Discover Top Posts Tagged with #hawk watch

Sharp-shinned Hawk

#birds of maine #Hawk Watch #acadia national park #cadillac mountain

Beautiful Virginia day at the Rockfish Hawk Watch on top of Afton mountain.

We only spotted people, plants, planes, and vultures :)

#hawk #hawks #virginia #afton mountain #hawk watch #bird #migration #nature #wildlife #photo

Hawk Watch 2019

Golden eagles are one of North America’s largest and fastest birds of prey. Their name stems from the feathers on their head and neck that glint a dazzling gold when the sun hits them just right. Golden eagles are incredibly agile hunters. They subsist mainly on small mammals like rabbits, marmots, and rodents, although they will eat larger animals, other birds, fish, and carrion. In the fall, golden eagles migrate from breeding areas up north down to warmer climates. Along the way, many of them will pass directly through Glacier National Park along the Continental Divide (along with other types of migratory raptors).

Audio-described video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQo9DnQc2Xg&feature=youtu.be

In the mid 1990s, surveyors documented nearly 2,000 golden eagles migrating past Mount Brown annually. In recent years, however, park biologists noticed that data collected at HawkWatch International sites outside the park indicated a significant decline in migrating golden eagles. Overall, little is known about current golden eagle migration trends.

Resource staff took action and worked with the CCRLC’s Citizen Science Program to develop a new citizen science project to count migrating raptors, particularly golden eagles. Glacier’s Hawk Watch site, located near the top of Mount Brown, is part of an international effort to track long-term raptor migration trends.

This project engages volunteers in helping park staff monitor raptors migrating along the Continental Divide. Observers gather information on sex, age, color morph, behavior and environmental conditions for all observed raptor species.

The reasons for the downtick in migrating golden eagle numbers are not well understood, but they face a variety of human-caused threats. Among the top culprits are poisoning from lead-shot and lead sinkers, collisions with wind turbines, and the spread of non-native cheatgrass. Cheatgrass is an invasive weed that spreads rapidly, degrading valuable habitat for small animals the eagles prey on.

By establishing the Mount Brown Hawk Watch site, park managers can discover if golden eagles migrating through Glacier are also declining in numbers. Volunteers will count migrating raptors from a site near the Mount Brown Lookout and also at Lake McDonald Lodge.

If you’re an avid birder or have experience with raptor counts and want to get involved, contact the Citizen Science office at [email protected]. We’ll also be holding a Hawk Watch Open House for the public on October 5th at the Lake McDonald Lodge Jammer Joe’s parking lot from 12-4pm. Come by for some hot drinks, learn about the project, and look for raptors through binoculars and scopes!

#hawk watch #raptors #hawks #golden eagle #citizen science #glacier national park

Glacier’s Citizen Science Program Celebrates the Year of the Bird

A golden eagle soars against a backdrop of mountain peaks.

What do you call a bird in the winter? “Brrr-d!” Winter is approaching Glacier National Park and things are starting to wind down here at the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center (CCRLC), but 2018 marked a time full of new adventures, interesting public events and joyous celebrations. Among these celebrations was the “Year of the Bird,” a year-long event which commemorates the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)—the most powerful piece of legislation ever passed to protect North American bird species. Over 150 organizations nationwide joined together to bring attention to the issues that threaten birds and celebrate the numerous conservation efforts to protect and defend them.

NPS Photo/Daniel Lombardi

[image description: Sunlight bounces of the underside of a golden eagle in flight. Mountaintops fill the background.]

#birds #yearofthebird #Hawk watch #citizen science #bioblitz

Finally tracked down the Hawk Watch area at the old hotel up on top of Afton Mountain. It’s around the back behind the shabby hotel.

Saw a Bald Eagle soaring in the distance - white and black marking very distinct. I’ve yet to get a good look of one in my lifetime. My first sighting of a Broad Winged Hawk.

A few Kestrels zoomed by -- no good look of them.

So nice to have experts around that can ID the hawks and other birds! A fun experience that I highly recommend.

I did get a little sidetracked with the golden rod and thistle complete with Monarch Butterflies and American or Painted Lady Butterflies (didn’t get close enough to id).

#rockfish gap #hawk watch #hawk #birding #birds #fall migration #afton #afton mountain #virginia #waynesboro #hmana

Driving the golf cart around campus and this hawk swooped down so close in front of me I had to slam on the brakes bc I thought I would hit it. Not once but twice. Then it sat in the field and stared at me.