Hi 
Last week was my annual trip to Cape may, NJ . As a volunteer bander for the Cape May Raptor Banding Project, conducting long-term monitoring of the status and trends of migrating raptors. http://www.capemayraptors.org/   Since the project began in 1967, over 129,000 raptors have been banded. Since 1974, we have banded between 2000 and 6000 each season

Here is my weeks action: 203 captures, below is the breakdown. Noticeable 5 & 10 year trends indicate a serious decline in Sharpies and a solid increase in Coops. The absence of Kestrel captures is worthy of note as well, Kestrel numbers continue to decline. Merlins holding steady and Peregrines continue to increase. Broad Wings are usually low in numbers on the coast and are a rare, but an annual capture in Cape May. Northern Harriers hard to say, last year was an increase, but previous years not so good. Redtails move later in the season and last year increased from previous years, we think due to later coverage. Redtails seem to be migrating later into December. A very high % of all birds banded in Cape May are young birds of the year. Last week, 10 of the 203 birds were second year or older.

It was a great week with 203 banded at our station, 604 overall with 3 stations operating. 

Coopers Hawk - 156 (129 male 27 female) 
Sharp Shinned - 23
Merlin - 11
Peregrine Falcon - 5
Red Tail - 2
Broad wing - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
4 retrapped Coopers Hawks




David Merker
Human Resources
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
603-653-0435
www.lifeworkshere.org
"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave"

--- End of forwarded text ---

David Merker
Human Resources
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
603-653-0435
www.lifeworkshere.org
"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave"

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