 10 including a Bald Eagle and a Peregrine Falcon.

Raptors banded:

1 HY female COHA

And here she is:



The answer to yesterday's quiz:
HY COHA

Back In The Running - Wednesday, September 19, 2007

After Second Year male COHA


It was a calm day today on the ridge with nice clouds throughout the day. Pat and Dalene got us going again by banding 7. The first bird, pictured above, came in just seconds after they had started, thus deemed the "breakfast bird". We are now at 210 total season to date.

Raptors banded:

1 HY male SSHA
1 HY female SSHA
2 SY female SSHA
1 HY male COHA
1 HY female COHA
1 ASY male COHA

Can you correctly identify the species and age of this bird? (The answer will be in tomorrow's post.)

1 More Banded - Tuesday, September 18, 2007

More clouds and rainy weather over the mountains today. The weather is one of the most obvious factors that determine how many hawks we see migrating. Pat called to say they only saw 10 today and they caught 1 Red Tail Hawk.

Raptors banded:

1 HY U RTHA

No photos were taken today, so I will entertain you with a few graphs. Our season to date total is at 203 and that is still above our biggest year ever, 2006.




Here is the graph that shows this years species composition to date:



This is the graph that shows the species breakdown for the years 2001-2006:

5 Banded - Monday, September 17, 2007

A much better day as far as banded goes. Martin's weather report was "not as windy, heavy clouds to the west, and some sun". It apparently was pouring raining on I 90 in the morning. Still only a "trickle" of raptors were observed, 13. And good trappers that they are, they caught 5 of them.

In Martin's words, the bird of the day was a AHY male COHA,, caught at 10:01 AM, because it meant it would not be a "skunk". The last raptor seen and caught was a HY female SSHA at 3:47 PM. They did not take any photos today.

Helping Martin today was Vivian and Matt. Our total to date is 202. The 200th bird of the season was a HY female SSHA, the bread and butter of the project.

Windy - 1 Banded - Sunday, September 16, 2007

Martin reported winds of 25-35 mph today and cloudy. They gave one up for the team, and hung in there, eventually banding 1 raptor. We now have a total season to date of 197. Last year on this date we had 160. So we are still doing just fine. Thanks you guys!

Raptor banded:

1 HY female SSHA

8 Banded - Saturday, September 15, 2007

It was a typical windy day on the ridge Saturday. They saw lots of Red Tail Hawks and another Prairie Falcon, as well as catching a PRFA.

Saturday's team consisted of Mark Gleason, Dennis Ryan, Cindy Willis, Don McCall, and Mike Walker.

(Check yesterday's blog for NOHA photo)

Raptors banded:

5 SSHA
1 COHA
1 AMKE
1 HY male PRFA

This brings total to date up to 196.

HY male Prairie Falcon

Another first for the season - Friday, September 14, 2007

HY female Northern Harrier

Rock 'n Roll! Another 20 banded today and the first Northern Harrier of the season.

The only species left to catch for a first of the season is a Rough-Legged Hawk, and we have only caught 2 since 2001. And then there are the species that we have never caught at Entiat before. Maybe we will see one of those this season.

Raptors banded:

8 HY male SSHA
1 AHY female SSHA
2 SY female SSHA
2 HY male COHA
3 HY female COHA
1 AHY female C OHA
1 ASY female COHA
1 HY female MERL
1 HY female NOHA


Season to date total of 188

11 Banded - Thursday, September 13, 2007

Quite a different day today as far as total banded. But very similar as far as weather. Dalene reported clear skies, and hot with very little wind. We always speculate, but never really know for sure, why 2 consecutive days with similar conditions can be so different as far as numbers banded.

On the ridge today were Jim Shiflet, Dalene Keith, and Carolyn Brannen.

Raptors banded:

2 HY female SSHA
5 HY male SSHA
2 HY male COHA
1 HY female COHA
1 AHY male COHA

With yesterdays high numbers we are again ahead of last year at this time.We now have 168 for the season compared to last year at this date of 147.

All Time Record Tied! - Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Well this season just keeps getting better and better. The all time record at Entiat of 26 banded was set by the Ladies Tea and Trapping Society last year on Wednesdy, September 27. Today, Pat Little and Dalene Keith tied that record. And they pulled it off with just the 2 of them.

They report that the hawks came in fairly steady throughout the day. The weather was classic late summer; hot with very little wind.

The most interesting observation of the day, #5 on the obs sheet, was a Bobcat. Dalene saw it peering up over the rock cliff on the west side of the set. It was gone before they could get a photo of it.

Ray Cruz and his friend Carl banded 1 HY RTHA at a location they have set up about 1/2 mile up ridge from the main blind.

Raptors banded:

8 HY male SSHA
13 HY female SSHA
1 ASY female SSHA
3 ASY female COHA
1 HY male AMKE

22 SSHA in one day is a record. This puts us up over last year again with a total of 157. I will get the graph posted later.

Great job you two!


Photo of the day (they even had time to take photos!?!):

HY male AMKE

Late Breaking News! GOLDEN EAGLE

Pat Little with AHY male Golden Eagle

I just got this in from the ridge and need to post it before the day is through. I called to verify that the photo wasn't photoshopped (yes Pat, you do like to play tricks!). This is just the 3rd Golden Eagle that we have ever banded at Entiat since 2001. (This guy weighed 40 times more than a Sharp-shinned hawk they caught just before him.)

I talked to Pat Little and got the story. He came by around 4 PM. He was molting so he was after hatch year. They may be able to determine a definite age by reviewing photos of the plumage. It was also noted that he was very docile. Helping Pat on the ridge today were Gavin Brady, Gail Roberts, and Jody Marquadt. They had 8 total for the day.

Way to go Team!

Raptors banded:

1 HY female SSHA
4 HY male SSHA
1 HY male COHA
1 HY U RTHA
1 AHY male GOEA

AHY male Golden Eagle leaving Entiat



Here is the Sharp-shinned hawk that weighed 1/40th of the GOEA



We are now at a total of 131. Last year at this date we had 138. Last year it slowed down a bit on the next few days, so with the good weather forecast, there is a good chance we will soon be ahead of last year again.

Goshawk! Monday, September 10, 2007

The first Northern Goshawk of the season was scooped up by Martin Muller and his team on Monday. If you are ever unsure about what species you have in hand, more often than not, you can tell it is a NOGO because of the piercing noise it makes as soon as you lay hands on it. We have a tradition at Entiat of calling Bud on the phone to let it scream at him.



Helping Martin on the ridge today were Simone, Meghan, and Blake. They ended up with a total of 10 which brings us to a season total of 123. This is slightly behind last year at this point.

Raptors banded:

2 HY male SSHA
3 HY female SSHA
1 HY male COHA
1 SY male COHA
1 ASY U COHA
1 HY RTHA
1 HY female NOGO


HY female Northern Goshawk

BIG Day - 21 Banded today! - Sunday, September 9, 2007

HY female Prairie Falcon

Congratulations to the team today, headed by Martin Muller and Mark Gleason. Not only did they top our biggest day so far this season, but they also brought in 2 first's of the season, a Prairie Falcon and a Merlin! AND they caught half of what they observed which is quite a coup. It is very rewarding after such a slow day yesterday.

The weather was clear and warm, with just a light breeze in the afternoon. The Prairie falcon played with them for half an hour before they were able to catch it. And she even had a full crop. Helping Martin and Mark were Rebecca Wells, Peter Klein and his son Gavin and his friend Sam.

(An addendum from Mark Gleason - A special thanks to Rebecca Wells who had to learn to spot birds, pull the pigeon, record data, and figure out how to use the photo function on the phone, all in crowded blind on the busiest day of the year. Not to mention Martin and my calm demeanor through out the day!
- Mark)


Raptors banded:

5 HY male SSHA
4 HY female SSHA
1 HY male COHA
3 HY female COHA
1 ASY male COHA
4 ASY female COHA
1 HY U RTHA
1 HY male MERL
1 HY female PRFA

HY male Merlin



We are now at a total of 113, just ahead of last year with 110 as of this date. Here is the updated graph:

4 Banded - Saturday, September 8, 2007

Today just goes to show, that we don't always know why there are some days when we get a lot of hawks, and some days when we get few. We do know that there is a peak towards the end of September. We are pretty much guaranteed of high count days if the weather is even half way cooperating. But for a day like today where the weather seems perfect, who knows?

Mark Gleason reports clear skies and very little wind. They only saw 16 and they banded 4. This brings our total for the year to 92. They did enjoy a Peregrine that came in close and teased them for awhile.

Raptors banded:

2 HY female SSHA
1 ASY female COHA
1 HY U RTHA


HY RTHA

Comparison graph for all years

Here is a graph comparing the total banded for all the years since we started the project in 2001. We have just slipped behind 2006, which was our best year to date. Not to worry though, we have a long stretch of good weather coming up.

Clicking on the graph will give you a larger view.



Here is a link to our published report of the Entiat Ridge project from 2001-2005:

http://www.frg.org/picts/Entiatfinal.pdf

Very Windy Day -Friday, September 7, 2007

Gretchen Albrecht called in with the report that it was very windy on the ridge today. That always means fewer hawks seen and thus fewer banded. Their total today was 5, which brings the season total to 88.

They also had 2 Peregrines that repeatedly flew through the set and a Kestrel that kept them working for a half an hour at the end of the day. The ASY Copper's hawk was in heavy molt. Helping Gretchen today were Cliff, Mary, Andrea, and Melissa.

Raptors banded:

1 HY male SSHA
1 HY female SSHA
1 HY male COHA
1 ASY female COHA
1 HY U RTHA

Peregrine Falcon - Thursday, September 6, 2007

We have some slow days. We occasionally have a skunk day. And sometimes we wonder why we do this. Then we have a day that reminds us why.

Thursday was a day where perserverance paid off as Sue and Dalene banded the first Peregrine Falcon of the season. Humility was rewarded! It was still quite windy and the day seemd slow, but all that is forgotten when you have a Peregrine in hand. We also had a close encounter with a Merlin and a Prairie Falcon.

The total for the day was 7, for a season total of 83. Helping on the ridge Thursday were Barbara & Roger Johnson, Mary Rawlins, and Andrea Warner.

Raptors banded:

4 HY female SSHA
1 HY female COHA
1 HY U RTHA
1 HY male PEFA

Photos of the day - HY male Peregrine Falcon

Windy Day- Wednesday, September 5th 2007

It was a humbling day for the Ladies Tea and Trapping Society with just three raptors banded. It started as a beautiful, crystal clear morning that held great promise, but where were the raptors?! The breezes of the morning turned to strong gusts by afternoon and for some reason, there were as many raptors flying North as there were flying South.

Sue, Dalene and Pat ended up banding three raptors. As if for consolation, there was a gorgeous sunset.


1 HY male SSHA
1 HY male COHA
1 AHY female AMKE


AHY fenale American Kestrel

First Adult Red Tail Hawk- Tuesday, September 4th 2007

Pat, Jeremy and Oliver were the lucky participants to band the first adult Red tail hawk of the season.
Total banded for the day was nine which brings us to 73 for a season total.
Weather was breezy but mostly clear.


Raptors banded:
1 HY female AMKE
1 HY male AMKE
3 U male AMKE
2 HY female COHA
1 ASYU RTHA
1 HYU RTHA

8 Banded - Monday, September 3, 2007

There were high clouds most of the day on the ridge and by 3 PM thicker clouds were moving in. 8 raptors were banded today, which brings our season total to 64.

Martin Muller captained the ship with help from Jeremy Krumlauf, Oliver May, and Becky Rosencranz. They again observed White-throated swifts, and also Crossbill's.

Raptors banded:

1 HY female SSHA
1 HY female COHA
3 HY female COHA
1 ASY female COHA
1 AHY male AMKE
1 U female AMKE

Photo of the day:

American Kestrel female