HMANA

The Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) is a membership based organization committed to the conservation of raptors through the scientific study, enjoyment, and appreciation of raptor migration.



We had a full day of training today. Mary Gustafson taught our Hawk Watch training class. Here at Santa Ana the Hawk Watch is from March 15th to April 15th.
Today we learned the essential mechanics of hawk migration and hawk watching. We studied Accipiters, Buteos, Falcons, Vultures, and Kites. We learned their silhouettes, size, shape, color and pattern in flights. It was a lot of information to absorb in one day!

After lunch we walked around the Camp Thicket area of Estero Llano Grande State Park.




Martin Hagne of Valley Nature spoke for about an hour on the protocols for the hawk watch record keeping (estimating numbers, etc).

We are still amazed at the wonderful training we are getting here at Santa Ana.

Mark has signed up to help with the hawk watch count once a week and he will get a day of training in the field tomorrow.

From eNature.com: Every fall, millions of birds fly south to spend the winter in sunny places with mild climates and plentiful food. Most smaller birds migrate under the cover of darkness, stopping to fuel up on insects or seeds by day and using the stars to guide them at night. Hawks, by contrast, are diurnal (daytime) migrants; they depend on currents of rising warm air to lift them to high altitudes where they glide on their broad wings without flapping, thereby conserving energy. During these flights, hawks use their keen eyesight to recognize landmarks, follow landforms that provide rising thermals, and steer a course north to their summer homes. In some places these migrating hawks gather in huge numbers, and people gather to watch them with binoculars and data sheets in the phenomenon known as hawk watch.

Counting hawks during migration is more than a competitive pursuit for list-oriented birders. The data collected at hawk watches helps experts monitor the health of various ecosystems. Because hawks are top predators — that is, they occupy the top of the food chain — they're very sensitive to changes that affect prey species. Comparing hawk numbers from year to year reveals trends that offer insight into the well-being of the environment in both the breeding and wintering areas.

But more than simply counting hawks, there's the spectacle of it all. Standing atop a ridge while hundreds of hawks circle and stream past is an unforgettable experience, which helps explain why people return to these sites day after day and hawk watch programs across the country attract volunteers by the dozens.