BBRR
This is the second part to our last Monday (May 6th, 2007) trip to Braddock Bay in Rochester, New York. After visiting the passerine banding station over at the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory (BBBO), we decided to make a detour over to the hawk blind run by the Braddock Bay Raptor Research (BBRR) organization. We always laugh because the walk down the trail to the blind is sooo much longer than our walk back!!
Once we arrived we were greeted by the wonderful volunteers running the blind. As always they took the time to explain how the blind operates and what birds they had been seeing (darn, missed the harrier they banded earlier). As Dave was explaining everything, one of the other hawk banders says; “Sharpie passing spiny-tree and moving towards second-knob”. We all find ourselves quickly looking out the small viewing windows for any passing hawks! Young Naturalist J spots it before I do and then points it out to me. While searching for this hawk; the hawk bander is working his many traps and trying to bring the hawks in!
How this works is the US Fish and Wildlife Service allows these hawk banders to use lure birds (Only English Sparrows, European Starlings and Rock Pigeions) and the banders will work the lure bird in flapping their wings making it look injured. These lure birds are protected from the hawk by a leather harness and they also have nets surrounding the lure birds. As you can see in the video below that the hawk never even gets close to the lure bird (the starling in the lure bird in this video).
As soon as the raptor is captured, the bander runs out the door and carefully removes the raptor from the net (and tries not to get taloned). Sometimes if there is a second hawk coming in, they will yell “FREEZE”!! The bander who is removing the bird will then stop moving and sometimes they will capture a second bird.
Once the hawk brought back into the blind the banders will safely place the hawk into a can to calm it down and reduce the bander’s chance of getting taloned. The hawk bander will place a properly sized Fish and Wildlife band on its leg, take the needed measurements and then release the bird out the back door of the blind.
Many times they will fly right up into the tree as in the first photo that I captured! Feathers might be a little scraggly but they quickly preen those out and fly away. BBRR caught 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks for us and we had a Northern Harrier pass over head (CHECK, my first for 2007)!! What a great end to a wonderful day! Now on our way back to our car and the 2 1/2 hour drive home.
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 
Cool video and experience! Thanks again for sharing with us.
11 May 2007 at 5:45 pm
I should go visit Braddocks Bay. I haven’t been there in years, it’s all the way on the other side of the county. When I used to go I just went to the stand where you can watch hawks fly over head. I never watched the banding. Looks like a grat thing to do.
11 May 2007 at 8:22 pm
COOL!
11 May 2007 at 10:28 pm
I watch the video about 4 times !
How exciting!.. 🙂
11 May 2007 at 11:53 pm
As a third generation Allegany visitor I really enjoy your pictures! I get to see the Park and wildlife in every season even though I can’t be there.
12 May 2007 at 12:24 am
Wow… oh, to be in that blind for a day!
12 May 2007 at 8:10 am
Cool Tom! So sorry I missed seeing you there – it sounds like you had a great time!
Hmmm, I may have to drive out there soon since it’s about, ummm, 15 minutes away from me!
12 May 2007 at 12:28 pm
That is very interesting. I did not know how they captured hawks for banding. Thank you for taking the video. It sounds like you had a wonderful day!
12 May 2007 at 4:49 pm
One of these days we’ll actually meet up! I was over at the songbird station down the road (I arrived about 11) for the banders training class…small world.
12 May 2007 at 8:04 pm
That’s something I’d like to try some time.
12 May 2007 at 9:25 pm
I watched the video three times. Incredible. Thanks, Mon@rch, for sharing something so unique.
12 May 2007 at 10:09 pm
Thanks everyone and we had a great time! Barb you should go! Sitta we should have still been at the songbird station by then! I was the guy with the kid!
13 May 2007 at 8:53 pm