On the weekend of September 13 through 15 I took advantage of the invitation given to the Minnesota Falconers Association to come up to the North Shore of Lake Superior and camp a couple nights on the private land owned by longtime club members Frank Taylor and his wife Trudi. Frank has had access to trap migrating raptors for scientific banding in a large hay field near the shore. He has been doing this volunteer work for 55 years! Some unconfirmed time after he began doing this a little plot of land across from that hay field became available, and he purchased it. It has become his home away from home in the Autumn during migration season. He has christened it "Hawk Harbor". There are several trailers parked on his land, for his use and some of his family, as well as by his friends who help with the banding project. The community is primitive at best. A portalet (portable toilet) makes it useable for larger groups. It was definitely a large group that eventually turned out for this fun weekend.
Wildflowers along the roadside still bloom, but the touch of fall is apparent. The decreasing daylight hours, along with cooling evenings, spur birds that went North to breed, as well as the offspring produced during the Summer nesting season, to take wing and seek better living arrangements away from the changing season. Many will fly all the way to Mexico and South America. Following the movement of the passerines, the smaller perching birds (sparrows, warblers, robins, jays, doves) the raptors migrate as well, traveling with the living food that will sustain them on the journey.
There are several migration flyways that have been identified, with one of the largest funneling birds from far North Canada down and around the Great Lakes, continuing to follow the mighty Mississippi River. This particular route is uninterrupted by any mountain ranges and has sufficient water and marshlands for birds on the move to find food and good cover for resting at night. Certain pinch points offer excellent opportunities to capture these migrants. The North Shore of Lake Superior is one of them. Birds don't want to fly over the open water, or lack thermals, rising warm air, that makes flying a long journey much easier, so turn and follow the contours of the shore.
This is the second time I have visited Hawk Harbor. I did this previously eight years ago. Here is the link to that visit and blog post.
Hawk Ridge is located on the spine that runs along the shore, not far from Hawk Harbor. Counters tally the daily movements of birds, but especially raptors. They have been doing this for about 50 years, so Frank has been at it just a little longer. He knows many of the people that volunteer there, and is known by many of them. You can read about this conservation organization here: Hawk Ridge. Some days, when the wind is right, there are thousands of birds kettling above the ridge. This is the term used to describe a large quantity of birds circling in a thermal, a warm mass of air that is rising. They ride this warm air up, energy free, then break out at the top and glide to the next thermal. In this fashion they can fly great distances without expending a lot of precious energy. Hawk Ridge is one of many counting locations across America and the world that keep records going back years. They also have a trapping and banding site out of the public eye. As you can see from this screen shot below, the two days I was in the area were not great migration days. It was, however, very nice weather for camping. Not too cold at night, not too hot in the day.
I arrived later afternoon and set up my tent. There would not be as many people around on Friday, with most coming up on Saturday. What you can't see from this picture is that I tried out for the first time my new cot. Last year Rich and I camped only once, and we have now decided we are just too old to be sleeping on the ground. One cot is a tight fit. Two, and there will be no room to move around, so I may be in the market for a bigger tent.
I did get the chance to meet Frank's special guests for the weekend. Last year at the NAFA meet (North American Falconers Association) he befriended A.J., the young man to my right, and his father Derrick. A.J. really wanted to trap and train and hunt with a sharp shin. He lives in Arkansas, and I guess they are not as common there. He networked and arranged with Frank to come up this fall, and got the necessary permit and leg band, and was sky fishing on these poor migration days. His efforts paid off, and he caught a nice female shin to take home. They didn't stay for the picnic, but did head off on Saturday afternoon to get back home. They had a long drive ahead of them. Good Luck A.J. with your new hunting partner!
Above on the far left is Rick, one of Frank's long term friends and trapping companions who has been helping out about 50 of the 55 years Frank has been doing this. There was a third gentleman, but he now is unable to participate due to health reasons.
So, let's take a look at this trapping set-up.
This is the close-up view. The blind is on the left, a permanent structure that can house about 8 people comfortably. Maybe more if they all squeeze together. There is a high standing viewing window, and you can see someone peering out with binoculars, and a low sitting window. There is a door on both sides, with guests and trappers/banders entering on one side, and a door facing the nets that one specific bander works the lure pigeon and runs out to catch incoming birds that get caught in the nets. What is not easy to see, by either humans or hawks, are extensive fine mesh nets in front of and behind the lure pigeon, which is secured with a thick leather vest to a line. Trappers view across the hay field towards the horizon. When migrating raptors are seen the lure bird is pulled, causing it to flap its wings and look like an easy breakfast/lunch. If you are lucky, the hawk will notice and target onto the lure, and fly right into the nets, where it is then extracted and processed (measurements taken), then released shortly after with a little bit of jewelry it will wear for the rest of its life.
Even a short distance away you don't notice there is an artificial structure set up. It is designed this way to not alarm the hawks. Setting up the nets with dark and shady woods behind breaks up any silhouette the nets may have, making them practically invisible. Below is a brief video of the hay field the trapping blind overlooks.
Halfway across the field a decoy owl has been set up. Many smaller raptors, merlins especially, just truly HATE owls. As they come in from the horizon they target the owl and harass it, not realizing it is not alive. The trappers at the end of the field see them, and then yank the lure pigeon. Most hawks give up the chase on the owl to instead go after an easy meal of what appears to be injured pigeon.
When this is all successful, the captured hawks are processed, that is certain measurements taken, and then a traceable band is placed on them. In future, if they are trapped again, or if their body is discovered after death, the band has information to submit where they were found. Half a century of these kinds of records have revealed migratory patterns and populations of birds.
Here is Frank banding a bird and explaining the process:
After banding the bird is safely released, after pictures are taken, to return to their migration. If there are guests visiting the blind they get to take a turn at releasing any trapped hawks with their new jewelry.
On the Saturday morning I was there we caught a juvenile sharp shinned hawk, or "Shin" for short,
An accidental blue jay that we did not intend to catch, but that just accidentally flew into the net,
And an adult sharp shinned hawk. Notice the adult has a lot more color to its feathers, and the eyes start to take on a red tone. Old accipiters, the class of raptors that sharp shinned hawk belong to, that is the true forest hawks, get blood red eyes as they age.
All too often there is what are called "bounce outs". The trapping team knew a shin had flown into the area as the local blue jays were alarm calling. You'll hear on the video above a squeaking sound, which is Frank using an injured bird call. The hawk was up in the tree canopy but had not yet committed to trying to go for the pigeon. The injured call excites them and makes them dive in. This one did, but failed to either contact with the lure pigeon, get snagged in the front net, or the back net, and just bounced out and went on its way.
For most of our morning we were just scanning the skies, or watching the local blue jays come eat some of the corn Frank had poured out in the grass. When truly bored, Frank counts how many pieces of corn a jay can stuff in its crop. That sum seems to be about 20.
Here was the group shot of those who attended the blind on Saturday morning. There is an overflow spot off to the side where extra people can sit behind a disguising tarp and just watch the action. Most weekends Frank has people from all over visit, from boy scouts to birding groups. He very much loves what he does and sells his enthusiasm to everyone.
After the morning trapping session I left and went to change my clothes, then drove into the nearby town, Two Harbors, to buy some lunch and just look around. I did stop in at a famous pie restaurant to snag a piece of pie.
I returned just in time for a group picture before our guests from Arkansas packed up and headed out to return home. Many more club members were arriving now.
As the afternoon wore thin, and the migrating hawks even more so, Frank called it quits and came back to camp. A hot-dog dinner was served, and visiting commenced.
This was our final group shot for the weekend gathering.
As night came on a fire was built, and then tales were shared as it got late. Into the night, one by one, people left to their respective sleeping set ups. I didn't notice how late I got to bed, but I don't think it was too significantly late as we would rise again early for trapping the next morning.
In my journey into Two Harbors I found a rare gem for myself. I was able to enjoy this very tasty brand of ginger beer I had discovered a couple years ago. I can't find it locally anymore, but did find some in one of the smoked fish stores. It was a delightful fireside drink.
As I settled into my tent to sleep, there was a forest denizen that visited and did not appear to be too very happy about all us extra humans around. There is a protective cage behind the tree line that the trap pigeons are placed into for overnight storage. It is possible the most likely fox smelled them and wanted that for dinner, but as it got close it smelled us humans, and was not happy.
Or it was a chupacabra!!
The next morning, Sunday, I was up early and went to the blind again for morning trapping, but it was a very dull morning, and nothing was seen the two hours I was there. I returned to camp and took advantage of the hospitality of one of our club members who made eggs and bacon for us all.
Thanks, Don, for the tasty eggs!
After eggs I decided a second cup of coffee was in order.
That accomplished I packed up my tent and started the drive back home.
It was an enjoyable weekend, and a delight to camp for the first time this year. I'm going to need to buy a cushion mat for between my sleeping bag and cot, as it is a bit too firm for comfort. Still, I had a good time. It would have been better if there was more trapping action, but like fishing, nothing is guaranteed.
Let the Hawking Season Get Going!!!
