Still in Bodega!

The trackers were out in the stormy weather all weekend keeping track of Echo.  He was active during breaks in the storm but did not make any major moves.  He stayed in the same area north of Bodega Highway and west of Joy Road.  Now that the skies have cleared and the wind has calmed down, perhaps Echo will leave the area. 

Echo is in Bodega!

On Friday, the teams pinpointed Echo's location to Bodega Road near the town of Bodega.  He was stationary due to the rain.  Hopefully the weather will clear enough for him to move!  Thanks to the trackers for keeping on the bird in such wet windy weather!

Echo moves further north!

The teams did not have great signals from Echo yesterday, but what beeps they did hear indicated that he was drifting slowly to the northwest, likely ending up somewhere near Occidental for the evening.  Thanks to the teams for braving the terrible weather to track Echo! (Photo by Jim Garlock.)

A break in the storm allows Echo to fly!

Echo did not go very far upon his release on Tuesday afternoon - he headed straight for the eucalyptus grove on Wolfback Ridge in the Marin Headlands and settled in for the evening.  However, at 9am on Wednesday, the teams could not get his signal!  It seems he had hunkered down to wait out the storm.  As the skies cleared just before noon, Echo popped up and the teams were able to pick up his signal!  He drifted slowly north, ending the day west of Novato, near Stafford Lake.  As the next storm rolls in, the telemetry trackers are listening to see where Echo goes next.  His estimated locations will be added to the map here:

www.parksconservancy.org/radiotelemetry.  Photo of intern Heather with Echo just before his release from Hawk Hill on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Peter Sapienza.)

Late Season Tracking Begins!

"Echo" the juvenile male Red-tailed Hawk was caught in the Marin Headlands this afternoon!  He was small but healthy, and released from Hawk Hill at 3:38 this afternoon.  Hopefully he can get moving out of the area before the storms hit, but we will have to wait and see!  Check back for updates and some photos.

Necropsy Summary

The final report did not add much to the preliminary results.  Here is a summary of the final necropsy report:

On 9/29/2012 volunteers with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory trapped and radio-tagged Lakota, a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk in the Marin Headlands.  On 10/04/2012 she was found dead on Angel Island by radio-tracking volunteers after several days of limited movement.  On 10/5/2012 she was brought to the California Animal Health & Food Safety Lab at UC Davis for a necropsy.  Despite some decomposition of Lakota’s body, the veterinarians provided some interesting insight.  First, Lakota had some muscle atrophy in her breast muscles.  This suggests some nutritional stress which is not uncommon for birds during long-distance migrations.  Despite that condition, she did have small fat deposits present, suggesting starvation was not imminent.  Although the results were not conclusive, the speculated cause of death was a 4-6mm hole in her back that pierced through the muscles and ended in one of her lungs.  Blood around the wound indicates she was still alive at the time she was punctured.  No exit wound was present, and no foreign debris was found in the wound, indicative that it was not caused by a bullet or from a BB gun.  The size of the wound is consistent with a Red-tailed Hawk talon; however, we cannot rule out other sources or predators.

October 5, 2012

Lakota was taken to UCD for necropsy, and initial results show that she had a small circular puncture wound near her vertebrae which extended into her lungs. No foreign object was found.  While we will never know the exact cause of the injury, it may have been from a "natural" source.... another raptor. 

I last saw Lakota, Sunday morning, rising up from Kirby Cove.  She circled up from the groves of eucalyptus/pines/cypress and was so high in the sky that she became a little speck.... a true hawk dot. Although there were no other raptors in the sky, I hoped she would glide across the Gate and continue her southern movement.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and her journey ended here, in the Bay Area.