pacific raptor report - Golden Gate Raptor Observatory

Transcription

G O L D E N
G AT E
R A P TO R
N U M B E R
2 6
n
O B S E R VATO R Y
2 0 0 5
PA C I F I C R A P T O R R E P O R T
R E D - S H O U L D E R E D H AW K ( B U T E O L I N E AT U S ] P E N & I N K D R AW I N G B Y S I O B H A N R U C K
GGRO’S FOUNDER, JUDD HOWELL, STARES DOWN A RED-TAILED HAWK DURING THE FIRST BANDING SEASON IN 1983. TODAY JUDD LEADS USGS’S PATUXENT
WILDLIFE RESEARCH CENTER IN MARYLAND, OVERSEEING—AMONG MANY RESEARCH PROGRAM—THE BIRD BANDING LAB. [GGRO]
T H E
N E W S L E T T E R
O F
T H E
G O L D E N
G AT E
R A P T O R
O B S E R VAT O R Y
TURNING THE GRAND CORNER
Allen Fish
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THE AGE STRUCTURE OF AUTUMN RAPTORS IN THE MARIN HEADLANDS
Buzz Hull
4
REMEMBERING WILL SHOR 1920 – 2005
8
HAWKWATCH 2004
Allen Fish
14
Steve Bauer
17
Elizabeth Rouan
20
Diane Horn
23
Marion Weeks
25
Allen Fish
29
Anne Ardillo
34
Susan Culliney, Kerry Neijstrom, Rachel Norris, & Hayley Ross
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WHO KNEW?–THE MARIN HEADLANDS HAS A SPRING HAWK FLIGHT
TELEMETRY 2004
BANDING 2004
BAND RECOVERIES 2004
TWENTY YEARS OF GGRO INTERNS
RAPTOR NOTEBOOK–REDTAILS BUILD ON BASKETS
PEREGRINATIONS–SOUTHERN SOLANO COUNTY
DONORS 2004
42
VOLUNTEERS 2004
43
GGRO STAFFBOX
43
The Golden Gate Raptor Observatory is a program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in cooperaton with the National Park Service.
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2004
TURNING THE GRAND CORNER
ANNOUNCING GGRO’S DATA ANALYSIS & PUBLISHING FUND
Allen Fish
“The banding program at Pt. Diablo appears as though it will work. Will Shor and I set up
a dho-gazza trap on Saturday, September 24th. We caught two immature Cooper’s Hawks
before we could sit down. The birds were banded, wings and tails measured. Two more
Cooper’s Hawks were captured but the mesh size was too large. They escaped. Two birding
groups were present and several individuals wanted to volunteer. Given this success, I hope
it can be maintained.”
—Judd Howell, 1983 Banding Journal
HESE TWENTY- TWO - YEAR- OLD NOTES by
GGRO’s founder Judd Howell suggest the
possibility that the initial seeds of this banding
program at Pt. Diablo (now known as Hawk Hill) could
grow to be a successful long-term project. They also forecast the eventual reality of a community and volunteer
driven raptor study. Some hawks would be trapped; some
would not. Traps would be reviewed and revised. Partnerships and friendships, like Judd and Will’s, would
engender much creative dialogue and many advances in
banding, hawkwatching, and radiotracking at the Golden
Gate. Amazingly, two of the “individuals” who wanted
to volunteer that autumn day were Buzz Hull and his tenyear-old son Josh. Yes, that’s Buzz Hull, GGRO Research
Director, and Josh Hull, doctoral student at UC Davis,
studying raptor ecology, diseases, and genetics.
But today, the GGRO is at another promising beginning,
at the turning of a grand corner. Our two decades of
hawk monitoring and banding have made for large, good
quality datasets. It is time for us to harvest these data, to
investigate their meaning, to present and publish results.
We have data on the rate of raptors seen over Hawk Hill,
on band recovery locations, on causes of mortality in
various species. We have data on radiotracked flight
paths, speeds, and styles. We have data on human biases
in raptor identification, on Robolure effectiveness, and
on urban nesting.
T
Although the GGRO has been about taking the pulse of
raptor migration today, we clearly need to add a new task:
analyzing and publishing our existing datasets. It is an
essential component of our work; the scientific process is
not complete until we publish our data. However, this
will be a new road for us, and—like Judd in 1983—it is
my turn to wonder what will happen. I’m choosing to be
optimistic.
“I hope it can be maintained,” Judd wondered on paper,
and today I can smile knowingly at his very real concerns
of 1983. Who could have known what the political and
financial winds would bring? Who could have imagined
the level of responsibility and devotion these volunteers
would bring? Fortunately, the GGRO has been superbly
maintained with an unprecedented level of cooperation
between NPS staff, Conservancy staff, and more than
1,300 volunteers. Since the mid-’80s, we have been
focused on methodical data collection, monitoring raptors consistently, refining our field techniques, and training new volunteers.
Last winter, in honor of the GGRO’s twentieth year, Buzz
and I announced the start of our Data Analysis and Publication (DAP) Campaign. The DAP campaign is our first
intensive effort to analyze, publish, and present a large
amount of GGRO banding, hawkwatching, and radiotracking data. It’s not as though we’ve been completely
quiet in this area; GGRO staff, volunteers, and interns
have delivered more than fifty scientific presentations
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But as the year moves on, we will have to consider how
to make a bigger dent. How can we raise more funds to
more widely distribute our results? How can we obtain
an endowment that would pay for a staff biologist who
could work closely with Buzz on data analysis—not just
for 2005 or 2006, but as an ongoing activity? Shouldn’t
we be constantly turning out stories, qualitative or quantitative, about the lives of hawks in this new century?
Absolutely. And given the way the phone rings here at
GGRO, and the number of daily email requests for information about birds of prey we receive, the need is high.
since 1984. We’ve had a handful of publications appear in
print. However, our databases are thick with raptor information, and it’s time to analyze them more completely.
With an initial gift from the Earthfriends Foundation, we
asked our most devoted investors, our GGRO volunteers,
to give to the new DAP fund, and the response was incredible. By May 1, 2005, we had received nearly $25,000
from more than eighty GGRO volunteers. Not only do
these amazing volunteers give blood, sweat, and tears for
birds of prey; they also open their wallets for them!
Thanks to these charter DAP donors, all of whom are listed on page 42, we will be able to take our first big steps
on DAP over the coming year. We will upgrade computers and software, prepare our banding and radiotracking
data for mapping and analysis, and take training courses
in Arcview and other software. We will buy time from
biologists and statisticians to organize and refine our
datasets, help prepare analyses, and do literature searches.
These steps will move us toward some sixteen analyses we
have outlined from our current research areas.
So, whether you are a GGRO volunteer, a donor, friend,
or colleague, please consider helping the GGRO turn this
grand corner, from data collection to data analysis and
publication. Your support is essential to our success.
Donations can be made out to “GGRO” but should be
specified as in the memo space as “DAP Fund.” Also, if
you have ideas about broader sources of funds from
foundations, agencies, or corporations, please call or
write me at (415) 331-0730 or [email protected].
THE AGE STRUCTURE OF AUTUMN RAPTORS
IN THE MARIN HEADLANDS A COMPARISON OF DECADES
Buzz Hull
best path to a suitable wintering ground. Such birds wander until they encounter a barrier to further “off-course”
movement, such as the coastline. The result is an accumulation of young birds along the coast.
BACKGROUND
D
URING THE FALL MOVEMENT OF RAPTORS
through the Marin Headlands, the age ratio is
heavily skewed toward juvenile birds. This
“coastal effect” was first described by C. J. Ralph for
passerines (Ralph 1971) and is seen at both East and West
Coast migration stations over a wide range of avian taxa.
Such mistakes in orientation and movement may well
lead to increased mortality among those juveniles who
show these tendencies, with the surviving adults being
those individuals who have managed to achieve the
correct orientation and direction of movement.
This juvenile-biased age ratio is not generally seen at inland sites and is thought to be the result of disorientation
or maladaptive genetic makeup, particularly among
passerine species that migrate nocturnally. Young birds
who have not previously made the fall journey may not
have adequate genetically fixed orientation to follow the
HAWKWATCH AGES VS. BANDING AGES
The GGRO Hawkwatch records a little more than 90%
juvenile Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, and about
4
2004
64% juvenile Red-tailed Hawks,
the three most frequently banded species at the GGRO. Banding numbers are even more
strongly skewed toward juvenile
raptors, with almost 95% of
these three species being juveniles in most banding seasons.
We can speculate why the
trapping results are even
more strongly biased toward
juveniles:
Perhaps the trapping methods
appear more artificial and troublesome to experienced adults
than to naïve juveniles. I am
reminded of the comment of
the son of one of our banders
when he first saw a trapping
station: “You’ve got to be kidding. How can you possibly
fool any raptor with that!?”
n
Perhaps we are seeing the same
adult Redtails repeatedly, either AN ADULT RED-TAILED HAWK WING CAN SAY A LOT. SCAN THE UNDERWING VIEW OF THE FULL WING ABOVE. THE
local breeders or post-breeding SHORTER FLIGHT FEATHERS WITH A THINNER DARK BAND NEAR THEIR ENDS ARE JUVENILE FEATHERS, KEPT AFTER
THE HAWK GOES THROUGH ITS FIRST MOLT. THIS TELLS US THAT THIS REDTAIL WAS HATCHED IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR,
dispersing adults. After a pass
AND IS NOW A LITTLE MORE THAN ONE YEAR OLD. THE BOTTOM LEFT SHOWS ONE OF THESE JUVENILE FEATHERS.
or two through our trapping
BOTTOM RIGHT SHOWS THE DORSAL VIEW OF A CONTRASTY JUVENILE FLIGHT FEATHER. [SIOBHAN RUCK]
arena, they may become sophisSince 1995, we have gradually gained experience with
ticated with regard to our attempts to con them.
adults in-hand and have also developed the techniques
Whatever the cause of the imbalance, one of the results of
and skill to age them more precisely. We are now starting
this phenomenon is that GGRO banders have taken a
to understand the age structure of the adult birds of the
slow path to understanding molt and ageing, since many
three most commonly trapped species—Redtails, Sharpof them do not see even a single adult raptor in-hand
shins, and Cooper’s—based on an understanding of molt
during a banding season. The volunteers who band more
patterns, differences between retained juvenile and refrequently during our two-week scheduling cycle may see
tained adult feathers, and molt waves in the primaries.
one or two adults, perhaps a handful during a typical seaAGE BREAKDOWN FOR THE TWO DECADES
son, and those few may be of different species. Some of
our banders, even the most experienced and frequent
The tables on pages 6 & 7 contain data for these three
banders, may not experience an adult raptor in-hand for
species, contrasting the ages recorded for adult birds
several seasons.
during roughly our first decade of work with the ageing
n
5
results for the second decade. Several points are worth
emphasizing:
AGE TERM LEGEND
Means
Corresponds with
HY
Hatch-Year
AHY
After-Hatch-Year
SY
Second Year
ASY After-Second-Year
ATY
After-Third-Year
U
Unknown age
First calendar year of life
Second calendar year of life and older
Second calendar year of life
Third calendar year of life and older
Fourth calendar year of life and older
Acronym
During our first decade, we lacked experience with
evaluating “adult” plumages and we often defaulted to
after-hatching-year (AHY) for most adults caught.
(Tables 1, 3, and 5)
n
In our second decade of work, as we gained familiarity
with adult plumages, AHY became a less frequently used
category and the more precise second-year (SY) and after-second-year (ASY) categories were much more frequently recognized and recorded. (Tables 2, 4, and 6)
n
TABLE 1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK IN-HAND AGEING
FROM 1984 THROUGH 1994.
We still recorded a high total of AHY Sharp-shinned
(50% of adults) and Cooper’s Hawks (49% of adults) as
contrasted with the 17% AHY recorded for Red-tailed
Hawks.
n
This last statistic is a direct result of the molt pattern in
the different species: The annual molt in Redtails is less
complete, with more retained adult and juvenile flight
feathers than in either Sharp-shinned or Cooper’s Hawks.
The retained feathers in Redtails are fairly easy to detect
and diagnose, making it easier to pinpoint the age.
AGE
TOTAL 19841994
% OF
TOTAL
% OF
ADULTS
HY
1623
95.8
0
AHY
44
2.6
61.1
SY
44
2.6
23.6
ASY
8
0.5
-11.1
ATY
0
0
0
U
3
0.2
4.2
TOTAL
1695
TABLE 2
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK IN-HAND AGEING
FROM 1995 THROUGH 2004
Sharpshins tend to undergo a complete molt each year,
with a few individuals retaining flight feathers that are
only subtly different from fresh new ones, requiring considerable experience and skill to detect. Cooper’s Hawks,
in general, retain more remiges (flight feathers of the
wing) than do Sharpshins. These retained feathers can be
difficult to see, which is also true of Sharp-shinned
Hawks. Both Sharpshinned and Cooper’s Hawks occasionally also retain body feathers that are also difficult to
detect and diagnose.
AGE
TOTAL
1995-2004
% OF
TOTAL
% OF
ADULTS
HY
4150
96.6
0
AHY
73
1.7
50.3
SY
50
1.2
34.5
ASY
21
0.5
14.5
ATY
1
0
0
U
0
0
0
TOTAL
4295
The following papers on the coastal effect are available for
reading in the GGRO Offices:
Ralph, CJ 1971. An age differential of migrants in coastal
California. Condor 73: 243-246.
What difference does our precision in ageing adults make
to our understanding of demographics of these three
species? Insofar as we assume that SY birds rarely breed,
this gives us additional information as to how many of
the fall birds moving through the headlands were likely to
have been breeders during the preceding spring. This understanding can be essential to understanding population
trends.
________. 1978. Disorientation and possible fate of young
passerine coastal migrants. Bird Banding 49 (3): 237-247.
________. 1981. Age ratios and their possible use in determining autumn routes of passerine migrants. Wilson Bull. 93 (2):
164-188.
Stewart, RM, LR Mewaldt, & S Kaiser. 1974. Age ratios of
coastal and inland fall migrant passerines in Central California.
Bird Banding 45: 46-57.
Taylor, DM, DF DeSante, GR Geupel, & K Houghton. 1994.
Autumn populations of landbirds along central coastal California
1976-1986. J. Field Ornith. 65 (2): 169-185.
First a GGRO bander in 1984, Buzz Hull has directed the
GGRO’s research program since 1991.
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2004
TABLE 4
COOPER'S HAWK IN-HAND AGEING
TABLE 3
COOPER'S HAWK IN-HAND AGEING
AGE
TOTAL
1985-1995
% OF
TOTAL
% OF
ADULTS
AGE
TOTAL
1995-2004
% OF
TOTAL
% OF
ADULTS
HY
2714
93.9
0
HY
4888
96.4
0
AHY
130
4.5
74.3
AHY
89
1.8
49.4
SY
21
0.7
12.0
SY
48
0.9
26.7
ASY
18
0.6
10.3
ASY
21
0.5
14.5
ATY
0
0
0
ATY
1
0
0
U
6
0.2
3.4
U
0
0
0
TOTAL
2889
TOTAL
4295
TABLE 6
RED-TAILED HAWK IN-HAND AGEING
TABLE 5
RED-TAILED HAWK IN-HAND AGEING
AGE
TOTAL
1995-2004
% OF
TOTAL
% OF
ADULTS
AGE
TOTAL
1995-2004
% OF
TOTAL
% OF
ADULTS
HY
2912
93.5
0
HY
3179
93.9
0
AHY
177
5.7
86.8
AHY
39
1.1
17.4
SY
12
0.4
5.9
SY
128
3.8
61.8
ASY
0
0
0
ASY
41
1.2
19.8
ATY
2
0.1
1.0
ATY
2
0.1
1
U
2
0.1
1.0
U
0
0
0
TOTAL
3116
TOTAL
3386
The following two tables are provided as a reference to the ages of the birds of the three species that were observed and aged
as they passed through the headlands. Table 7 starts with 1989, the first year that the quadrant system was used for a full year.
Hawkwatch data from earlier years were not collected in the same manner and are not included.
TABLE 8
IN-FLIGHT AGEING BY THE GGRO HAWKWATCH 1995 THROUGH 2004
TABLE 7
IN-FLIGHT AGEING BY THE GGRO HAWKWATCH 1989 THROUGH 1994
SPECIES
AGE
TOTAL
1989-1994
% OF
TOTAL
SPECIES
AGE
TOTAL
1995-2004
% OF
TOTAL
Sharp-shinned
Hawks
Juvenile
15,704
89.8
Sharp-shinned
Hawks
Juvenile
26,095
91.2
Adult
1,708
10.2
Adult
2,507
8.8
TOTAL
Cooper’s Hawks
17,484
Juvenile
7,573
91.7
Adult
687
8.3
TOTAL
Red-tailed
Hawks
TOTAL
TOTAL
Cooper’s Hawks
8,260
TOTAL
Juvenile
20,950
64.0
Red-tailed
Hawks
Adult
11,758
36.0
32,708
TOTAL
7
28,602
Juvenile
16,869
93.2
Adult
1,241
6.9
18,110
Juvenile
54,152
64.0
Adult
30,467
36.0
84,619
REMEMBERING WILL SHOR
1920 – 2005
F R I D A Y , M A Y 2 0 , 2 0 0 5 , Will
Shor, GGRO co-founder, died at home after a long illness. He is survived by his widow Joby Shor, his son Peter Shor, daughter Molly
Shor, and three granddaughters.
O
GGRO’s existence. Although Will has not been in the
field with us for the last couple of years, he was never
far from our thoughts. Almost daily, I still hear “Will
Shor” stories from the senior banders. The message
that comes through loud and clear is how much they
valued the time they’d shared with him in the field.
N
Will was born in New York City on June 25, 1920.
He had a long career of service, first with the US
Navy, retiring after 31 years as a captain, and then
with the Bechtel Corporation where his engineering
background was applied to problems of safety systems in power plants.
Although I will miss Will’s company, I know that
in a very real sense he will continue to be a part of
GGRO’s ongoing commitment to raptor study and
conservation, both in the Marin Headlands and in
the larger world.
Over the past 20 years that I worked with Will, I
often stopped to think that without his effort and
knowledge, none of us would be here at the GGRO.
None of us would be banding migrating raptors, a
life-changing passion for many of us. Will brought
his knowledge of trapping and birds of prey to bear
on this study of raptor movements. He made the
GGRO possible.
Many of the GGRO volunteers were strongly influenced by Will and wanted to share particular stories
of time spent with him. We hope that the following
accounts give a glimpse of Will’s deep and lasting effect on the banders of the GGRO.
— Buzz Hull
I spent many, many hours with Will while he was
banding birds on the East Coast (on the sand dunes
of the Virginia-Maryland-Delaware peninsula north
of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay) while I was growing up there, and more when we came to Marin. Will
and I used to go to a hill up above the beach that’s
on the way to Stinson Beach (the one that had a nude
beach section.) As you drive from Tam Valley, the
road gets very windy after the turn-off to Stinson. It
was on a hill up to the left where we banded when we
first came to Marin. He had not yet obtained permission to band on the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area at that time. We used a bownet and a blind back
then. Years later, when I visited Will, we used to drive
Will’s passion for improving equipment design was
instrumental in accelerating our banding numbers
during those early years. He was dedicated to the
idea that a long-term wildlife study could be accomplished primarily through community volunteerism.
Such thinking was ahead of its time, and in many
ways provided a template for use of volunteers in
other programs in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Will Shor’s guidance, focus, and hard work provided
a model for all the volunteers in the GGRO’s banding
program. He set a standard that the rest of us have
been striving to live up to for the 20-plus years of the
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2004
[SIOBHAN RUCK]
9
inland, as far as Dixon and Sacramento. We banded
from the car on the roads by the Hamilton Air Force
Base, and Travis Air Force Base also, and in the fields
where the road cuts over towards Napa and Vallejo,
south of the main highway there. Those were special
times I spent alone with my father.
I came to know Will when I was an apprentice bander. He was my Dayleader on Wednesday II. During
the long hours of trapping in the blind I came to
know the man. We talked of different things and I’d
ask him about his life. He had a scientific mind,
which he applied to nuclear research. He would tell
me he was going somewhere to show a company
how to cool their power plant with one system
instead of two. While he was gone I was honored
to take care of his Harris’ Hawk, Rusty. His trust in
me meant a lot. His service to our country as a naval
gunner made me proud to sit next to him in the
blind. A short story about Will: He’d throw his everpresent blue hat into a net and say, “Well that one
works, now go set it back up.” I will miss him…
he is soaring with the hawks.
— Molly Shor
As early members of the GGRO, we have many fond
memories of Will. When GGRO was located at East
Fort Baker, and we were struggling to learn the basic
and finer points of trapping and banding, Will was
always there to answer our questions and suggest
new ways to proceed. The whole GGRO was in a
serious learning curve, and we relied heavily on
Will to teach us how to tie nooses on bal-chatris, to
construct new blinds, to rig bownets, and to set up
mistnets and dho-gazzas.
— Rob Allen
It did seem, however, that we no sooner had learned
one method than Will would come up with a new
idea. During infrequent breaks in our labors, Will
would entertain us with stories of his early years as a
trapper and bander, which involved digging holes on
sandy beaches, hiding in the hole with a bushel basket over his head and holding a lure bird on a rope!
(You must remember that Will’s banding license had
only a two-digit number.)
Trapping with Will was always an interesting experience. He was so casual when handling birds that he
would sometimes just lay the hawk down on its back
in the blind while processing it. Most times he was
successful. Once, however, Sally was busy luring
while Will processed a Cooper’s Hawk. The hawk
realized its lack of restraint and made a beeline for
the nearest exit. On its way out, it landed on Sally’s
head (which bled a little) then escaped. Will calmly
askedSally if she was okay, then continued his routine.
Whenever we think of the GGRO, Will is a huge part
of our memories. He will be missed.
— Sally and Jim Mills
10
I first met Will Shor at a bander’s workday in 1989,
the year I started volunteering with the GGRO. He
showed me how to mend and make new leather jackets for the lure birds. He patiently showed me the
process and was willing to listen to my ideas for suggested improvements, even though I had no clue as
to what I was really doing. We spent time talking, and
he told me stories about catching Peregrine Falcons
on Assateague Island, off of Maryland (I think). He
said he would hide by burying himself in the sand,
put a peach basket over his head, hold a pigeon as
a lure, and grab the falcon as it came in! Guess I can
see why he was so interested in coming up with better trapping methods for us.
We spent a lot of time together working on banding
equipment. He always looked for improvements,
both to catch more birds and make life easier for
the banders. I began to understand his passion for
raptors as I listened to his stories at bander’s meetings on how he noticed the decline (and eventual
extirpation) of peregrines in the East, and how he
and other falconers raised the alarm and eventually
2004
helped bring back the species. Will contributed a
great deal to the GGRO and raptor conservation and
I will miss him.
— Diane Horn
I was an apprentice bander on Will Shor’s Wednesday
II day during my first few years. I believe it was my
second time out, and Will and I were banding together, just the two of us. After getting all the traps set up,
we settled into the blind and started talking:
“That’s where Buzz and I caught a Roughleg last
week.” Or, “We caught a Redtail right along these eucalyptus.” We ended up catching two little Kestrels
that bit and squawked like crazy and were covered
with ectoparasites. That was my first time looking
for hawks in Solano County, which I now try to do
every year.
Like at the end of the banding day, some of the best
times are when you can tell and listen to stories.
— Hal Sugishita
Will: “So, have you caught hawks much before?”
Me: “Well, I’ve out been out once with Allen. How
long have you been catching hawks?”
Will: “Let’s see. I believe since about the early fifties.”
Me: “ The fifties!!!”
Will: “Well, I’ve been a falconer for about forty years,
so yes, I think I caught my first one about then. I
think I also caught the last legally caught Peregrine
Falcon before the ban.”
That was the first of many times with Will. He didn’t
volunteer a lot of old stories, but if you asked him, he
would regale you. The last legally caught Peregrine,
the pet Merlin that followed him to the newspaper
stand and back, accounts of the North American Falconers Conferences, his days at the Naval Academy,
how he caught Peregrines from a hole in the ground,
the Golden Eagle in the movie “I Know Where I’m
Going” (and he knew the song, too), seeing Caracaras
in Argentina, and on and on.
He told me the story of how he and Judd Howell
were trying to figure out where and how to catch
these migrating hawks in the Marin Headlands. They
took a set-up out to a likely spot, put it up and started walking away. They hadn’t gotten very far when
they heard something, and turned around and saw
a Cooper’s Hawk already in the trap! Yup. The Headlands looked good.
I went road trapping with Will once. He would say,
I banded with Will many times over the years, both
in the Marin Headlands and road trapping (thanks
for the Roughleg, Will!). From those experiences,
there are many good stories that come to mind and
many interesting conversations to recall. But one
of my best memories of him was our very first time
together, which happened to be only my third day
of banding.
We went to Poison Oak blind, with the idea that he
would try to get videotape of an apprentice taking
a hawk from a bownet. That part of the day went
reasonably well, actually. But it was when I made the
classic apprentice blunder that Will made his indelible impression on me.
That day, I had my first accipiters in hand. Soon
enough, one of them was no longer in hand. I let a
Sharp-shinned Hawk go in the blind and it was fluttering around looking for escape. We dropped all the
flaps so it couldn’t get out the windows, and it decided to perch on the scale. Now most people would
have tried to throw a shirt over it at that point. Not
Will. Will made eye contact with the Sharpie. As they
locked gazes, Will slowly reached his hand forward
and slid his finger between the hawk’s legs. The
Sharpie, completely fixated on Will’s eyes, never noticed until Will closed his hand into a secure grip.
Anyone can overwhelm someone smaller by force,
but it’s much rarer to overcome them by calm. Will
knew hawks, and understood hawks on their own
11
terms. In the later years that I worked with him, one
could see that his body was starting to betray him.
The hawks never let him down, though. You could
see the years melt away with every bird that he held.
the equipment, and know if it wasn’t for his contributions to GGRO my life would not feel as fulfilled as it
does today.
— Anne Ardillo
I feel very lucky to have crossed paths with Will.
— Siobhan Ruck
I remember first seeing Will Shor my apprentice year,
on site set-up day, blue terry-cloth hat on his head,
clipboard in hand, directing the deployment of
equipment with efficiency and cool detachment. I
was pleased to get to know him a little through the
years, while we were together in the blinds and on
road trapping trips. His role in the development and
history of the GGRO is significant -- in equipment
design and construction, trapping techniques, and
blind placement. He was always looking for ways to
improve our production, and often experimented
with new devices and ideas.
Site set-up day in my apprentice year (1993) was my
first encounter with Will. I was assigned to Hawk
Blind with others. The team seemed to have no clear
guidance; hence there was a lot of fumbling around
and guesswork. Around 3 PM, Will arrived and instantly proclaimed that everything was set up wrong.
We all left, a bit dejected, while Will and an intern
redid the whole site … I wondered, who was this guy
and why was he so mean?
A year later, having been bitten by the banding bug,
I decided that I needed to band two days a cycle, and
Buzz assigned me to Wednesday II, Will’s day. At first
I was a bit scared of him but through the year was
able to gain his respect. He was always very friendly
and supportive and taught me so much about hawks
and the equipment on the hill. I stayed on his day for
a few years but my most memorable was 1996. That
summer I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which,
besides scaring the living daylights out of me, meant
I couldn’t band in the fall. Fortunately it was caught
early and six weeks after my surgery I was out banding once again.
His contributions to our program alone are important, but in addition, his educational achievements,
his lifelong role as a sensitive and knowledgeable falconer, his dedication to effective conservation efforts
and politics, his military service to this country (he
was a Naval officer on board the USS Missouri during
the signing of the treaty with Japan, ending World
War II), his second career with Bechtel, his love of his
family, all add up to a life well lived and to admirable
accomplishments. We will miss you, Will. Thank you
for your presence among us.
— Craig Nikitas
It was a November day at Slacker, and Will had assigned me with Craig Nikitas. We had a good day
with lots of action and Redtail captures. Around 3PM,
a huge accipiter came in and we caught it. “Boy was
that a big Coop!” Well, as most of the banders know
now, it turned out to be a Northern Goshawk. What
a day! Will was very excited and congratulatory. I remember Will beaming at the banquet when I received
a special award.
Will Shor brought basic raptor trapping techniques
and skills to the pre-GGRO. As a bander and falconer,
he carried the knowledge of these rare art forms to
the first volunteers that gathered with Judd Howell
to learn raptor trapping in the summer of 1983. But
in his characteristic tenacity, in his firmness and determination, Will also carried the torch for other key
aspects of our budding community of raptor aficionados.
I’ll always remember Will with his blue terrycloth hat
running up and down the hills, fixing and adjusting
Will demanded professionalism from his fellow vol-
12
2004
unteers. He wasn’t willing to accept a half-rate or casual commitment from his equally unpaid colleagues.
We had this amazing opportunity, sponsored by the
National Park Service, to create a raptor banding program on the federal lands in our backyard, and he
knew our impact could be great.
No doubt, some early GGRO banders burned out on
Will’s high expectations, but an astonishing number
rose to the occasion. Because of Will, we have a core
group of volunteers from 1983-85 who have never
faltered – in two decades – in their schedule or their
commitment to the GGRO: Russ DeLong, Buzz Hull,
Bill Prochnow, John Keane, Nick Villa, Jeremy Johnstone, Nancy Mori, Charlotte Kisling, David Wood,
Jim Mills, and Sally Mills.
Will had a driving curiosity about raptors’ lives. He
was the consummate student. He kept up with many
biologist colleagues, and read many journals. And
banding wasn’t enough. He thought we should be
radiotracking hawks as well. In the late 1980s, he
brought in the fascinating accounts of his colleague
William Cochran who followed an autumn Sharpshinned Hawk, the raptor equivalent of a leaf, for
hundreds of miles through the Midwest. “We could
do this!” he insisted. And indeed, within two years we
were using radiotelemetry to follow Red-tailed Hawks
through the coast ranges of California.
Beyond all else, and this was his greatest lesson for me
personally, Will Shor was a passionate raptor conservationist. He had no use for petty arguments between
factions. They slowed the process of raptor conservation. We have a job to do in life – to protect populations of birds of prey – and whether you were a a falconer, a birdwatcher, a land manager, a Gifford
Pinchot conservationist, a John Muir preservationist,
a scientist, a naturalist, or a restorationist, Will expected you to do what you could. For raptors.
who cared about birds of prey, and he made us all
smarter and more effective on their behalf.
— Allen Fish
One day in September 1983, I was looking for a hawk
fix when I walked up the trail toward what we now
know as “Hawk Hill.” I had my 10-year-old son
Joshua in tow and as we reached the first level spot at
the top of the hill we encountered a man laying out
some interesting-looking tools and equipment on the
hood of his truck.
At about that same moment a man wearing a National Park Service uniform came out of the brush carrying a Cooper’s Hawk in each hand, which he handed
to the first man before disappearing back into the
brush. I was unable to restrain my curiosity and had
to approach the stranger with the hawks and uncharacteristically introduce myself. He told me that his
name was Will Shor and that he and the Park Service
ecologist, Judd Howell, were engaged in a pilot study
to determine whether banding raptors in the Marin
Headlands would be productive enough to set up a
full-scale operation in the future.
I spent the next hour or so asking question after question of Will. He was polite and gracious in his responses, and did a wonderful job of measuring and
banding those Cooper’s Hawks while dealing with my
in-your-face interest in a most friendly and encouraging fashion. Finally, he gently suggested that he had
to get on with the trapping and wished Josh and me
good hawkwatching before returning to his blind on
the other side of the bushes. I will never forget that
chance encounter and how Will’s gracious response
to my curiosity changed my life and eventually that
of my son as well.
— Buzz Hull
Especially in his amazing 25-year-long role as editor
of Hawk-Chalk, the newsletter of North American
Falconers’ Association, and at the GGRO, I think this
is what Will did best. He drew lines among people
13
HAWKWATCH REPORT 2004
“NO ONE TOUCHES THE BIG WHITE BIRD”
Allen Fish
2004 H AWKWATCH S EASON had few surprises. We had high numbers of White-tailed Kites,
Red-tailed Hawks, and Red-shouldered Hawks.
We had a strong Peregrine flight with more than 200
sightings, a number reached only three times in ten years.
Ferruginous Hawks showed a not-outrageous high of
37 sightings for the autumn count.
T
Most other species were near their ten-year averages in
2004. Isn’t that exciting?!? Well, um, no, but sometimes
the years roll by without a Spotted Owl or a Mississippi
Kite (2003). The hardest part of keeping a solid longterm bird monitoring system going is that even when little seems to happen, data collection is critical. Why? We
need to learn what normal is. Take a look at this Broadwinged Hawk chart for the past few decades:
HE
RAPTORS PER HOUR
Our vulture counts were high again in 2004, hovering
around the 10,000-sightings mark as they have since 2002.
If you had collected data just from 1984 through 1991,
There may be a local reason for this “lift” but I still need to
you might conclude that Broadwings were on an exciting
research the details. In summer 2003, GGRO bander Neal
population upswing in the Pacific States. But 1992 was
Johannsen informed me that he’d noticed a gut pile of at
the reality-check year, and then the oscillations continue
least fourteen deer just off Highway 101 in the hills above
right into 2004. So what about the cycles? Where are the
Sausalito. At that time more than 30
Turkey Vultures were eating, soaring,
ACTIVITY, BROAD-WINGED HAWKS 1984-2004
0.6
perching, or otherwise engaged in the
immediate vicinity.
0.5
It appears that this is a regular roadkill
0.4
dumpsite for CalTrans, but that’s the
0.3
limit of what I’ve been able to find out.
0.2
The site is just north of what hawk0.1
watchers call “the FM Tower,” a large hilltop roughly 1.7 miles due north from
0.0
2 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01
2 03 0 4
84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91
19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 199 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 200 20 20
Hawk Hill. How long has the dumping
being going on at this site? Good queshigh years? 1991, 1994, 1999, 2002. This doesn’t suggest
tion. Are there records for what is dumped and when?
a regular cycle, but perhaps with time, some biological
Could we correlate these with daily autumn vulture
meaning could be made of this pattern—then again,
counts at the Golden Gate? I’ll keep looking into it and
maybe not.
will let you know.
This is the background noise for the Broad-winged Hawk
On the low end of the hawk count scale, in 2004 Broadcount at the Golden Gate. It may rise and fall for hunwinged Hawks appeared at half their average rate. And
dreds of reasons: some hawks lost in the fog, some hawks
Rough-legged Hawks steered away from our peninsula
double-counted due to fog, some hawks veered slightly
entirely last year. This is only the second no-Roughleg
more to the east or west, some hawks flew higher or lowyear in two decades; however, they were seen last fall and
er. It will be difficult to analyze it all, but our Broadwinter at Point Reyes, the Altamont, Grizzly Island, and
winged Hawk ten-year average stays pretty steady.
the Solano Grasslands (see Peregrinations).
14
2004
THE PERVASIVE FOG IN THE MARIN HEADLANDS LEAVES HAWKWATCHERS COLD AND RAPTORS COLORLESS. TRY TO IDENTIFY THESE DIURNAL RAPTOR SHAPES.
If you stand back far enough and squint at the graph at
left, you may see the gross trends, not the year-to-year
numbers. The slight trend line rise of about 30 hawks per
season each decade from 1984 to 2004 could tip in either
direction with next year’s count. Those tiny changes in
trends are what we watch for.
Among the usual early raptors, August 17 brought us a
surprise, a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk, the earliest in our
twenty-year record-books. Thick fog mopped most of the
August mornings, although the pre-noon doldrums were
offset by the appearance of an unusual and easily located
Black Tern, flying moth-like over Rodeo Lagoon from
August 3 to 8. August counts were generally from 20 to 45
hawks per hour (hph). My favorite August Hawkwatch
Journal quote comes from intern Kerry Neijstrom (8/17):
AUGUST 2004
After two weeks of pre-season practice counts, we started
the first official count on Monday, August 16, when a
drippy morning gave way to a clear afternoon bearing
144 raptor-sightings and ten species. Lew Cooper writes
that “one interesting thing was watching the regurgitation
of a pellet by a juvenile Redtail–in mid-flight.”
“Let me get straight to the point: we saw a Ferruginous
and it was FANTASTIC. The juvenile was showcased
twice over the east Quadrant as it smoothly sailed high
over San Francisco Bay. We would have liked to join it but
no one touches the big white bird.”
BOTTOM ROW: MERLIN, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK.
TOP ROW: PEREGRINE FALCON, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, NORTHERN HARRIER. MID ROW: COOPER’S HAWK, BALD EAGLE, GOLDEN EAGLE PURSUED BY RAVEN;
15
SEPTEMBER 2004
OCTOBER 2004
The BIG flight usually kicks in as the accipiters squeeze
between fogbanks around mid-September, and this year
was no exception. We had counts of 50 to 65 hawks per
hour until September 15, when it shot up to 90 hph. The
next day was 114 hph, then the count bungee-jumped
down to 55 hph on September 19, then rose up to 160
hph on September 23—the latter being the highest
hawks-per-hour day for the season.
October is normally a mild, fog-free month of glorious
raptor flights over Hawk Hill, but that didn’t happen last
fall. We continued with the same Septemberish mix of
fog or rain on at least a quarter of the days. Some believe
this could create some great flights because the hawks get
stopped up waiting for warm thermals. And indeed after
three days of fog, October 6 gave us the highest count for
2004, with 937 sightings (156 hph). The Hawkwatch
Journal entry was short and sweet, clearly the work of an
exhausted hawkwatcher: “Lots and lots of Redshoulders.
Many, many Sharpies.”
The highest one-day species count was September 22,
with 14 diurnal raptors including Golden Eagle, Merlin,
and Broad-winged and Ferruginous Hawks. The last
week of September was split between fog and rain days,
and solid hawk days. A high 152 hph day on September
26 carried with it 15 Broadwings.
On the 14th, the early-October 70 to 90 hph days turned
into 30 to 60 hph days. This is part of the annual predictable GGRO autumn agenda - the pronounced accipiter flight starts around September 10 and lasts about a
month. And October was a good month for journal entry
anecdotes.
RAPTOR-SIGHTINGS IN THE MARIN
HEADLANDS DURING AUTUMN*
2004 Raptor Rate
(Hawks/Hour)
2004 Raptor
Sightings
Average
1995-2004
530
526
19.16
0.23
0.38
<0.01
1.81
6.15
4.63
0
1.03
0.08
<0.01
24.65
0.07
0
0.04
1.03
0.33
0.43
0.02
2.77
10,156
124
201
3
957
3258
2453
0
548
42
5
13,063
37
0
21
547
173
229
9
1470
9167
101
70
4
818
4050
2377
2
61
103
4
9462
23
7
9
608
53
147
5
1745
62.8
33,296
29,226
Hours
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Prairie Falcon
Unidentified
Total
October 5: “Yes, fog, fog-but we took a nice hike down to
Kirby Cove. We located the Peregrine nest on the bluffs
west of the beach, found a flock (family?) of Pygmy
Nuthatches in the Monterey Pines, and a group of Hermit Thrushes bouncing around a fallen log.”
October 10: “Four White-tailed Kites flying together.”
October 12: “Not foggy today but smokey, smokey,
smokey from a fire in Yolo County. In spite of not being
able to see Mount Tam, we saw not one but two Golden
Eagles.”
October 22: “Eleven Merlins passing on their way to whoknows-where.”
October 25: “Ten Peregrines gave us looks at all the typesvery dark Peale’s, light Tundra’s, and our usual locals
(medium).”
October 31: “ Seemed like all we had to do was shout out
‘Merlin’ and one would appear. Also had a juvvie Bald
Eagle south of Slacker Hill.”
* Not to be cited except by permission of the GGRO.
16
2004
NOVEMBER 2004
the Hill saw it. However, the Prairie Falcon was a treat!”
November is a transitional month on Hawk Hill. The adult
accipiters of October gradually decline after mid-month,
and the cold weather somehow punctuates the hawkless
minutes. Fortunately, the chance to see big northern buteos, eagles, and Peregrines picks up apace.
The annual GGRO Hawkwatch is a magnificent community-shouldered event, and I am deeply grateful to the
153 counters who make a serious commitment to it.
More than 5,000 person-hours went into producing the
2004 hawk-sightings numbers. The 2004 count was conducted daily from August 16 to December 7, and each
count day was 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM.
In 2004, we had big fog and rain from November 1
through 11, and then finished out the month with great
counts ranging widely from 30 hph to 80 hph days. A few
highlights were a dark-morph Ferrug on November 4 and
a late juvenile Broadwing on the 6th. November 7 brought
several kettles of some 30 or so Redtails that gained altitude near Slacker Ridge, then “zoomed south.”
I’d like to dedicate this report to Aaron Haiman, who completed his eleventh year of GGRO hawkwatching in 2004, and
his sixth year as a Hawkwatch Dayleader. Aaron is retiring as
a Dayleader for the time being to focus on his studies and research at UC Berkeley. Aaron’s professionalism, attention to
detail, ease, and cheerfulness, plus his dedication to bird
study altogether, have made him an ideal leader in the Hawkwatch program. Most impressively, Aaron began working with
GGRO as a regular volunteer when he was twelve. With his
brother, Joshua Haiman, and mother, Ann Kositsky, Aaron cocreated the role of Student Hawkwatcher at GGRO. More than
a dozen other young people have filled this role since, allowing GGRO to be a richer place for the great mix of ages,
ideas, and commitments to California raptors.
November 13 brought a Bald Eagle, some Merlins, and
some dark-morph Redtails. A half-dozen Red Crossbills settled into the crown of a Monterey Pine on Hawk Hill West
on November 16. Journal entry for November 19: “Two
Golden Eagles right overhead! Also a late Broadwing.”
November 20: “A crystal-clear beautiful day with an adult
Harlan’s Hawk, also a dark morph Ferrug, and three species
of falcons.” The next day: “A four-falcon day! Herb [also]
reported a Swainson’s on his bike ride up, but no one on
Allen Fish moonlights as a dad in Berkeley, and as a biology
lecturer at UC Davis.
WHO KNEW?
THE MARIN HEADLANDS HAS A SPRING HAWK FLIGHT!
Steve Bauer
L
UCK PLAYS A ROLE IN MOST DISCOVERIES , and it
several hundred feet over my head, then glided back
down across the cove and into a hole in the cliff face. A
second adult Peregrine soon joined the first inside the
hole. Over the next couple of months, I watched the two
Peregrines make frequent visits to the hole, just a hundred or so feet above the waters of the Golden Gate. All of
this activity made me hope that they would use this hole
as a nest site in the spring.
certainly played a role in finding a spring hawk
migration through the Marin Headlands. My luck
began in July 2004, when I decided to eat my lunch at a
pull-out along Conzelman Road in the hopes of seeing
one of the Peregrine Falcons that often perch on the
north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.
I was one bite into my first sandwich when an adult Peregrine rode a thermal out of Kirby Cove below me, rose
It was this hope that brought me to the same spot on
17
Conzelman Road on March 30, 2005. It didn’t take long
to spot the two Peregrines. Sometimes one or the other
was in the hole. Sometimes neither was in the hole, but
they spent a lot of time aggressively diving on any Common Raven, Turkey Vulture, or Western Gull foolish
enough to fly within a couple of hundred yards of the
opening. This fueled my optimism that they were actually
using the hole as an aerie. After watching the Peregrines
for a couple of hours, I headed home, anticipating returning once or twice a week to see if there were any
more signs of nesting.
Peregrine Falcon, 1 Red-shouldered Hawk, and an immature Golden Eagle. The day’s count ended with Nick
calmly saying “adult Bald Eagle.” A closer look at the Bald
with the scope revealed a dusky tail tip, indicating what
Clark and Wheeler call a “first-year adult.” This was the
first adult Bald Eagle I had ever seen from Hawk Hill.
It doesn’t take many days like that to inspire a return visit. Over the next two months Herb Brandt and I—frequently joined by Nick Whelan, Tim Behr, Jeff Wall, Greg
Gothard, Allen Fish, and several others—spent between
four and six days a week watching for hawks either at the
pull-out on Conzelman Road or on the top of Hawk Hill.
The next day, as I tried to get some work done and run
errands, I couldn’t get the Peregrines off my mind. Those
angular wings and incredibly fast, agile dives are addictive. I decided work and errands could wait; I needed to
watch the Peregrines some more. This turned out to be
the luckiest decision of all.
We totaled 133.7 hours from March 31 to May 24, and
had 515 raptor sightings for an average of 3.85 hawks per
RAPTOR-SIGHTINGS IN THE MARIN
HEADLANDS—MARCH 31 TO MAY 24, 2005*
I had just arrived at the pull-out on Conzelman Road
when Greg Gothard pulled up behind me. We were soon
watching the male Peregrine soaring high above Kirby
Cove. I was watching it through my scope when it suddenly went into a long stoop and scraped a bird that had
been flying below it. This new bird provoked a few moments of confusion, followed by disbelief. It was an adult
Common Black-Hawk.
Species
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
We watched the Common Black-Hawk circle higher over
Kirby Cove, soar over Hawk Hill, and then glide below
the hill before turning north and out of sight. After it flew
low through the gap between Hawk Hill and the adjacent
hill to the east, Greg and I watched for another ten minutes, hoping that it would rise up into view again. When
it didn’t, we drove quickly up to Hawk Hill in hopes of
relocating it. We never saw the Common Black-Hawk
again. Shortly after arriving on the Hill we were joined by
Nick Whelan who, within five minutes, pointed out a
Prairie Falcon flying low over the ridge in front of us.
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Prairie Falcon
Unidentified accipiters
Total
As it turns out, the Black-Hawk and Prairie were just the
beginning of an incredible spring day in the Headlands
which included 15 Sharp-shinned, 18 Cooper’s, and 19
Red-tailed Hawks, also 7 Osprey, 2 Northern Harriers, 1
Hours
Hawks per Hour
by age & sex
total
not counted
21
4
1 ad
5 ad m, 5 juv
21
4
1
10
12 ad, 36 juv, 29 und
8 ad, 44 juv, 25 und
77
77
16 juv, 1 und
2 ad, 1 und
1 juv
50 ad, 150 juv, 22 und
1 juv
2 juv
17
3
1
222
1
2
10 f, 18 m, 3 un
1
15 ad, 12 juv, 12 und
1
31
1
39
1
8
516
133.7
3.9
ad = adult, juv = juvenile, und = undocumented age, f = female, m = male
*Note that the count started mid-way through the spring season
18
2004
MARCH 31, 2005: STEVE BAUER AND GREG GOTHARD SPOT A COMMON BLACK-HAWK OVER THE MARIN HEADLANDS HEADING NORTH. [NED HARRIS]
hour. Most of our counts were made between 10 AM and
2 PM. To the best of our ability, we avoided counting the
local Peregrine Falcons or Red-tailed Hawks, which we
got fairly good at recognizing through a combination of
individual traits and behavior (i.e., Peregrines perching
on the bridge, driving off intruders, specific plumage details, etc.).
long periods of time. I don’t know how significant these
data will turn out to be, since they average barely 4 hawks
per hour, but I think the diversity of species and numbers
of individuals that we saw this past spring warrant future
monitoring. I plan to spend as much time as possible in
the Marin Headlands next spring looking for migrating
hawks. Besides, I’m still waiting to see a Zone-tailed
Hawk come through the Marin Headlands. And who
knows? I might get lucky.
Notable sightings over the two-month spring migration
count included a juvenile dark-morph Ferruginous, a juvenile dark-morph Swainson’s, 3 Broad-winged Hawks (2
adult and 1 undocumented) and 39 Peregrines. On April
25, Rich Stallcup saw an adult Gray Hawk soaring at East
Fort Baker, and on May 7, Juan Carlos Solis saw a Crested
Caracara flying over Rodeo Lagoon. (Herb and I were at
the Conzelman Road watch site when the Crested
Caracara was seen just a half-mile away, but we never got
a look at it—a decidedly unlucky occurrence).
Though Steve Bauer puts the emphasis on luck, perseverance
had a lot to do with his discover y of a significant northbound
hawk flight through the Marin Headlands last spring. Steve
was especially stubborn, as I had informed him time and
again that “spring hawks” only migrated through the Headlands on pre-storm, southerly winds. Thankfully, he didn’t listen. Along with a nice range of raptor species, some passerine migrants flapped past Steve and Herb along Conzelman
Road, including Vaux’s Swift, Purple Martin, Western Kingbird,
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Hooded Oriole, and Lazuli Bunting. ALLEN FISH
Most of us who watch birds do so because it is enjoyable,
but our sightings can also have scientific and ecological
significance, especially if consistent records are kept over
Confining his paid job to some small corner of his life, Steve
Bauer returns to Hawk Hill daily, helping with the Hawkwatch
and pondering his flat in Cape May.
19
TELEMETRY SEASON 2004
OZZY SLIPS, PLATO HUNTS, & QUENTIN RETURNS
Elizabeth Rouan
2004 R ADIOTELEMETRY SEASON was a challenge! We suffered from tracking complacency,
assumptions of raptor behavior, and expectations
of local movements. However, our first juvenile Redtailed Hawk of the season, (Ozzy) roused us as his beep
faded into the Trinity Alps. We had our thinking caps on
for Plato, and we left the hawk hunting in the Hayward
area. Quentin, the third juvenile Redtail, pacified us and
we struggled to track him crossing the Golden Gate
twice, before moving toward Muir Beach. Ultimately, we
trackers learned from our mistakes and became aware of
how much we don’t know about these birds. (Please note:
Although the genders of Red-tailed Hawks are indistinguishable, even in the hand, we refer to each bird as “he”
for the sake of simplicity.)
T
exhaustion burdened the teams, which had chased from
the Clear Lake and Mt. Diablo areas.
HE
The teams had misread their data to mean “circling and
going down in the area,” rather than as “soaring and gliding away.” This made planning and strategizing for the
next day’s chase difficult. We were in unfamiliar geography, and as a result, started the day’s tracking at inadequate locations.
By mid-morning, one team abandoned their post and began the drive into the Trinity Alps, a forest with few 4WD
roads to accessible high points, fervently hoping to find
Ozzy (and not run out of gas!).
Ultimately, only one bearing was recorded at 12:15 PM
from that same single location outside of Redding, still
pointing northwest, but it was very faint and soaring.
Ozzy was very far away, and flying even farther away. The
teams realized they would never find Ozzy, and headed
back south.
OZZY
On September 17, volunteer tracker James Raives was
thrilled to release Ozzy the juvenile Redtail from Hawk
Hill, which was full of hawkwatchers and tourists. Everybody was WOWed! The bird mixed in the sky with all the
other Redtails. We could tell which one he was by the radio beeps. He ended up in Tennessee Valley that night.
PLATO
Our second Red-tailed Hawk, Plato, was released from
Hawk Hill on September 22 and spent the night in Kirby
Cove. Plato flew across the Golden Gate the next day as
he headed south, the “right” direction!
Then, Ozzy rock-and-rolled to the northeast, flying in the
“wrong” direction! It’s been several years since GGRO
telemetrists tracked a bird outside the greater Bay Area,
and we underestimated Ozzy. It only took one miscalculation for Ozzy to slip away. By the time the error was
caught and corrected, Ozzy was soaring and gliding toward Redding, CA, about two hundred miles and a threehour drive ahead of the teams. Volunteers who assumed
they’d be going home at a reasonable hour were wrong.
The teams tracked Plato through San Francisco to Mount
Davidson. Mount Davidson is a mountaintop park about
one mile southwest of Twin Peaks, near the geographic
center of the city. The tracking team hiked up the mountain, carrying the equipment while listening to the beep
on the receiver. The team then spotted Plato eating a
mouse and being chased about by a bigger juvenile Redtail. Plato had stopped for lunch at Mount Davidson
Park!
That night, only one team recorded a few hours of data
on the hawk from a single location east of Redding. Ozzy
was somewhere to the northwest, as the bearing showed
his location to be in Trinity National Forest. Pressure and
Plato took flight on the third day of tracking, heading
farther south, down the San Francisco Peninsula. The
20
2004
OZZIE’S LAST KNOWN LOCATION/ Trinity County
October 4
Del Norte
Petaluma
Siskiyou
Humbolt
Novato
Vallejo
September 21-22
Shasta
Trinty
Tehama
San Rafael
September 17
PA
September 29
Marin
Headlands
September 27-28
September 22
Berkeley
C
IF
Oakland
IC
O
C
E
A
N
San Francisco
September 23
Telemetry
2004
September 30
September 25-29
Ozzy
Plato
Quentin
N
San Mateo
Fremont
September 24
teams communicated well, used effective strategies, and
accurately interpreted the signal. One team pursued the
bird along Skyline Ridge/Highway 35 and another via the
bayside Highway 101. The Skyline team overshot the
hawk’s flight and backtracked to the viewpoint on the
ridge near Page Mill Road, overlooking Palo Alto to the
east. The second team also overestimated the bird’s
movement and looped back via Los Altos. Signals pinpointed the hawk at Bayfront Park at the west end of the
Dumbarton Bridge in Menlo Park. The third tracking
team was already there, enjoying more views of Plato.
Quentin? Finally, the San Bruno Mountain team moved
off the hill, and ultimately confirmed that the hawk was
on the southwest side of the mountain in the Daly
City/Colma area. We theorized that the hawk might have
been at San Bruno Mountain, flying low along the southwest side of the mountain before the trackers arrived. Also, the radio towers crowding the mountaintop caused
severe static on the receiver. And finally, the team’s location faced north, instead of west or south, as the trackers
were expecting to get northward signals before southward
signals.
The next day, Plato flew to the east side of the San Mateo
Bridge, at the Hayward Interpretive Center, along the
Hayward Regional Shoreline. Plato was clearly content,
moving to an adjacent industrial park, and the trackers
observed him perching with a full crop, getting mobbed
by ravens, and trying to hunt gophers. The trackers opted
to start tracking a new hawk after Plato remained in this
area for three days.
On the last day of tracking, Quentin moved north, and
ultimately recrossed the Golden Gate! The last day’s bearings indicated that Quentin was in the Muir Beach area,
but the teams were unable to pick up another signal from
high points in Olema and Fairfax. We suspected that
Quentin went to the beach, “probably trying to get a tan”
in the early October sun.
SUMMARY
QUENTIN
The 2004 Radiotelemetry season was challenging, indeed.
We want a second chance to track Ozzy, another day to
rethink strategy and tackle the Trinity Alps. We know we
made mistakes. And we are good, experienced trackers.
We know we could find him if we just had another
chance. We enjoyed watching Plato, we thank him for salvaging our tracking confidence, and wish him well along
the Hayward Regional Shoreline. And we still want to
know more about Quentin. Why did he come to the
Headlands, cross the Gate to the south, and then north,
and where did he fly next? Quentin is the hawk that keeps
bringing us back to ask more questions, to track more
hawks, find more answers, and again, ask more questions.
We released our third juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Quentin,
on September 27 in the late afternoon. Quentin spent the
next few days in the Marin Headlands and Sausalito. On
the fourth day, the telemetrists again succumbed to complacency, positioning the teams for tracking a local hawk.
But just after lunch, Quentin flew south! The hawk
crossed the Golden Gate, and what should have been an
easy chase turned into a complicated one.
The chase team spent the entire afternoon trying to catch
up to Quentin in San Francisco, basing their search on
cross-bearings. From Mount Davidson Park, one team’s
initial bearings were to the north, but later, the signals
were to the south, directly toward San Bruno Mountain.
The second team situated on San Pablo Ridge in the East
Bay also had bearings that plotted straight to San Bruno
Mountain. The third team, which zoomed straight to San
Bruno Mountain to get ahead of the hawk, got no signal
at all.
Libby Rouan is starting to move GGRO toward publishing
some 16 years of telemetr y accounts.
Communications between the teams were confused!
What was happening with the signal? And where was
22
2004
BANDING 2004 A PRAIRIE FALCON FALL
Diane Horn
T
HE RADIO IN THE BLIND CRACKLED :
vious record was thirteen years, ten months per the Bird
Banding Lab (www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl).
“Hawk Blind, this is Slacker Blind.”
We also trapped an unusually high number of birds
(three) that had been previously banded at other banding
stations: a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, and
a Peregrine Falcon. The Peregrine was banded as a
nestling in July 2004 in the Yukon and recaptured at our
Hawk Blind in September. This is the most northerly
known point of origin for a raptor trapped at the Golden
Gate. No wonder “peregrine” means “wanderer.”
“Slacker, Hawk.”
“Prairie Falcon.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
Well, that did it. Yet another bander had captured his first
Prairie Falcon before I did. I’ll feign enthusiasm. Catching a Prairie Falcon has been my quest for the last sixteen
years. The bander described it as a perfect capture in a
dho-gazza net, where the falcon turned toward the lure
and came in just as it was supposed to. The pictures I saw
later showed me that it was a gorgeous juvenile male with
fierce dark eyes, narrow moustache stripes, a lightly
streaked breast, and brown back. It also had a quick blue
beak (note the band-aid on the photographer’s thumb in
the photo on the next page).
The recoveries from banding large numbers of raptors
give us a feel for where these birds go and live (and they
give us banders a thrill). Because we capture wild birds,
we have an extraordinary sample of raptor species. This
sample is a more representative population of wild birds
than those brought sick or injured into rehabilitation
centers. Gathering measurement data such as weight,
length, and shape gives us previously undocumented information on these West Coast raptors. But we also have
the opportunity to gather data that are not visually obvious, data that can provide the basis for monitoring diseases and even the genetics of migrating birds of prey.
As it turned out, 2004 was an exceptional year for Prairie
Falcon banding at GGRO—six to be exact (two in one
day), a new season record, doubling our previous season
high (we have averaged one per year). And we broke trapping records for other species as well (Merlins and Cooper’s Hawks), supporting a new season total record of
1,802 raptors banded. Overall, this was a very successful
migration banding season for four small wooden blinds
in the Marin Headlands.
INNER LIFE OF RAPTORS
For example, we have been gathering two feathers from
every raptor we have banded for the last three years. Josh
Hull, a GGRO bander and doctoral candidate at UC
Davis, has been studying the DNA from these small souvenirs in order to someday link the raptors coming
through the Marin Headlands to their natal sites. Why do
we want to know this? Because loss of habitat, environmental poisons, and other hazards to raptors in their
wintering grounds may have an impact on the ecosystem
of their breeding grounds, and visa versa.
But banding numbers aren’t the only highlights this season. At Hawk Blind, we recaptured an adult female
Cooper’s Hawk originally trapped in 1991 at Slacker
Blind by Bill Prochnow as an after-hatch-year bird (i.e., a
bird in full adult plumage). That would make this bird at
least fourteen years old at time of its second capture, a
new longevity record for wild Cooper’s Hawks. The pre-
In another example, specially trained volunteers take
23
GGRO BANDERS
PULLED A RECORD
SIX PRAIRIE FALCONS INTO OUR
TRAPS IN 2004,
INCLUDING THIS
BLOCKY-HEADED
MALE.
[SIOBHAN RUCK]
small blood samples from selected large and healthy
hawks, such as Red-tailed and Cooper’s hawks. The
process takes only a few minutes. We have provided these
precious samples for several studies, including monitoring the spread of West Nile Virus, a study also led by Josh.
What’s interesting is that seemingly healthy birds have
been infected by the virus (as demonstrated by antibodies in their blood) but show no ill effects. Did they get
sick and recover, or were they immune to begin with? We
don’t know yet, but we would know even less without the
data that we gather.
study of birds an excellent model system. Much work in
this field is yet to be done, but our collaboration with
university researchers gives them access to a significant
wild population that they otherwise would not have. And
since we’ve preserved the samples that we’ve taken, researchers with new theories will be able to test them
without waiting to collect more.
When I first started trapping and banding raptors many
years ago, I was excited and humbled just to get a chance
to see these incredible birds up close, as well as to participate in a project dedicated to understanding their passage
through the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, I see that I
have an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference
in the knowledge of our natural world. And who knows, I
might even catch a Prairie Falcon next year.
GGRO blood samples have also supported another researcher, Dr. Ravinder Sehgal, from the Center for Tropical Research at San Francisco State University. Dr. Sehgal
is interested in the effects of environmental change on
the evolution of avian infectious diseases. During his
presentation at one of our monthly banders’ meetings, he
showed us his analysis so far on identification of avian
malaria via its parasites in raptors, similar to work he
performed in Africa.
Engineer Diane Horn has been banding with the GGRO for 16
years. Moreover, Diane has choreographed the annual Blind
Set-Up Days for more years than I can remember, an event
where sixty people turn a whirlwind of sledgehammers, Makitas, and heavy-duty trucks into four functioning and finely-tuned
banding blinds. Finally, Diane is the only person in the histor y
of the world to play tug of war with a Golden Eagle over a
mechanical mockingbird. And she won.
Ravinder stated that these diseases in birds have very similar pathologies to their human counterparts, making the
24
2004
BAND RECOVERIES 2003-2004 “DID THIS HAWK HAVE
TAIL FEATHERS WHEN YOU BANDED IT?”
Marion Weeks
EING A PASSIONATE BANDER ,
I am addicted to the
thrill of holding a raptor and applying the band.
After completing the physical measurements, I release the raptor with my personal mantra: “Full crops,
long flights and long life,” and watch the hawk flap to gain
altitude and distance from its encounter in the blind. Ten
to fifteen seconds later, the hawk pauses in its flight and
shimmies in mid-air, as if trying to shake off the whole experience and realign its contour feathers. Sometimes the
hawk flies to a perch and checks out its new bracelet while
still in full view of the banders in the blind.
B
While compiling this list below, I was struck by the fact
that among those hawks we can sex by measurement or
plumage (21 of the 35), only one was a male bird. We
band roughly twice the number of female Cooper’s
Hawks and female Sharp-shinned Hawks than males of
both species. The disparity in the numbers of band recoveries by sex is even greater for this set of 35 recoveries.
Questions can be raised, but do we know enough to answer them? I doubt it. Our sample sizes are only now becoming large enough to be analyzed. But the numbers
can be food for thought.
At the end of the banding season, in January, my attention
changes to the band recovery data work. After all, this is
the reason that we trap and band these wonderful creatures. Our goal, whenever possible, is to reach the person
who found the banded hawk. The thrill for me comes
when a hawk has made it to a new, distant location, or
lived an extraordinary length of time. I like to hear the excitement in the voice of the finders on the phone as they
share stories that do not show up in the coding system
used in the Bird Banding Laboratory’s reports.
I started where I left off in the last publication (#619) and
ended with the last band recovery that my team and I
were able to reach or attempted to reach (#654). As I
write this, it is springtime and many new band recovery
reports have arrived from the Bird Banding Laboratory.
No doubt we will exceed the 700 milestone by the time
you read this.
RECOVERED COOPER’S AND
SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS
I am convinced many finders are deeply affected by their
encounter with these raptors. It is evident in their words,
in the emotion of their voices, and in the questions they
ask. Most often these reports are the end of the story, but
sometimes they are another event in the ongoing life of a
particular bird, and we can hope for its continued survival. It is, after all, a harsh existence out there.
Cooper’s Hawk females
Cooper’s Hawk males
Total
Sharp-shinned Hawk females
Sharp-shinned Hawk males
Total
1983-2004
total recoveries
2003-2004
recoveries
65
31
96
9
1
10
86
17
103
11
0
11
THE LISTING
Here are some interesting facts about this set of 35 band
recoveries: All 35 were banded as juveniles. Twenty-five
were found, on average, four months after banding, and
only two of these were found alive. Ten were found from
one to 19 years after being banded; and three of these
birds are still alive. Four of the five surviving raptors did
so with the intervention of a rehabilitation facility.
Immature female Sharp-shinned Hawk banded 10/5/03 by
Katy Doctor; found dead 12/30/03 after being hit by a car
“while swooping down for something on our street” in Ventura,
Ventura Co., CA, reported Ted Rabago. “I had been watching it
as it sat in a palm tree. The hawk was making screeching
sounds. It was so cool.”
620
25
Greg Beuthin; found dead on 1/8/04 at Fullerton, Orange Co.,
CA; reported by Dr. Scott Weledy.
632 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 10/29/03 by Audrey
Sabol; found dead 1/31/04 on Lyons Valley Road, no city or
county listed, CA; reported by Leroy Remer. Note: The BBL did
list the latitude of 324 and longitude of 1164, which would put
the location very near the California/Mexico border south of
San Diego.
621
622 Immature female Sharp-shinned Hawk banded 11/16/03 by
Noreen Weeden; caught due to injury 1/1/04 at Sausalito,
Marin Co., CA; reported as dead by Melanie Piazza of Wildcare.
633 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 9/05/03 by Randy
Breaux; found 12/21/03 by Ed Pandolfino while he was leading
a Christmas Bird Count at Coyote Hills Regional Park, Alameda Co., CA. Ed stated, “my suspicion is that it was poisoned, an
agricultural poison. Let me tell you why: plumage perfect, felt
breast—not emaciated, no injury found on close exam; also
found a jackrabbit, freshly dead without a mark on it about 200
meters from the hawk location.” Though the hawk was found
barely alive, Ed left it at the site as he felt it would die very soon.
Josh Hull; found dead, “near a busy street…may have been hit
by a vehicle” on the east side of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
Co., CA on 12/27/03. Reported by Novella Erickson.
623
Josh Hull; found dead of unknown cause at a Foodmart parking lot in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara Co., CA by a customer on
3/3/04. Reported by Mike Castro who noted “no shot marks or
wound marks” were seen on the bird.
634 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 8/29/03 by Sue Corbaley; found dead of unknown cause by Lori Delp 1/26/04 under
some shrubs on a back alley behind their house on the Stanford
University campus, Palo Alto, Santa Clara Co., CA.
Dian Langlois; found dead “on our back patio after he rammed
into a window” at Novato, Marin Co., CA on 11/12/03. “I heard
him hit the window,” wrote Anne Zishka.
625
Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 10/6/03 by Diane
Bahr; found dead 12/9/03 at Cambria, San Luis Obispo Co., CA
by Nickolaus Kopp.
635 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 9/4/03 by Mike Armer;
found 1/29/04 “down” in Edenvale Park in San Jose, Santa Clara
Co., CA. Bird had “no injuries, but was emaciated, depressed
and lethargic.” Carmel De Bertaut of the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley stated the Redtail had “recovered completely by
2/10/04 and is in a flight cage and will be moved to a larger
flight cage in Morgan Hill to strengthen its muscles…it will be
released soon.”
628
Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 9/28/03 by Scott
Johnston; found dead by Linda Charlton’s dog in their backyard on 10/11/03 at New Cuyuma, Santa Barbara Co., CA.
636 Immature male Cooper’s Hawk banded 9/20/99 by Jeff
Acuff; found dead 6/19/03 due to being struck by a motor vehicle at Palo Cedro, Shasta Co., CA. Reported by Michelle Martin.
Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 10/5/03 by Derrick Umali; found dead two days later on walkway in front of a
home in Ripon, San Joaquin Co., CA; reported by Jerry Barton.
He contacted Diane Moore, a biologist from Lodi, who helped
him identify the species. They found no evidence of a broken
neck or wing or any buckshot.
Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 10/10/03 by Craig
Nikitas; found 3/15/04 dead “alongside road, appeared the bird
had been hit by a car…still warm” at Forestville, Sonoma Co.,
CA. Reported by Roxanne Miguel.
Diane Horn; found dead, cause unknown, 11/29/03 at Escalon,
San Joaquin Co., CA by Leroy Dutra.
626
627
629
637
Marty Wilson; found dead 4/30/04 after flying into sliding glass
door to patio at Coos Bay, Coos Co., OR. Reported by Robert
Green.
630 Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 9/13/03 by Siobhan Ruck; found 10/4/03 by Shevenell Mullen. Shevenell and a
friend were camping in the Golden Gate NRA, Marin Co., CA
when they found the hawk “dead and tossed suspiciously in the
bushes.”
Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 9/27/03 by Mike
Armer; found 4/30/04 as bone and band on a path in brushy
area near Lake Berryessa, Napa Co., CA. Reported by Peter
Neade.
639
Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 10/26/03 by Mark
Fenn; found 12/15/03 by a “troubleman” in Santa Cruz, Santa
Cruz Co., CA; reported by Mike Farinsky of PG&E. Mike
added, “The hawk landed on high voltage transformer. Electrocution was the cause of death. Bird found with burnt feathers
and large exit wound.”
631
Tania Pollak; reported as found dead 10/5/03 at Government
Camp, Clackamas Co., OR, by Steve Alsup.
641 Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 9/9/00 by Siobhan Ruck; found dead by Claude Thomas in a small back yard
26
2004
Seattle
Washington
Richland
Portland
Salem
Bend
Oregon
Medford
EAN
PA C I F I C O C
Redding
California
Reno
Band Recoveries
by Species
Santa
Rosa
Lake Tahoe
Sacramento
Modesto
Red-tailed Hawks
Fresno
Cooper's Hawks
Sharp-shinned
Hawks
Ridgecrest
Bakersfield
N
Lake
Havasu
City
Santa Barbara
Los Angeles
San Diego
CRIMPING A BAND ON A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. [JENNY E. ROSS)]
in San Mateo, San Mateo Co., CA, on 6/24/04 close to a Koi
pond with “light wires above.” Noted to have a broken wing and
blood coming from its mouth.
rescued by Animal Control Services, brought to Wildlife Rescue, Inc.; the hawk was dead on arrival. Wildlife Rescue personnel reported the recovery to the BBL.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 12/18/02 by Julie
Goldzman; found alive on 6/22/04 after being hit by a truck
near Cobble Hill, B.C., Canada. The Redtail was tailless when
received at Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center. On the date I
contacted the Center (7/15/04) the first evidence of new feather
growth was detected. Shelanne Bulford, who reported the recovery, had an immediate question: “Did this hawk have tail
feathers when you banded it?” By that time the hawk was “eating them out of house and home” (mice and rats) and doing
great. We were recently notified by Tracy Anderson of Wild
ARC that the Redtail was released 10/2/04.
646 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 9/16/03 by Randy
Breaux; found 6/7/04 at Beaverton, Washington Co., OR. Redtail “was hit by a car…brought into wildlife care center… untreatable injuries… euthanized.” Reported by Tracy Fleming, a
wildlife biologist.
642
647 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 10/21/03 by Beth
Cataldo; found dead of unknown causes 9/5/04 about a half
mile from Grasshopper Mountain Trailhead near Westfir, Lane
Co., OR. Reported by Suzette Hughes, who included a photo of
the bird for our files.
John Crane; hawk was trapped and released 10/7/04 in a mist
net operation run by HawkWatch International at Bonney
Butte, Hood River Co., OR, about 9 miles southeast of Mount
Hood. Reported by Dan Sherman, HWI.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 12/20/99 by Greg
Gothard; was found dead sometime during the last ten days of
December 2000 in San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA. Jim
Christmann described the location as “an odd place…in the
water…between the boats at Pier 39, on the east side.”
643
Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 9/23/02 by Jeff
Wall; died 10/10/04 after flying into a window of a residence in
Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., CA. Reported by John Hathaway.
649
Immature Red-shouldered Hawk banded 8/27/01 by Jeff
Acuff; found dead in a 50-gallon tank used to water horses on
7/25/04 at Aromas, Monterey Co., CA. Catherine Kauer stated
that she usually keeps a stick in the tank to help animals that
fall in the water to get out safely, and is thinking about adding
more sticks. “When you see this, you bond with the bird.”
644
650 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 10/17/93 by Stan
Moore; was caught almost eleven years later near Grant’s Pass,
Josephine Co., OR, 9/18/04 “on ground weak from starvation…
hawk was released about three weeks later.” Reported by David
Roelofs.
Immature female Cooper’s Hawk banded 10/25/03 by Jeff
Acuff; found 11/11/03 at Palo Alto, Santa Clara Co., CA and
645
28
2004
Diane Bahr; recovered 10/1/04 and reported as “bird dead” in
San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, by Robert Ashe of Lower
Hut, “New Zeal.” The report assigned an incorrect latitude of
380 to San Francisco. We have not been able to reach Mr. Ashe
to verify this report.
Redtail “was released back out into the wild and hopefully is
out there and doing well”. This happily contradicted the BBL
report that the bird was dead. This is a record for longevity for
all hawks banded by GGRO. The oldest known Red-tailed
Hawk is currently 30 years old and still alive (Pete Bloom, pers.
comm.)!
Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 9/29/03 by Ann Ruffer;
hawk dead, caught 12/2/03 “due to control operations” in
Sacramento, Sacramento Co., CA. Reported by Chris Martin.
No further information available.
Although the recover y article was written by me, the research
and phone inter views were done as a team effort by Eddie
Bartley, Coby LaFayette, Noreen Weeden, Jennifer Hyypio,
652
Jenny Rhine, and myself. Jill Harley, GGRO Office Manager,
assisted us in ever y way possible, while Buzz Hull, GGRO Research Coordinator, did a monumental amount of work on the
computer to generate our data sheets from the banding
records and decoding the BBL reports. My thanks to all for a
job well done.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 11/26/02 by Allison
Levin; found 12/9/04 as skeletal remains with band on leg on
railroad tracks in industrial area of Lodi, San Joaquin Co., CA.
Reported by Kevin Kidd.
653
654 Immature Red-tailed Hawk banded 9/2/85 by Anne
Faulkner; caught due to injury on 8/27/04 (only five days shy of
19 years after original banding,) at San Mateo, San Mateo Co.,
CA; was taken to Peninsula Human Society. Reported by Rebecca Allen, Wildlife Supervisor for the PHS, who stated the
Marion Weeks bands, radiotracks, helps at evening trainings,
and manages all of our Recover y correspondence. What can
you say but, “Thank you.”
TWENTY YEARS OF GGRO INTERNS
Allen Fish
22 YEARS OLD . It’s late February of your fourth year working on a bachelor’s
degree in wildlife biology at a major northeastern
university (think cold, gray winters that seem to last forever). You are excited about your chosen field, but you’ve
spent the last four years reading other people’s scientific
articles and accounts of doing wildlife research. Other
people’s research in the FIELD. Being OUTSIDE. The
word reverberates in your head: OUTSIDE!
I
Then your mother calls. “Honey, are you applying to grad
schools?” It makes you wince. Yeah, right. Think I’ll eat
grit and wait a year. For a minute, it feels great to be negative and sarcastic, but the truth is, you’re about to graduate and you do need to figure out your next move.
MAGINE THAT YOU ARE
Then one day you see it: an announcement on the Biology Department bulletin board: “Come Intern at GGRO!”
The paper draws you closer. You skim the high points: six
months, radiotracking, hawks, fog, community involvement, falcons, urban national park, fog, raptor identification, handling birds of prey, more fog, barracks living
near beach. And except for the money—$15 per day reimbursement—it’s perfect.
Of course grad school is in your future. An advanced degree is almost essential to get anywhere in wildlife research, but you’ve just slogged through this darn bachelor’s degree program. More school doesn’t exactly excite
you right now. In fact, this very week, you have two
midterms, a lab practical write-up for o-chem, and a tenpage term paper on nematodes, plus you have to finish
reading DeLillo’s Underworld before your token contemporary lit class on Tuesday. And there’s the small matter
of needing to pay back the $20 thousand-plus in loans.
So, you blow off an hour of studying the Krebs Cycle and
email a resume and letter to some guy named Buzz Hull.
For a few weeks, you wait and wonder, you feel good that
you’ve done something tangible about your future, and
then... Buzz Hull calls to set up an interview and—
bang!—your life has changed.
29
2004
Since 1986, the GGRO has benefited immensely
from the donated time and attention of nearly
fifty full-time research interns—an invaluable
and incredible group. A GGRO internship runs
about six months, starting in July (a month before the migration begins) and ending with the
hawk flight in December; it may be extended into the winter months, if projects, funding, and
housing spaces are all available at the same time.
Interns bring with them a variety of experiences
and perspectives when they arrive in the summer. They carry the hot news from academia,
and they show us how to use GIS, Powerpoint,
and MP3 players. They stare in disbelief at the
archaic computers and dial-up systems we use to
access the Internet. “It’s a Selectric typewriter,” I
say. “It used to be state of the art.” A wave of yuks
rises and falls behind my back. For several minutes, I feel one hundred and forty-three years
old.
Our volunteers are all high quality and make
enormous contributions to the GGRO, so in a
way, it’s unfair to single out the interns for special praise. Nonetheless, and with apologies, here
is a sampling of some of the tasks interns have taken on
at GGRO over the years:
GGRO INTERNS
1986 • Maria Ferrara
1987 • Jim Berkelman • Mike Ceasar
1988 • Karlin Koepcke • Linnea Hall • Laura Magliano Conway
1989 • Kevin Metcalf
1990 • Dale Payne
1991 • Beth Putnam • Laura Creighton
1992 • John Beckman • Joanna Klima
1993 • Amy Fesnock
1994 • Zach Smith • Brodie Stuart • Leslie Storer
1995 • Julianne Zannoni • Kerry Mehl • Mark Bremer
1996 • Julia Camp • Jasmin Keramaty • Kerry Mehl
1997 • Megan Hughes • Elaine Miller • Maura Eagan
1998 • Lara Moeckly • Jessica Kirchhoffer • Eric Jepsen
1999 • Mark McCaustland • Alexandra Rose • Kathrin Poetter
2000 • Trek Cronk • Evan Barbour • Alec Hoffmann • Chris Briggs
2001 • Toby Rohmer • Christie McCullen • Claire Gallagher
2002 • Ben Lavender • Simone Whitecloud • Ashley Sexton •
Karalyn Rodenkirchen
2003 • Heather Lannie • Sam Stuart • Katy Doctor • Jeff Birek
2004 • Hayley Ross • Susan Culliney • Kerry Neijstrom • Rachel Norris
multitalented coolness and her knowledge of the coastal
roads and landscapes made it all fun.
In 1993, intern Amy Fesnock collaborated with volunteers Alan Harper and Karen Scheuermann to turn our
first four years of Redtail radiotracking into a scientific
presentation, “Diurnal activities of migrating Red-tailed
Hawks.” Amy presented this information at the annual
meeting of the Raptor Research Foundation in Flagstaff,
Arizona, becoming the first GGRO intern to give a talk at
a scientific conference.
In 1988, interns Karlin Kopecke, Laura Magliano, and
Linnea Hall collaborated to redesign the GGRO hawk
count methodology so that new volunteers would feel
useful by being focused “spotters.” The resulting Quadrant System became the cornerstone of a whole new, repeatable, and consistent raptor counting method at the
Golden Gate. We have used it now for more than fifteen
years, and biologists from as far as Finland, Portugal, and
Japan have visited to see the Quadrant System in action.
Over a period of several years, interns Leslie Storer
(1994) and Julia Camp (1996), both graduates of the
Prep School for Raptor Biologists (a suite of raptor classes and research projects created by Alida Morzenti at UC
Davis) collaborated on an analysis of American Kestrel
genders in the Hawkwatch data. They discovered that female kestrels are decidedly more common in August,
In 1991, intern Laura Creighton helped us rally the
GGRO’s second radiotracking study, which involved following three juvenile Red-tailed Hawks, one deep into
the central coast mountains of California. The three
weeks of tracking were a logistical minefield, but Laura’s
32
2004
while males are the dominant gender in October and November. Julia took their results on the road and created a
poster for the Raptor Research Foundation 1996 conference in Savannah, Georgia.
interns Kevin Metcalf (1989), Claire Gallagher and Toby
Rohmer (2001), and Sam Stuart (2003). The “Marin
Headlands Bird Checklist” should be ready for release in
early 2006.
Several years later, Eric Jepsen (1998) was the first of several GGRO Robo-Interns, dedicated first and foremost to
the cause of creating an effective, non-living lure for trapping raptors. Eric, and later Mark McCaustland (1999),
advanced many new Robo techniques, among them the
art of covering motorized innards with a range of furs
and feathers—some native, some gaudy, some absurd—
all to see what would tease the best response from a wary
hawk. Mark and Eric returned for several seasons to see
that future interns were trained in the loving art of
RoboLure creation and repair. Moreover, they later took
RoboLures on a hike 3,000 feet up to the Goshute Mountains trapping site managed by Hawkwatch International
to see how adult intermountain hawks would respond to
our mechanized flickers, waxwings, and franken-birds.
WHAT HAPPENS TO GGRO INTERNS?
After leaving GGRO, interns take a variety of paths,
though nearly half start some form of graduate school.
Two, to date, have completed PhDs: Dr. Jim Berkelman is
a professor of Wildlife Ecology at University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Dr. Linnea Hall is the director of the
Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. Several interns are currently in PhD programs.
Many others have made a powerful impact as field biologists. In the late 1990s, Zach Smith (1994) helped develop
the long-term counting styles at Veracruz, Mexico, which,
at 8 million hawks each fall, is the largest of its kind in the
world. Zach has since helped at many other count sites,
studied Peregrines at the Cape Verde Islands, written articles for birding magazines, and pioneered an owl migration banding station near Lake Tahoe.
In 2002, two interns—Simone Whitecloud and Kari
Rodenkirchen—rode into town ready to create a higher
level of public education. They collaborated to invent a
box of activities for classrooms, including a raptor costume and migration map, and started GGRO’s first “Curriculum Guide for Teachers.” Evan Barbour (2000),
Christie McCullen (2001), and Hayley Ross (2004) have
all worked hard to develop great educational materials
for kids and adults.
Almost 85 percent of former interns are working as biologists, some with government agencies like the US Forest
Service and the National Park Service. Some are ecological consultants, others work as independent raptor biologists. And some have gone in new directions altogether,
carrying the knowledge and experience of their fieldwork
with birds of prey into the real world, where falcons are
more indicative of football mascots than of flight.
In 2004, intern Susan Culliney upgraded the “GGRO
Banders’ Raptor Identification Guide”—which Lara
Moeckly (1988), under the guidance of Buzz Hull, had
begun during the slow winter months, eventually producing a spiral-bound full-color booklet. About to go into its second printing, the guide includes among the upgrades new photos and dichotomous keys based on the
newest findings about raptor molts and plumages.
HONORING THE INTERNS
In 2004, long-time GGRO Hawkwatcher Tim Behr donated funds for a permanent intern wall plaque for the
GGRO Office. Each GGRO intern, going all the way back
to 1996, has an engraved nameplate with his or her year
of service. Thanks to Tim for honoring the powerful impact of interns and GGRO, and a huge “thank you” to the
interns (listed at left) for shaping the GGRO over twenty
years.
Also in 2004, intern Rachel Norris compiled and edited
the first GGRO-driven bird list for the Marin Headlands,
a product made possible by the passionate (some might
say compulsive) birding and record-keeping of previous
Allen Fish lists among his intern experiences hooting for Great
Gray Owls for sixty nights for the US Forest Ser vice.
33
RAPTOR NOTEBOOK REDTAILS BUILD ON BASKETS
Anne Ardillo
M AY FLOWERS , but May
showers (accompanied by wind) invariably
prompt frantic calls to wildlife rehabilitation
centers about displaced baby hawks and owls. In the
spring, these centers are faced with the daunting task of
hand-raising baby raptors that have been prematurely
dislodged from their nests or nest-cavities.
Apparently the nest had been blown out of the tree along
with the young birds. We estimated that the two hawks
were approximately a month old, and had had enough
feathers to brace their falls. We contacted Jim Cairnes, a
professional tree climber who runs Small World Tree
Company, also in San Rafael. Jim has been our hero, reliably coming to our aid at a moment’s notice.
Fellow GGRO volunteer Alex Godbe and I decided to actively pursue a better solution for these young birds,
many of whom are healthy but homeless. We felt that returning them to their nests or similar habitat wherever
possible was the best option for both the birds and the
overworked rehabbers. So, we started Baskets for Birds in
2001 with the objective of returning fallen birds to their
nests. In cases where young birds fall from an intact nest,
we try to place them back into that nest. In cases where a
nest has been destroyed by a storm, wind, or human activity, we replace the nests or cavities with baskets, milk
crates, or nest boxes.
When we arrived at the nest tree, we put the second
young Redtail in a box, and then discovered a third
nestling, who unfortunately had not survived his fall. Mr.
Dean reported that he had recently seen the adults on the
lower branches. That was good news, since it showed that
the parents were still caring for the young. The tree
looked as though it could support a basket in the same
spot where the nest had been. Timing then became an issue.
A
PRIL SHOWERS BRING
PLACING THE BASKET
Originally we’d intended to put both the basket and the
hawk back in the tree that day. The second nestling complicated the situation. In the end, we decided to continue
with our original plan and return the following day with
the second hawk, if the latter was determined to be in
good condition. At that time, Jim would revisit the nest
and place the second hawk into the basket along with its
sibling.
GROUNDED REDTAILS
On June 3, 2004, a grounded Red-tailed Hawk nestling
was brought to the Wildcare Rehabilitation Facility of
San Rafael, California. The nestling sustained no apparent injuries and did not test positive for any known illnesses. Therefore, returning it to its nest appeared to be a
viable option. We contacted Charles Dean and his wife,
the owners of the property that housed the nest from
which the hawk chick had fallen.
Jim skillfully ascended the tree, secured the basket, and
placed the first nestling into his new home with extra
food—dead mice—in case the parents had abandoned
the nest and their young. Mr. Dean promised to monitor
the situation and contact us if any problems should arise.
The young hawk moved around, stood on the rim, and
then gorged on his provisions.
The Dean’s house is upslope from a stand of pine trees
bordering the bottom of the property. From their bedroom, they have a clear view of the Redtail nest, which
they had been monitoring all season. Mr. Dean told Alex
that another nestling hawk was now on the ground, having spent the better part of two days trying to balance itself on a low branch before falling to the ground, exhausted.
The second hawk was judged to be in good health, so we
returned the next day. Jim repeated his climb to the new
“digs” and placed the second bird into the basket. As he
climbed up, the first hawk started calling. A good sign, we
34
2004
thought. Maybe the adults would return! Holding our breath, we watched the two young
hawks adjust to each other and to their new
home. At first it looked like there wasn’t
enough room, but after a bit of rustling and
wing-flapping, they settled in. The first hawk
ate the new provisions Jim left, while his sibling
surveyed the site.
Mr. Dean agreed to contact us as soon as the
adults returned, or to call in two days if they
did not. Our backup plan was to send Jim back
up the tree for a third time to retrieve the two
young hawks and then come up with another
solution. That night, Alex received a call from a
jubilant Mr. Dean. The adults were back and
feeding the young—the family was reunited.
All was right with the world.
A NESTLING RED-TAILED HAWK PEERS OUT OF ITS BASKET. [ANN ARDILLO]
Ann,
BUILDING ON AND UP
I suspect you are right. They must have had their reasons for picking the spot they did, and putting the
basket exactly there, thus ensuring their success, may
have just reinforced their confidence in their choice. If
we had removed the basket at the end of the season do
you suppose they would still have rebuilt in the same
place? I suspect they would have.
One of the frequently asked questions is whether the
man-made substitutes interfere with the parents’ ability
or desire to build a nest during the following breeding
season. Since we are short-staffed, we have never had the
luxury of returning to observe each basket or box. However, in the third week of May 2005, Alex received an
email from Mr. Dean:
Mark
Alex,
To date, Baskets for Birds and the Hungry Owl Project
(which performs a similar service) have rescued more
than fifty hawks and owls. If anyone is interested in making donations (baskets or otherwise), or needs our service (which is free), contact me at [email protected], or
call the GGRO.
Over the last several weeks, hawks have filled the basket you placed in the tree last year with many branches and leaves such that the basket is no longer visible
and now a hawk is sitting on that nest day and night.
So do hawks reuse the baskets? Yes!
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Charles Dean
(www.hungryowl.org) Link to Baskets
For Birds on this site.
Hungry Owl Project
It seems that the basket provides a platform, or an anchor. We suspect that placing the basket in the same general area as the original nest may contribute to this rebuilding effort. Mark Fenn, one of the original Baskets
for Birds volunteers and the GGRO bander who initially
came up with the basket-substitution idea, emailed his
thoughts:
Terwilliger Nature Education & Wildlife Rehabilitation (www.wildcaremarin.org)
WildCare
Small World Tree Company
(www.smallworldtree.com)
Anne Ardillo has banded for the GGRO since 1993.
35
PEREGRINATIONS
SOUTHERN SOLANO COUNTY—LOOKING BEHIND THE COW
Susan Culliney, Kerry Neijstrom, Rachel Norris, and Hayley Ross
of agricultural fields
and web of roads in southern Solano County
make spotting and viewing wintering raptors
easy. Perched on fence posts or high-tension towers, these
hawks offer birders a wonderful opportunity to witness
them at fairly close range. However, the last thing we
hawk-lovers want is to clog these fantastic birding areas
with vehicles and exhaust. So, please, plan ahead and carpool. Or, combine birding with exercise and bring your
bike to pedal through these wide, flat, open areas! Birding
the areas around the Jepson Prairie Reserve and the islands is a long trip for one day, even in a car. It has been
done, but you may want to leave the island section for
another day. We also suggest that you choose one of the
several options for end-of-the-day stops.
T
HE WIDE - OPEN EXPANSE
RAPTORS SEEN OFTEN Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk,
Ferruginous Hawk, American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Whitetailed Kite.
RAPTORS SEEN OCCASIONALLY Peregrine Falcon, Prairie
Falcon, Swainson’s Hawk, unusual Red-tailed Hawks (Harlan’s
and partial albino), Golden Eagle, Burrowing Owl.
NON-RAPTORS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Mountain Plover,
Loggerhead Shrike, Horned Lark, American Pipit, vast clouds of
blackbirds (Brewer’s, Red-winged, Tri-colored), kiwis (the fruit, not
the bird).
HABITAT Open agricultural fields and grasslands with power
lines and fence posts for perches, few vernal pools, few trees,
riparian areas around the islands in the delta.
BEST VIEWING SEASON December to February
To get to southern Solano County from the central Bay
Area, take I-80 east toward Sacramento. Before hitting
Fairfield, take the Rio Vista/Suisun City/Lodi/Highway 12
exit, which will put you on Highway 12. Suisun City is
your last stop for a while for bathrooms and supplies, and
is also a good place to meet up with other drivers.
Cruise these areas slowly. Ferruginous Hawks can be seen
on the ground or perched on fence posts, so scan the
misty fields for raptor-like figures, even if they turn out
to be grass clumps. And don’t forget to look behind that
cow! The raptors seemed nervous when we stopped and
set up the scope, but mostly they stuck around long
enough to let us all get a good look.
JEPSON PRAIRIE RESERVE AREA
Burrowing Owls can also be seen here, but they tend to
blend in with the landscape. Scan the fields for small
mounds, which could turn out to be burrows—or Burrowing Owl heads. These elusive but adorable diurnal
owls have been spotted on Lambie Road going east, before the railroad tracks, and on Flannery Road, which
you will come to later in the tour.
Driving east on Highway 12, you will come to Shiloh
Road on your right and Lambie Road on your left. At this
point you are ready to start your real raptor experience,
although of course you should have been checking every
light pole and fence post along the way. Take Lambie
Road, turn left on Goose Haven Road, then turn right on
Robinson Road. This route to Jepsen Prairie will take you
along roads abundant with Ferruginous Hawks, Roughlegged Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks, not to mention a
plethora of kestrels clinging to the wires. Pay attention:
What appears to be “just another kestrel” may turn out to
be a Loggerhead Shrike, a passerine with an honorary
raptor membership.
From Robinson Road, turn left onto busy Highway 113.
Pull off to the right onto Hasting’s Road, where 113
makes a 90° turn to the left. This is a good spot to get out
the scope and check out the poles you passed on the
highway. On two separate trips, we saw an adult darkmorph Harlan’s Hawk on a pole at the corner of 113 and
36
2004
STRETCHING OUT TO THE WEST, FLANNERY ROAD’S RISES CREATE GREAT OVERLOOKS FOR SCANNING FOR RAPTORS IN THE SOUTHERN SOLANO REGION. CHECK
FENCELINES, POLELINES, TREETOPS, POWERTOWERS, RIDGELINES. START AGAIN. [ALLEN FISH]
Hastings. Harlan’s, a subspecies of Red-tailed Hawks, are
blackish, with a small amount of white streaking in the
breast area that forms a blotchy bib. Harlan’s tail patterns
vary, but adults will typically have a streaky gray tail,
while juveniles show wavy gray tail bands.
Turn around and go right on 113 to return to the network of roads and farm lots.
THE BIG DITCH
Drive south on 113 and take the first left onto Robinson
Road, a hot spot for raptor activity. On a clear day, the
sky here is a raptor playground. On a foggy day, watch for
Roughlegs adorning poles and fences. Those days we
spent on Hawk Hill wishing to see just one Rough-legged
Hawk seem almost silly now. Here they proudly display
their bold bellybands and chocolate carpal patches.
To get to the Jepson Prairie Reserve, turn around and get
back on 113, traveling west until 113 makes a 90° turn to
the right, resuming its northward direction. At this point,
turn left onto Cook Lane, a nondescript dirt road that
looks like a driveway. The Jepson Prairie Reserve sign will
appear on your left; less than a half-mile from 113 is a
parking area and an interpretive kiosk. You can get out
and walk around here, or continue driving down the levee road between vernal pools.
Prairie Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks can also be seen
moving casually about. Watch them play, hunt, eat, and
soar overhead. And be aware that while you’re out watching birds, you may also be watched. There is a good population of cows, and they seemed very curious as to what
we were doing. Come prepared to answer their questions.
This open area is a great spot to get out and check the
fence posts and high-tension towers that surround the
area. We were fortunate to spot a Red-shouldered Hawk
on the far side of a pool. This bird then flew toward another perched bird, which turned out to be a Roughlegged Hawk. The two sat next to each other, educating
us in their differences in size and plumage. The road goes
a little farther, then dead-ends at a sheep farm.
Farther down, you’ll run into . . . the BIG DITCH. This isn’t the Grand Canyon. It’s a ditch of above-average size,
in the middle of flat pastures and grain fields. During the
rainy season, the ditch may contain water. And hey, don’t
birds drink water? We didn’t happen to see any raptors or
raptor food loitering about the ditch, but maybe a Redtail
37
had recently swooped by and scared all the little birds
away. Better luck to future travelers.
One highlight of our visit on Robinson Road was spotting a cute and furry mammal, an unusual Spotted
Skunk, Spilogale putorius. It’s the size of a kitten, with
white spots on a black background. However, it is not a
kitten and should not be played with. Respect the
wildlife, and keep a safe distance.
FLANNERY WILL GET YOU EVERYWHERE
Where Robinson Road ends, take a right onto Flannery
Road. Other birders have seen Mountain Plovers in the
agricultural fields just west of the intersection with
Robinson Road. We saw plenty of them ... umm ... agricultural fields, that is. Driving straight on by may not be
sufficient work to deserve adding this bird to your list.
THE SOUTHERN SOLANO REGION IS A HAVEN FOR FERRUGINOUS HAWKS,
Better to stop your car to look for rocks in the fields.
These rocks may turn into Mountain Plovers once you
get binoculars or a scope on them. They resemble
Killdeer, but lack the Killdeer’s dark necklace. While
you’re scanning, watch for round heads sticking out of
the ground. This is another site where Burrowing Owls
have been reported. The same crowd of high-society
hawks mingles here on Flannery as on Robinson: Redtails, Kestrels, Prairies, Roughlegs, and Ferrugs.
LIKE THIS JUVENILE, IN THE WINTER. [NED HARRIS]
Landing, you have many choices to make: go right, go
left, go straight, or stop and have a drink at the tavern on
the corner. If you go right, you will head north back toward Highway 12. If you go left, you will reach
Collinsville, best known for being a ghost town with a
small population of living people. Going straight leads
toward the area opposite the east side of Grizzly Island,
but you cannot actually get to Grizzly Island from this
road.
Take a left onto Highway 113 to continue this trip. If
you’re feeling adventurous, you might try exploring some
of the other roads crossing Highways 113 and 12.
If you do decide to go straight, be prepared to feel like
you are being shot at. We heard gunshots about a quarter
of a mile down the road. Across the street is a shooting
range for clay discs and game birds, not a type of birding
in which we’re interested. It is rumored that there are
Golden and Bald Eagles in this area, so it might be worth
braving the sound of bullets to take a look down this
road. After you’ve had your adventure, go back and head
north on Birds Landing Road to reach Montezuma Hills
Road, which will be on your right.
BIRDS LANDING
You can take a left on Highway 12 and go straight to Rio
Vista (skip to the next section for further instructions),
but if you do, you’ll miss out on Birds Landing. With a
name like “Birds Landing” you feel you’re guaranteed a
good birding experience, right? Well, we’ll only guarantee
that you’ll have an experience of some kind.
Take Highway 113 south and it will turn into Birds Landing Road. You’ll pass by several sheep farms. You may see
wee baby sheep if you come at the right time of year.
MONTEZUMA HILLS ROAD
Montezuma Hills Road meanders for about seven miles
toward the town of Rio Vista. You can view various rap-
Once you reach the stop sign at the intersection at Birds
38
2004
113
Hastings Road
Jepson
Prairie
Reserve
113
Robinson
Road
Lambie Road
from Suisun City
Big
Goose
Haven
Road
The
12
Ditc
h
Creed Road
Flannery Road
Area shown
in detail maps
12
Little Honker Bay Road
Petaluma
12 to Rio Vista
Solano County
San Rafael
Oakland
San
Francisco
Pacifica
Livermore
Birds
Landing
Road
to Grizzly Island
Montezuma Hills Road
Hayward
to Rio Vista
to Collinsville
tors and passerines along this road, but it is mainly a scenic route. Alternate Route: Highway 12 coming from Suisun City is a more efficient way to get to the islands if
you don’t want to take back roads. Here’s an important
note: There are no services on Ryer Island or Grand Island, so make sure you fill up the gas tank and stock up
on snacks before your island adventures begin. Eastbound Highway 12 through Rio Vista offers gas and food.
There are various places to eat, whether you’re in the
mood for Mexican, Italian, Asian, or some good downhome cookin’ at the Rio Vista Bakery.
road veers left. Pay close attention and follow the signs to
Ryer Island. Once under the bridge on Highway 84 north,
take a right at the stop sign to get to the island. It is about
two miles to the Ryer Island Ferry after you’ve turned
right at the stop sign.
Touring these islands can take as little or as much time as
you would like. The islands are mainly agricultural fields,
which provide habitat for raptor prey. Most of the roads
around the outside of the islands have been built on top
of dykes. The agricultural fields are much lower than the
dykes, forming a bowl shape—you’ll be looking down to
find raptors. The free ferries between islands can only
carry six cars at a time—if you’re traveling in a caravan,
make sure to agree on a common meeting area after the
boat ride.
From downtown Rio Vista, make your way north to
Highway 12. Take 12 east, and before the bridge, get onto
Highway 84 north. There will be a turn-off to the right
that will lead you to Highway 84. After the turn-off, the
39
Highway 84
RYER ISLAND
Your raptor quest has now led you to the Ryer Island
Ferry. Once you exit the ferry you can either turn left
or right on Ryer Island Road (Highway 84), and you
might come across a kiwi fruit stand. This paved road
makes a huge circle around the island (approximately
fifteen miles), so you can’t go wrong.
Hi
y
16
0
Grand Island
Ryer Road
Highway 220
Highway 220
Ryer Island
Grand
Island
Road
Ryer Island Ferry
Brannan Island
State Park
Isleton
Hig
hw
ay
12
hwa
y8
4/1
20
Brannan
Island
Poverty Road
Walker Landing
Road
Hig
Some birders have spotted Swainson’s Hawks on Ryer
Island riding thermals with Redtails, Harriers, and
Kites. Wintering Swainson’s Hawks have been seen on a
few of the delta’s islands, with larger and more regular
populations observed on Andrus Island (Herzog 1995,
1996). Whichever route you choose, you’ll eventually end
up at the Howard Log Ferry.
wa
Elevator Road
A warm winter day can really bring the birds out and
make Ryer Island a raptor bonanza. They will be seen
perched on wires, poles, or fences. If the day is foggy,
don’t forget to check along the ground for these incredible creatures. They tend to be stationary in the absence
of thermals.
Also on Ryer, watch out for a partial albino adult Redtailed Hawk. In February 2005, we saw this bird chasing
a dark morph Redtail at the intersection of Ryer Island
Road and Highway 220 on the west side of the island.
There are two roads that cut across the full width of the
island, Highway 220 and Elevator Road (each approximately three miles long). They make for great raptor
watching. Sections of these roads are unpaved, so be
prepared for some muddiness if it has rained prior to
your trip.
gh
Grand Island is quite large compared to Ryer Island, so
you can opt for a longer or shorter route. From Poverty
Road take a right onto Highway 160 and follow it for
about two miles to a bridge. Take a left onto the bridge
and then merge right. It’s about three-and-a-half miles to
the town of Isleton on Brannen Island. Isleton offers gas,
food, and bathrooms.
GRAND ISLAND
Once on the ferry, you’ll be taken in “grand” fashion to
the next island. To follow the route we took, make a right
onto Grand Island Road. Drive along Grand Island Road
for about a mile and take a left onto Walker Landing
Road. Take this road for about half a mile and go right on
Poverty Road (approximately four miles long), all the
while looking for raptors. In February, we spotted a
Prairie Falcon on a high-tension tower around the intersection of Poverty Road and Highway 160.
BRANNEN ISLAND
Continue south on Highway 160 heading toward Rio
Vista and Highway 12. If you go straight at the intersection with Highway 12, Highway 160 will take you to see
more of Brannen Island. Brannen Island offers a display
of garden-variety raptors—Red-tailed Hawks, American
Kestrels, White-tailed Kites and Red-shouldered
40
2004
SOUTHERN SOLANO AND THE ADJOINING DELTA ARE RICH IN, RESPECTIVELY, NATIVE SHORTGRASS PRAIRIE AND WETLANDS—TWO OF THE HARRIER’S FAVORITE
HAUNTS. THIS ADULT MALE COURSES LOW FOR MICE AND WINTER SPARROWS, DETECTING THEM FIRST WITH HIS PRECISE HEARING. [JIM LOMAX]
Hawks—but wintering Swainson’s Hawks have been
spotted here, too. Brannen Island State Park is a potential
place to see Swainson’s. To get there, drive about three to
four miles along Highway 160; the park will be on your
left side. There’s a huge sign out front, so you can’t miss
it. The campgrounds close for the winter but the visitor
center is open on Saturdays and Sundays. There are no
fees in the winter.
Redtails, Kestrels, and White-tailed Kites. Sherman Island
Wildlife Area is located just off Highway 160, past Brannen Island State Park about thirteen miles to the south
(toward Antioch).
To get home you can go back the way you came (which
might be easiest) or you can choose a different route
(taking Highway 4 from Antioch west to I-680). Take
Highway 12 west toward I-80 to Vallejo, which will lead
you back into the Bay Area.
ALTERNATE ROUTE
If you decide to take Highway 12 east instead of continuing on Highway 160, you can see all sorts of raptors, not
to mention Sandhill Cranes, lots of waterfowl, and various winter passerines. Many of the fields on the island
flood during the winter, which provides good habitat for
water-loving birds.
REFERENCES:
Herzog, S. K. 1995. The ecology of wintering Swainson’s
Hawks in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta and their interactions with other buteos during the
1993/94 winter. HMANA Migration Studies Sept. 1995:
17-19.
If you’re feeling really energetic, there are other places
that deserve honorable mention. Visit Woodbridge Road
to the east, just off of Highway 5; Sandhill Cranes are
abundant in the fields during the winter here. You might
even get a glimpse of a Peregrine Falcon! If you haven’t
had enough yet, Sherman Island Wildlife Area can be a
good place to see the following raptors: Prairie Falcons,
— 1996. Wintering Swainson’s Hawks in California’s
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Condor 98: 876879.
Susan, Kerr y, Rachel & Hayley were our fantastic 2004 interns. They have moved on to other raptor and conser vation
jobs and we wish them all the best.
41
2004 GGRO Donors
Cheryl Abel • Jeff Acuff • Christine Adams • Rob Allen • Patricia Allison • Jon Altemus • Henry Altorfer • Charles Annen • Caryn Ansel • Michael Armer •
Kendra Armer • Larry Atkinson • Gay Auerbach • Nikki Ausschnitt • Marylou Avanzino • Diane Bahr • Barbara Bane • William Barnaby • David Barry • Guy
Baty • Steve Bauer • Linda Becker • Tim Behr• Cathy Bell • Paul Babwin & Karen Bell • Christopher Berner • FJ Bethke • Ardith Betts • Mr. & Mrs. Robert Blumberg
• Mr. & Mrs. Peter Bogardus • Bill & Jennifer Bollinger • Roxanne Borcich • Olive Borgsteadt • Kathy Bouvier • Stewart Brand & Ryan Phelan • Kathryn Brazee
• Randy Breaux • Nancy Brink • Geraldine Brown • Phyllis Browning • Shannon Burke • Davida Bushner • Michael Butler • Bill Callaway • Julia Camp • Dr. &
Mrs. Richard Camp • Hugh & Pearl Campion • Cheryl Carnes • Beth Cataldo • John Caulfield • Linda Chambers • C. Chaney • Joan Chaplick • Terry Chew •
Donna Ciccolini • Jim Clausen • Ronald Cliff • Terry Coddington • Joanna Cohen • Howard & Jeanne Cohn • Christine Colasurdo • George Coles • Gerald
Connell • Lewis Cooper • Kanit Cottrell • Dorothy Cousins • John Crane • Ludek Dadok • Anne Darragh & David Ford • Aimee Davis • Thomas Dawson •
Pamela Dayton • Mr. & Mrs. de Laet • Tom Delebo • Frank DeMarco • Karen DeMello • Licia DeMeo • Philip Detrich & Leslie Detrich • David Diggs • John &
Marita Dorenbecher • Michele Drake • Richard Driscoll • Wade Eakle • Peter Ehrlich • Bruce Elder • Bob Elliott • Michael & Stacy Erb • Marian Erdelyi • Val
Fairman • Roxanne Farwell • Tom Felts • Richard Ferris • Alice Fialkin • Jeanne Fidler • Virginia Fifield • Amy Jo Fillin • Allen Fish & Allison Pennell • George &
Patsy Fish • James Fisher • David Fix • Mary Anne Flett & Max Brier • Leslie Flint • Ross Forman • Alexandra Forman • George Foster • Nancy Read Francine
• Rebecca Freed • Bonnie Fritsche • Lillian Fujii • Heather Furmidge • Theresa Gabel & Timothy Zumwalt • Gray Gallogly • Mr. & Mrs. Leo Gaspardone • Kevin
Gilmartin & Barbara Bessey • David S. Ginsburg • Mr. & Mrs. Goldstein • Quentin Goodrich • Greg Gothard & Barbara Samuelson• Alan Gould • Dorothy
Gregor • Keith Gress • Earl Gress • John Griffin • Mary Haack • Judy Harris • Elizabeth Hartka • Janet Hayssen • Susan Hecox • Ann Heurlin • Jan Hintermeister
• Leslie Holeman • Roberta Hollier • Calvin Hom • Thomas Hopkins • Dick & Diane Horn• Richard & Terry Horrigan • Karen Hoyt • Wen Hsu • Ellen Hughes •
Jennifer Hyypio • Susan Jackson • Bill James • EW Jameson, Jr. • Kathy Jarrett • David & Lynn Jesus • Neal Johannsen • Marcine McDonald Johnson • Jeremy
Johnstone • Mr. & Mrs. Peter Joost • Cyril Juanitas • Debbie Kahn • Kanani Kauka • Sterling Kinnell • Nancy Kittle • John Knox • Tom Konno • Donald Koors &
Nancy Williams • Ann Kositsky • Cheryl Kraywinkel • Deb Kremins • Doris Kretschmer• Julia Kringel • Joan Lamphier • Dian Langlois • Jane Latham • Kathryn
Lee • Mardi Leland • Winifred Lennihan • Peter Leveque • Beverly Lindquist • Julie Litwin • Sue Loar • Bob Long • Jeff Longcrier • Paul Lowrey & Diane Jones
Lowrey • David Lukas • Gerald Luckham • Virginia Ludvik • CM Macintosh • Elizabeth Madriz • Declan Mages • Ekhard Mahl • Eugene Majerowicz • Robert
Mallette • Charles Massen • Tom & Alice May • Barbara Mayer • Mr. & Mrs. Kirk McAllister • Fran McDermott • Scott McDonald & Tiffany Schauer • Susan
McGreevy • Yvonne McHugh • John McQuown • Dennis Meehan • Kim Meyer• Mr. & Mrs. Alan Miller • Sally Miller • Steve and Terrie Miller• Jim & Sally Mills
• Dee Mitchell • Henry Mitchell, III • Bill & Debie Montana • John Moody • Mary Morgan • Nancy Mori • Denise Mortorff • Tom Moutoux • Mikiye Nakanishi
• Soo-Hi & Alan Nayer • Craig Nikitas • Jill North • Mr. & Mrs. Ed Nute • Kathy Odell • John Odell • Steve O’Donnell • Brian O’Laughlin • Claire O’Neil• Pat
Overshiner • Gary Palmer • Diane Parish & Paul Gelburd • Katherine Pattison • Norma Pauline Schmid • Jeffrey & Anne Pearl • Annette & Robin Pennell • Jean
Perata & Dennis Davison• Marjorie Plant • Allan Plumb • Jim Polkinghorn • Carol Poole • Bob Power • Bill Prochnow • Bill & Karin Rabin • James Raives• Mr.
& Mrs. John Rathkey • Richard Reedy • Don Reinberg • Elizabeth Rippe • Karen Jo Rippens • Marci Riseman • Barbara Robinson • Steven Rock • Laurie & Keith
Rogers • Lilia Rosenheimer • Jim Ross • Elizabeth Rouan • Gayle Rubin • Siobhan Ruck • Ann Ruffer • Maggie Rufo • Leonard & Elizabeth Rush • Serena Salomon
• Ivan Samuels • Juta Savage • Birgit Schilling • Marilyn Schmitz • Donald Schmoldt • Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Schuchat • Terry Scussel • Marianne Seiki • Stephen
& Deborah Senter • James Shea • Debra Love Shearwater • Jay Sheets • Dan Sherman • Will Shor • Jenn Shulzitski • Martin Sidor • Robin Smith • Brian Smucker
• Sharon Solomon • Sheila Sousa • Robert Speckels • Kathy Spence • Jude Stalker • Maitland Stanley • Debra Stein • Philip Steiner • Joan Stewart • Hal
Sugishita • Jan Sutcher • Jen Taylor • Laura Thomas • Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Thompson • Derrick Umali • John Ungar • Linda Vallee • Richard Vanderlugt • Douglas
Vaughan • Linda Vida • Nick & Denise Villa • Jerry Vitenson • Jeff Wall • Larry Wallman • Mary & Roman Watt • Michael Weber • Marion Weeks • Jill
Weinstein • S Paul Welles, Jr. • Virginia Welsh • Barbara Westree • Nick Whelan • Peter White • Franklin Whitman • Mr. & Mrs. MK Whyte • Nancy Willard
• Martha Wilson • Kathleen Winslow • Richard Winslow • David Wood • Carolyn & A Frederick Wood • Sherrie Wren • Jim Yampolsky • Emmet Yeazell • Bob
Zeiss • CORPORATIONS & FOUNDATIONS Bayer • Eagle Optics • GCA Strategies • Globestar • GMAC-RFC • Marin Audubon Society • National Park
Foundation• Peet’s Coffee• Sunset Line & Twine • The United Way• The United Way - Los Angeles • IN MEMORY OF SVEN WAHLBERG • Robin & Annette
Pennell • IN MEMORY OF FLORA DONIVAN • Dennis Davison & Jean Perata
DAP FUND CHARTER DONORS (FROM INCEPTION TO 5-11-05)
Christine Adams • Anne Ardillo • Michael Armer • Larry and Karen Atkinson • Nikki Ausschnitt • Bill Barnaby • Steven Bauer • Ann Bernstein • Adam Birek •
Gleneda Borton • John Boyd • Michael Butler • Joan Chaplick • Terry and Zeo Coddington • Kanit Cottrell • Carol Donohoe • Robert Douglas • Norval and Mary
Fairman • Mark Fenn • Mary Anne Flett • Heather Furmidge • Daniel Gottsegen • Alan Gould • Christopher Gould • Gil Greene • David Gregoire • Dorothy
Gregor • Keith Grimson • Amos Hausman-Rogers • Ann Heurlin • Jan Hintermeister • Michael Holley • Calvin Hom • Jennifer Hyypio • Neal Johannsen • Kanani
Kauka • Mamiko Kawaguchi • Donna Lannie • Christopher Lydon • Valerie Martino • Charles Massen • Fran McDermott • David Mendelson • Philip Meyer •
Jim and Sally Mills • Mary Morgan • Nancy Mori • Lisa Morse • Martha and Thomas Murphy • Kirsten Nielsen • Robert Numerof • Kathy Odell • Steve
O’Donnell • Pat Overshiner • Elizabeth Palmer • Jean Perata • Jean Perata • Ralph Pericoli • Bob Power • Bill Prochnow • Donald Reinberg • Jennie Rhine •
Duane and Barbara Robinson • Janette Roletto • Lilia Rosenheimer • Siobhan Ruck • Anne Ruffer • Marianne Seiki • Sue Shane • James Shea • Jay Sheets • Tate
Snyder • Ryan Phelan and Stuart Brand • John Ungar • Doug Vaughan • Nick and Denise Villa • Jeff and Susan Wall • Marion Weeks • Nancy Willard • Eddie
Bartley and Noreen Weeden
CORPORATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Buzz Hull 20th Anniversary Gift Fund • Earth Friends Foundation • General Re Services Corporation • Tom and Claire O’Neil Foundation
42
2004
2004 GGRO Volunteers
Jeff Acuff • Christine Adams • Rob Allen • Jon Altemus • Henry Altorfer • Charles Annen • Anne
Ardillo • Dan Argraves • Michael Armer • Kendra Armer • Lillian Armstrong • Loretta Armstrong
• Stefanie Arthur • Gay Auerbach • Nikki Ausschnitt • Diane Bahr • Barbara Bane • Lynn
Bantley • Bill Barnaby • Eddie Bartley • Steve Bauer • Larry Beard • Tim Behr • Cathy Bell •
Ande Bennett • Christopher Berner • Ardith Betts • Robert Blumberg • Marc Blumberg • Jeff
Boissier • Bill Bollinger • Jennifer Bollinger • Carroll Botvinick • Kathy Bouvier • Herb Brandt •
Randy Breaux • Nancy Brink • Jim Brulet • Shannon Burke • Joe Burns • Michael Butler • Bill
Callaway • Michele Casale • Sally Cedarblade • Linda Chambers • Roberta Chan • Joan
Chaplick • Terri Chew • Donna Ciccolini • Jim Clausen • Ryan Cochrane • Terry Coddington •
Gerald Connell • Lewis Cooper • Susan Corbaley • Kanit Cottrell • Valerie Cramer • John Crane
• Michelle Creedon • Susan Culliney • Susannah Dameron • Dennis Davison • Mike Deady •
Tom Delebo • Ron DeLeon • Russ DeLong • Frank DeMarco • Robert Douglas • Michele Drake
• Judith Dunham • JD Durst • Kristen Dybala • Wade Eakle • Todd Eggert • Roxanne Farwell •
Tom Felts • Mark Fenn • Richard Ferris • Alice Fialkin • David Fichtner • Rena Fischer • Robbie
Fischer • Allen Fish • David Fix • Leslie Flint • Alexandra Forman • Ross Forman • Rebecca
Freed • Ann Fridlind • Heather Furmidge • Claire Gallagher • Suzanne Gearhart • Carol
Gerstein • Angelo Gilbert • Sandy Goldberg • Greg Gothard • Chris Gould • David Gregoire
• Keith Gress • John Griffin • Charles Groff • Barak Haiby • Aaron Haiman • Joshua Haiman
• Jim Hallisey • Michael Harkins • Judy Harris • Amos Hausman-Rogers • Janet Hayssen • Sue
Hecox • Ann Heurlin • Barbara Hilbourn • Leslie Holeman • Michael Holley • Roberta Hollier •
Calvin Hom • Diane Horn • Dick Horn • Tim Howe • Karen Hoyt • Wen Hsu • Buzz Hull • Josh
Hull • Linda Husted • Julian Hyde • Jennifer Hyypio • Cheryl Ishida • Susan Ives • Bridget IvinsYoung • Bill James • Eric Jepsen • David Jesus • Lynn Jesus • Neal Johannsen • Donald Johnson
• Emalee Johnston • Jeremy Johnstone • Jennifer Kaczor • Debbie Kahn • Bridget Kaman •
Kanani Kauka • Mamiko Kawaguchi • John Keane • Mary Kenney • Laurie King • Sterling
Kinnell • Sarah Klobas • Ann Kositsky • Cheryl Kraywinkel • Doris Kretschmer • Coby LaFayette
• Joan Lamphier • Dian Langlois • Heather Lannie • Julie Lanser • Pam Larkin • Ben Lavender •
Owen Leibman • Allison Levin • Ed Lewis • Beverly Lindquist • Taiyo Lipscomb • Bob Long •
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory
www.ggro.org
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Building 1064, Ft. Cronkhite
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 331-0730 • fax (415) 331-7521
[email protected]
PRR Editor/GGRO Director: Allen Fish •
PRR Designer: Bill Prochnow • Copyediting:
Susan Tasaki • GGRO Research Director:
Buzz Hull • GGRO Office Manager: Jill
Harley • 2004 Research Interns: Susan
Culliney, Hayley Ross, Kerry Neijstrom, &
Rachel Norris • GGNRA Advisor: Bill
Merkle • Parks Conservancy Director of
Community Programs: Mike Lee • Founder
& USGS Advisor: Judd Howell
The Pacific Raptor Report (PRR) is the annual
newsletter of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, but we also welcome any raptorial
articles based in the Pacific States and
Provinces. The Pacific Raptor Report is published once each summer by the GGRO, a
program of the Golden Gate National Parks
Conservancy in cooperation with the National Park Service. The GGRO Season Summary is published in the winter. Subscriptions to
both are $30 per year with checks made out
to “GGRO.”
Gerald Luckham • Virginia Ludvik • Cecily Majerus • Charles Massen • Fran McDermott •
Yvonne McHugh • Ewen McKechnie • Terry Mead • Dennis Meehan • Mona Mena • Horacio
Mena • David Mendelson • Kim Meyer • Terrie Miller • Steve Miller • Steph Monsor • Debie
Montana • Bill Montana • Mary Morgan • Nancy Mori • Ian Morrison • Tom Moutoux • Mikiye
Nakanishi • Kerry Neijstrom • Chris Nikitas • Craig Nikitas • Rachel Norris • Jill North • Bob
Numerof • Steve O’Donnell • Brian O’Laughlin • Claire O’Neil • Steve O’Neill • Kathy Odell •
Rebecca Olsen • Pat Overshiner • Elizabeth Palmer • Gary Palmer • John Payne • Susan
Pemberton • Jean Perata • Ralph Pericoli • Madalyn Perrine • Danielle Perrine • Bridgett Perry
• John Perry • Tania Pollak • Bob Power • Bill Prochnow • Bill Rabin • Sue Ellen Raby • James
Raives • Don Reinberg • Theresa Rettinghouse • Jennie Rhine • Valerie Riffle • Mark Riffle •
Steven Rock • William Rodriguez • Toby Rohmer • Richard Romero • Lilia Rosenheimer • Laury
Rosenthal • Hayley Ross • Jim Ross • Libby Rouan • Siobhan Ruck • Ann Ruffer • Audrey Sabol
The Golden Gate National Parks
Conservancy is a nonprofit membership
organization created to preserve the Golden
Gate National Parks, enhance the experiences of park visitors, and build a community
dedicated to conserving the parks for the
future. To become a member, phone (415)
4R-PARKS, or visit
www.parksconservancy.org.
• Barbara Samuelson • Juta Savage • Eric Scott • Rich Seymour • James Shea • Geo Shebalin
• Robert Shepard • Mitchell Skinner • Brian Smucker • Kathy Spence • Jude Stalker • Hal
Sugishita • Edith Summers • Jan Sutcher • Nancy Szymanski • Laurel Talbot • Francis Taroc • Jen
Taylor • Rachelle Taylor • George Teiber • Laura Thomas • Leslie Tribe • Bill Trione • Derrick
Umali • John Ungar • Linda Vallee • Douglas Vaughan • Denise Villa • Nick Villa • Jeff Wall •
Larry Wallman • Michael Weber • Laurie Wedra • Noreen Weeden • Marion Weeks • Jill
Weinstein • Martha Wessitsh • Brian Westlund • Barbara Westree • Peter White • Nancy
Willard • Ken Wilson • Martha Wilson • David Wimpfheimer • Ken Windler • Katie Winslow
• David Wood • Jim Yampolsky
43
The National Park Service was created in 1916 to preserve America’s natural,
cultural, and scenic treasures, which today
number 388, and to provide for their enjoyment for future generations. For information
about the Golden Gate National Parks,
phone (415) 561-4700, or visit
www.nps.gov/goga.
T H E PAC I F I C R A P TO R R E P O RT
WINTER 2004-2005
NUMBER TWENTY-SIX
Published by
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory
Golden Gate National Parks Conser vancy
Building 201, Fort Mason
San Francisco, California 94123
N o n - p r o f i t
O r g a n i z a t i o n
U.S. Postage Paid
San Francisco, CA
Pe r m i t No 1 1 0 4

pacific raptor report - Golden Gate Raptor Observatory

Transcription

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