On Saturday and Sunday of January
31st and February 1st Rocky Point Bird Observatory hosted
a Basic Raptor Identification workshop led by Bill Clark. The focus of this
workshop was raptor identification in our area of British Columbia, along with
monitoring procedures and techniques, as well as sexing and ageing.
Bill Clark is one of the world's
leading authorities on raptor identification and taxonomy. He is a popular and well respected lecturer on diurnal birds of prey. Bill is the author of over 100 papers
and books on raptor taxonomy and distribution, including A Field Guide to
the Raptors of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa (1999). With Brian
Wheeler, he co-authored A Field Guide to Hawks of North America (1987,
2001) and A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors (1999). He is
widely traveled and has led popular raptor tours around the world ("Raptours").
Saturday was spent in a classroom
at the University of Victoria. Bill led the group of about 20 participants
through an overview of what to look for in the field when trying to ID raptor
species, such as wing shape, overall shape in flight, head projection, tail shape,
etc. He went into greater detail as he explained the various characteristics of
the specific birds – Vultures, Ospreys, Harriers, Accipiters, Buteos, Eagles,
and Falcons. We had a few preserved specimens on hand for closer examination.
Sharp-shinned Hawks
Cooper's Hawks
On Sunday we headed out on the
7:00 am ferry across to Tsawwassen, in particular the Boundary Bay area where
we could be fairly certain of seeing a diverse number of raptor species. We
were met on the other side by some Vancouver birders with vehicles who assisted
in driving us around the area so we could see as many raptors as possible. Many
thanks and appreciation for their help in making the day a success!
Even though rain was forecast,
the day remained merely grey and overcast, but mostly dry. The bird life did
not disappoint. We saw hundreds of Bald Eagles which provided us with ample
opportunity to practice ageing the birds which go through 4 different non-adult
plumages before reaching maturity. Hopefully we are all experts now!
3 Bald Eagles of varying ages. Bill thought the large middle bird was Alaskan.
We saw numerous Northern Harriers
– males, females and juveniles. We managed to get some very good looks at
several Rough-legged Hawks, Harlan’s Hawks (a distinctive subspecies of
Red-tailed Hawks), Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, a Kestrel, a Merlin or
two, a Peregrine Falcon, an Osprey, and also 2 Short-eared Owls hunting across
fields around dusk. We did not see any Sharp-shinned Hawks which so closely
resemble the Coopers. However, hopefully we will be able to identify them
in the field, thanks to Bill’s description of their different field marks, both in flight and
when perched. There were no Golden Eagles to be seen, nor Snowy Owls which would have been a
treat.
Rough-legged Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
By the time we all boarded the
5:00 pm ferry we were all saturated with bird sightings and information about
our local raptors. No doubt many of us went home and dreamt about birds that
night! It was an excellent workshop and we all came away with much more
knowledge as a result. Many thanks to Bill Clark for his expertise and teaching
skills and to Ann Nightingale for organizing this fantastic weekend.
