A hatch-year red-tailed hawk flying over the hills behind Slacker blind. (Photo credit: Chris Briggs)
There are four blinds in operation around the Marin Headlands. We banded at the "Slacker" blind (named after the name of the hill, not the laziness of its users), from which we had a beautiful view of Hawk Hill, Point Bonita, and the Pacific Ocean, as well as much of the rest of the Marin Headlands. Most of our morning was spent repairing nets and making sure everything was in tip-top shape, but by noon, we were inside the blind, waiting for some raptors to appear. Here are some of the highlights that came to follow:
-Prairie Falcon: One of the most elusive birds of the Marin Headlands, the prairie falcon is seen by the hawkwatchers an average of four times per season, and banded an average of twice per season. How amazing would it be if that were the first bird I banded out here? Spoiler alert: it wasn't. However, I got an amazingly up-close look as one stooped right into the trapping area. It was quick, but we identified it as a prairie falcon without question. This might've been my only chance to see this bird all season - amazing!
Not my photo, but this is basically what we saw. (www.nickdunlop.com)
-Red-tailed Hawk: Our first successful catch was a juvenile red-tailed hawk. Even before taking measurements, we could tell that she was a female based on how hefty she was (female raptors are larger than their male counterparts). Even more interesting was the fact that she was a rufous-morph, a rarer version of the typical red-tailed hawk. We came to this conclusion based on the heavy, dark streaking on her upper breast, and the cinnamon hue to her tail.
Cinnamon streaks in the red-tailed tail.
Almost immediately, I learned a valuable lesson in large raptor handling. GGRO handles raptors differently than my previous experience at Hawk Ridge, and as I was adjusting my grip, one of her legs came free. The next thing I knew, four sharp, hawk talons were embedded in my arm. Chris was a champ, as he pulled those strong toes apart, but it was certainly more than a sting. In fact, I'm a little disappointed that the scars left behind are so wimpy - they don't reflect the amount of pain a wild raptor's talons are capable of. Obviously, I came out alive and it was a great lesson. I will certainly be considerably more cautious handling raptors from now on.
I then got to experience the processing of the hawk, as I took all of its measurements, applied the band, and recorded all of the data. This took a bit of time, it being my first bird, and I'll be working to increase my efficiency with this stage of the process to decrease the amount of time the wild bird has to hang out with me in the blind. Afterwards, we took her outside for a photo-op and released her into the wind.
Here I am with the first raptor I banded in California. Not a bad start! (Photo credit: Anna Stunkel - also the next one).
I'm attempting to show off this bird's wing, but the wind was making that challenging.
-Four more red-tailed Hawks: While I was processing lady red-tail, we were being taunted by four other red-tailed hawks outside the blind. They circled around, came close to the nets, and then flew back up again, over and over and over. In fact, one actually perched on one of our poles for a record-breaking 18 minutes. Chris said that this is typical kestrel behavior, but you rarely see a buteo act this way. Very interesting.
-American Kestrel: Towards the end of the day, we caught our second bird, a hatch-year, male American Kestrel. The males are distinguished by their silvery-blue wing color, and solid tail with a bold black stripe. We aged it as a juvenile because it had stripes all the way up its back (instead of only partway as we would have seen in the adult).
The girls I work with keep going on and on about how adorable kestrels are. I wonder how cute they'll think it is when they see one attacking its prey.
Male American kestrel tail.
American kestrels are falcons, same family as the peregrines. I find myself partial to falcons, so it was pretty cool to see this bird up close. Anna did the processing this time as I kept an eye on the nets (and another kestrel managed to elude us). When Anna was done, I handled the bird as well. Red-tails and kestrels represent the two size extremes of birds we'll be handling this season, so it was nice to get a feel for both ends of the spectrum. Afterwards, I let him go too.
Kestrel release. (Photo credit: Anna Stunkel)
By the time our kestrel was flying off into the hills, we had to start cleaning up and head back down the hill. Considering we were expecting to see very few birds, I would consider it a very successful day. A great first experience banding at GGRO.
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