The Oregon Birding Association completed its fall hawk-watching double-header
on Oct. 9 with a field trip to Bonney Butte, the site of HawkWatch
International’s (HWI) ongoing migration survey. Seven fully vaccinated OBA
members met at Government Camp to caravan up the forest roads to one of
Oregon’s premier raptor migration sites. After bumping and bouncing up the
final four miles of a truly rough road full of rocks, ruts and mudholes, we
hiked the remaining half-mile to the top. Although the weather report called
for mostly sunny skies, we found ourselves climbing into a thick mist that
blotted out everything but the trees around us.
A strong west wind blew up the ridge on our left. Brrr! We soon pulled on extra
layers of clothing. Patience was a must: For the first few hours, our only bird
sightings were STELLER’S JAY, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET,
COMMON RAVEN and AMERICAN ROBIN.
As midday approached the sun eventually burned through the clouds, treating us
as last to sweeping views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams to the north and Mt.
Jefferson and the Three Sisters to the south. The improved weather must have
suited the birds as well. Suddenly we began to see raptors on the move headed
south, including OSPREY, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and BALD EAGLE. One GOLDEN EAGLE
bucked the trend by heading north while ravens performing aerobatics overhead.
Large swarms of PINE SISKIN moved through the mountain hemlocks. TOWENSEND’S
SOLITAIRE and CANADA JAY perched on the tips of nearby conifers as if to pose
for our photographers.
The trapping and banding done by the HWI crew means that when they trap a
raptor, we get the chance to see it up close before its release. The only bird
lured into their nets during our stay was a second-year female SHARP-SHINNED
HAWK. Nora from HWI showed us its field marks as she dodged the feisty bird’s
attempts to peck her hand. Seeing this wild bird at such close range was
stirring and memorable.
Migrants continued to file past us. By mid-afternoon we had added TURKEY
VULTURE, MERLIN and RED-TAILED HAWK to our tally. The peak moment came when a
NORTHERN GOSHAWK flew directly over us – such an impressive accipiter! Our time
atop Bonney Butte gave me a greater appreciation of the scope of bird migration
and the skills such as hunting and navigation that raptors must perfect to
survive this momentous journey.
We endured tough weather conditions all morning, which kept our count of
species and individuals low. Still, the chance to see some of North America’s
top predators on the wing proved priceless. (Several times we heard the
familiar “You should have been here yesterday” because both the weather and
bird numbers were much better. So it goes.) For the day the official HWI count
read like this: 3 Golden Eagle, 30 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 8 Cooper’s Hawk, 2
Northern Goshawk, 1 accipiter sp., 10 Red-tailed Hawk, 3 Rough-Legged Hawk, 1
Merlin and 3 Peregrine Falcon.
A special thank-you goes to Kirsten Elliott at HawkWatch International who
coordinated our visit, and to the onsite crew of Cassidy Ruge, Isaac Grosner,
Veronica Pedraza, Karl Garrett and Nora Holmes who shared their expertise with
us.
Erik Bergman, Trip Leader
Portland, OR
