Road Trapping

Yesterday, I got a chance to experience "road trapping," which involves taking our raptor banding show on the road. Essentially, we drove around until we spotted a raptor. We chucked a trap out of the window of the car, waited for a few minutes to see if we could catch the bird, and then banded it right out of the trunk of the car.

Emma and Buzz band an American kestrel. All the banding materials are in the back of the car.

We spent the entire day driving around the Davis, CA, area. However, time flew by as we were constantly stopping and occasionally banding some incredible birds. Three of the six birds we banded yesterday were American kestrels, the charismatic little falcons that I have come to love this year.

Adult, female American kestrel.

Female American kestrels are aged by the final black bar on their tails. In this case, it was an adult bird because the last black bar is so much thicker than the other bars.

We were not successful in catching every bird we set the traps out for. Even so, just getting a chance to see some of these unique raptors was worth the trip.

An adult ferruginous hawk (the first adult I've ever seen). This bird is the definition of majestic.

Dark-morph adult red-tailed hawk.

The highlight of the day, however, was banding three adult red-shouldered hawks. There is a theory the other GGRO interns have developed that any black-and-white bird (especially if there is a hint of red) will automatically qualify as one of my favorites. Recent examples include pigeon guillemots, black phoebes, and California condors. Thus, these beautiful birds immediately won me over. So much so that I am writing in an uncharacteristically gushy way about them. But I'm putting science aside for this entry, because these birds are just plain amazing. See for yourself:

Red-shoulder #1.

Look at the black and the red and the white. Just look at it! Wow!

I demonstrate why this bird is called "red shouldered."

Are you seeing this bird? It's so cool!

Close-up of the feathers. Amazing.

Red-shoulder #2 was much redder on the body. Do you see this bird? Do you see how beautiful it is?

This is another shot of a red-shoulder looking incredible.

Red-shoulder #2 release shot.

This is red-shoulder #3, caught about 27.3 seconds after red-shoulder #2.

Some red-shoulders have particularly prominent hackles (feathers on the back of the skull), giving them a spiky-headed appearance.

So, here's the deal. I like birds (obviously). That being said, I like to think of myself as a scientist, biologist, what-have-you-ist. I like to take an objective perspective of my work and not resort to constant "ohhhhhhhh those birdies are soooooo cuuute!!" gushiness. That's not why I'm motivated to do what I do. However, I think it is important to take a step back every now and then and acknowledge the simple fact that these creatures are amazing, beautiful, incredible. Yesterday was an experience in research, but more importantly, in was an experience in awe-stricken appreciation.