Thursday, November 21, 2019

Annual Raptor Post

Long-time readers will recall that I volunteer with the Cape May Raptor Banding Project in Cape May, NJ most autumns. This was my 8th year and, while slower than past years, it was still a blast.

Enjoy some raptor spam!

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By-catch brown thrasher (a passerine, not a raptor)
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Derpy thrasher. Also observe the bite marks on Mandy's finger from merlins lol
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Hatch-year male cooper's hawk
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HY male coop take off
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HY male coop looking appalled as Mandy changes her grip to release him
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The infamous hawk-looks-shocked during release photo
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Busy background, but still a neat release shot. I love his little feet
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A round of applause for this gent!
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Hatch year female merlin (small falcon)
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HY sharp shinned hawk
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HY sharpie
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Noble HY sharpie
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Beautiful rufous tipped feathers; they become grey once adults
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The infamous sharpie release "trick". A bird has never been on its back, so they simply lie there like this without moving.
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Then you just turn your hand and they take off. I love when I can capture a shot in the milliseconds before they spread their wings!
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Checking for a crop on a HY sharpie
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Derp sharpie
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Sharpie trying to be fierce like their big cousins, the northern goshawk
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Rumpled sharpie
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Angry derp sharpie
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Adult male coopers hawk. Note the gorgeous grey plumage on his back and the darker red chest feathers. The redness of the eyes (red-black vs. red-orange like this one) varies based on their diet.
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HY coop on our shirts, adult coop in hand
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The tundrius sub species of the peregrine falcon; note the blonde head
HY female
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The anatum subspecies of the peregrine; note the black head
HY female
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Tundrius
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Anatum. Note the bar in the nostril. This helps peregrines to breath when they're at a full speed dive (240 mph)
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Tundrius
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Anatum
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Anatum. So this little girl came into the station in a full stoop (240 mph). I heard her before I saw her!
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Anatum. Her primary flight feathers are stiff almost like plastic which help her reach such high speeds and stay stable
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Anatum. She was such a calm peregrine! It is always a treat to have the fastest animal in the world in-hand!

15 comments:

  1. I love seeing your annual raptor photos. What a treat to be able to participate in such a project!

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  2. Very cool project and great pictures. I had to chuckle at the brown thrasher. We had one living right off our deck this spring/summer and it was very noisy, especially when we were outside doing stuff...lol

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  3. omggggggggggg i love these pictures. the little guys face as she palm dumps him is hilarious. and the last one is absolutely gorgeous and interesting!

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  4. Lol, that picture of the sharpie mid-fall before it's spread its wings needs to be a meme!

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  5. These are so cool! That looks like such an awesome time!

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  6. so cool. We have so many hawks here on our property of different sizes they are so cool....so it is so great to see your stuff up close (their expressions are hilarious)

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  7. This is one of my favorite posts. I look forward to it every year!

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  8. Was totally looking forward to this post and your lovely photos! Here on the OBX many raptors pass through. My chickens have fallen prey to Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks. The latter killed a chicken (twice his size) with a deadly strike, then found it much too large a meal - so just ate the head and neck. I tried to shoo her away. She gave me a mighty glare and did not budge. Also once got to look a Red Shouldered hawk in the eye and felt that he was absolutely not afraid of human beings. At all. They really put us in our place. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Coops are fierce little shits. The females especially (larger than the males) are so much fun to witness when they enter the station and come for a lure. My favorites are the little dino coops who literally RUN into the station like a little velociraptor after hiding in the bushes and scoping out the situation.

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  9. So amazing, thank you for sharing! This post made my morning <3

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  10. I look forward to this post every year.

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  11. Just incredible. Also tho. I feel like there was a missed “derp sherp” caption opportunity here lol

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