HY female Prairie Falcon
Congratulations to the team today, headed by Martin Muller and Mark Gleason. Not only did they top our biggest day so far this season, but they also brought in 2 first's of the season, a Prairie Falcon and a Merlin! AND they caught half of what they observed which is quite a coup. It is very rewarding after such a slow day yesterday.
The weather was clear and warm, with just a light breeze in the afternoon. The Prairie falcon played with them for half an hour before they were able to catch it. And she even had a full crop. Helping Martin and Mark were Rebecca Wells, Peter Klein and his son Gavin and his friend Sam.
(An addendum from Mark Gleason - A special thanks to Rebecca Wells who had to learn to spot birds, pull the pigeon, record data, and figure out how to use the photo function on the phone, all in crowded blind on the busiest day of the year. Not to mention Martin and my calm demeanor through out the day!
- Mark)
Raptors banded:
5 HY male SSHA
4 HY female SSHA
1 HY male COHA
3 HY female COHA
1 ASY male COHA
4 ASY female COHA
1 HY U RTHA
1 HY male MERL
1 HY female PRFA
HY male Merlin
We are now at a total of 113, just ahead of last year with 110 as of this date. Here is the updated graph:
