Thirty-four (34) hawks have been trapped so far and more to go! There is an unexpectedly high number of juveniles, so need to alter the housing plan. Four birds in most enclosures with a family group of five in one. Space is getting tight, so work area will be sacrificed and converted into hawk enclosure. Already out of female leg bands – will try to secure more. (From TRC – they are ordered and on the way!)
A few hawks are restless, but not many considering. Most restless is a fledgling that is in the family group of 5 – hopefully he will calm down soon. One fledgling, in a different family group, calls constantly (and he was doing that in the wild, too).
All the birds are in amazingly good body condition; eating well despite it being the end of the dry season and even the rat population is low. This island appears desolate as far as food goes, but the hawks are finding something (rats and sea lion placentas probably, although one pellet found with grasshopper remains – not sure what insects like that are on the island).
More when I can - Juli
(From TRC – Dr. Ponder let us know after she sent this post that trappers are heading back out, and she is staying at the Case de Gavilanes, which translates to the “House of Hawks”).
News About The Raptor Center, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota
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