Cape May Raptor Banding

CAPE MAY, NJ RAPTOR BANDING - 2007

Robert & Kay Lookingbill

In 2005, we were invited by William (Bill) S. Clark to participate in the Cape May Raptor Banding Project. Each fall since 1967, volunteers work at established stations (or blinds), with fixed traps, to catch and band raptors in Cape May Point, NJ. Our first participation in the project was October, 2005, when we spent two weeks trapping raptors. We spent the first week with Bill, learning how to operate the various traps, and learning the process and procedures required by the project protocol. The second week we were assigned our own blind, and trapped raptors on our own. During that week, we trapped and banded 69 raptors of 5 species. The number and variety of raptors trapped each week is dependent on weather conditions (west winds are most favorable), blind assignment (location and habitat varies with each), and the migration timing for each species, as well as the skill of the blind operators.

We returned in October, 2006, for one week of raptor banding, during which time we trapped and banded 76 raptors, of 4 different species.

We returned once again in October, 2007 for two weeks. We were assigned to work in the Pond Creek (PC) blind during the week of Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2007, and the Mag Site (MS) blind during the week of Oct. 7 - Oct. 13, 2007. We banded 172 raptors of 7 different species.

A summary of the raptors caught during each of these weeks in 2007 is shown in Table 1. Abbreviations used in this document are as follows: SSHA (Sharp-Shinned Hawk), COHA (Cooper’s Hawk), RTHA (Red-Tailed Hawk), AMKE (American Kestrel) , MERL (Merlin), PEFA (Peregrine Falcon), NOHA (Northern Harrier).

Table 1 - Raptors Banded at Cape May Point, NJ, in 2007

		SSHA	COHA	RTHA	AMKE	MERL	PEFA	NOHA	TOTAL
Date	Blind
9/30 - 10/6/07	PC	19	17	2		6	6		50
10/7 - 10/13/07	MS	11	64		4	9	12	22	122
	TOTAL	30	81	2	4	15	18	22	172

One of the highlights of the banding experience in 2007 was catching our first Peregrine Falcon. The speed and aerobatics of these birds is truly awesome to watch. There were days when as many as 5 PEFA were swooping on our lures simultaneously, literally feet away from where we were seated. We were able to catch and band 18 PEFA during the two weeks were there. All of them were juvenile (HY) birds. A photo is shown in Fig. 1.

Another highlight was that we were able to trap and band 22 NOHA, including 10 in a single day. All of these birds were banded during the second week, where the blind overlooks a large marsh area. A photo of a NOHA is shown in Fig. 2.

We’ve also included a few other photos of some of the raptors we banded. We hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we did catching the birds.