Well, a very hot weekend has now passed and it is Monday morning, Sept. 21. Wow, Hawkwatchers and Banders both came off the hill early, both Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, the Telemetry Team is still "waiting" for a Broadwing or Better. (Broad-winged Hawk, Swainson Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk or even a Rough-legged Hawk).
So, Now, on Monday morning, the weather is a little cooler and the winds should begin coming from more favorable directions. Not all of the weather sites agree as to what will happen right here on the coast, but 16 happy banders have headed up to the blinds.
I will re-post when we have our "J" (Journey) bird.
September 2015: Broadwing or Better "Wait" Begins
September 18, 2015
Well, I've spent a few days over at 1064 trying to get everything organized so that the Telemetry Team can follow another Broad-winged Hawk to the Mexican Border. Thanks to Maxine, Ron, Brian and Linda who helped sort through all of the equipment. So far, only a few Broadwings have been seen by Hawkwatch, but we know they will be coming in larger numbers very soon. We had some unexpected wet weather on Wednesday, but California needs every drop it can get, and it certainly should help the large fires to our North and East. (As a side subject, David was banding on Wednesday and picked up a female, Sharp-shinned Hawk which "smelled" smoky. He had everyone in the blind "smell" the bird..... that was a first!)
When we begin to actually track a bird, I will update the posts daily, so that you can keep up with the progress of our subject. Hopefully, we get a picture to post to this blog, too.
So, until I have more to post, so long. Oh, this will be the "J" bird, and I'm favoring "Journey" unless someone else can tempt me with an even better name.
November 16, 2014
Today is the last official day of having teams go out and check on Frosty. Individual trackers can take equipment out, at their will, and see if Frosty remains in the area near Todd and Llano, and Stony Point and various small side streets. So today, Lorri G. teamed up with Eileen R., and Barb W. and Maxine B. once again teamed up. Frosty's movements were minor, possibly just moving between trees, in an area of less than 5 acres, again within the area close to Llano and Todd, which is just east of Laguna de Santa Rosa wetlands. The teams broke off in the late morning; however Lorri and Eileen returned to the area and picked up an omni signal on the Bodega Hwy at Todd Rd. If we pick up any post-season movement which takes Frosty out of this area, I may post an update.
So, to briefly summarize;
Frosty was released in Southern Marin (the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area) on November 8, 2014 and flew northward to Southern Sonoma County (Santa Rosa/Sebastopol Area) on November 9, 2014. He then became stationary in an area bordered by Todd Rd., Stony Point, Llano, just east of Laguna de Santa Rosa, and he remained their through the end of active tracking which ended November 16, 2014.
On November 22, Lorri Gong returned to the area and reported that Frosty was still there.
So, to briefly summarize;
Frosty was released in Southern Marin (the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area) on November 8, 2014 and flew northward to Southern Sonoma County (Santa Rosa/Sebastopol Area) on November 9, 2014. He then became stationary in an area bordered by Todd Rd., Stony Point, Llano, just east of Laguna de Santa Rosa, and he remained their through the end of active tracking which ended November 16, 2014.
On November 22, Lorri Gong returned to the area and reported that Frosty was still there.
November 14, 2014
A clear, beautiful day in Frosty's neighborhood. Two teams, consisting of Lorri G. and Brian S, and Mike H.and Eileen R. went out today and initially located Frosty near the Beretta Dairy, where the teams had left him the evening before. That's right, Frosty actually moved a little farther west and northwest, while the teams moved to different highpoints in order to cover his movements. So new, local highpoints were discovered and there was some excitement in actually have Frosty move to the west of Llano. However, at the end of the day, Frosty moved back towards Beretta Dairy, and ended up just south of his starting location. An almost "exciting" day in the neighborhood.
November 13, 2014
Some light rain showers accompanied two teams to check on Frosty. Frosty was officially declared a stationary bird, in the sense that he is flying over the same rectangular area of earth, about halfway between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. So, we're reducing teams and trackers to both check on Frosty's location and to continue to train the apprentices who were able to go out during this week. So Phil Capitolo joined up with Brian Smucker, and Lorri Gong joined with Ken Weidner to wander the roads and visit or discover new highpoints in the area, as well as document Frosty's location. For most experienced trackers, it has been two years since they've been out in the field tracking (due to the Government Shurdown of 2013). That's a long spell to try to remember all the details, such as protocols for record keeping, and dealing with maps and plotting. But two things at which the teams are particularly good, are keeping up with the raptor we're tracking and public relations. The teams visited many dairies in the area, and kind neighbors offered them access to their lands and even their "facilities". The bottom line, on this very slow year is.... Yes, Frosty remained in the area bordered by Todd and Stony Point, and Llano.
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