Libby Mojica

We're still working on the details, but hope the meeting will be a hybrid of in-person and streaming. This year for the first time we will be offering travel grants for researchers traveling from outside of the U.S. and Canada to present papers or posters View the full article

Mark your calendars! Planning has begun for our first in-person meeting since 2019! The meeting will take place in Fort Lauderdale on October 4th-9th. It will be a joint meeting with the Florida Ornithological Society and will be co-hosted by Tropical and South Florida Audubon https://twitter.com/research_raptor/status/1491471499651280897/photo/1 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLLFXMUVEAIqBrB.jpg:large View the full article

RT ammcanizares: Last week we climbed a ceiba tree to check the trail cams and this is one of the vids we got! There’s lots of interesting things in the vids and pics and a lot more questions were raised than the ones we could answer so lots of work to do!! #RaptorResearch #TrailCams #KingVulture https://twitter.com/ammcanizares/status/1473303165344915459/video/1 https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1473303132713193477/pu/vid/640x360/4e3cICL4ZHmb-VaB.mp4?tag=12 View the full article

Due to the continued problems associated with Covid, the RRF and The Peregrine Fund made the difficult decision to change the format of the joint conference of the Raptor Research Foundation and the Neotropical Raptor Network from an in-person meeting in Boise, Idaho to a virtual format. With less than 2 months until our conference begins, our conference planning team is quickly adjusting our meeting plans to share 300+ presentations with you online. We ask for your patience as our volunteers reformat the conference. Our planning committee will be updating the RRF website as the conference program takes shape in the weeks ahead. We hope you will be able to join us online with the new virtual format. The post Conference Updates appeared first on Raptor Research Foundation. View the full article

Robert B. Berry: 2021 Recipient of the Raptor Research Foundation’s and The Peregrine Fund’s Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award Robert Berry rappels to an Orange-Breasted Falcon nest. Photo by Matt Allshouse.Robert B. Berry, a falconer with few peers in our time, has dedicated his life to conserving, monitoring, and studying threatened raptors, and to building a network of people and resources to ensure the future of raptor conservation. Bob was on the forefront of the early efforts to stem the DDT-induced decline of Peregrine Falcons in North America. He was one of the founders of The Peregrine Fund and was the founding president of the North American Raptor Breeder’s Association, where he served as president for 28 years. His pioneering work with captive breeding, especially artificial insemination and reintroduction techniques, was instrumental in the remarkably successful recovery of the Peregrine, culminating in the species being taken off the U.S. Endangered Species List—an event that happens far too rarely. The techniques he helped refine have been crucial to the success of reintroduction programs for a wide variety of raptors around the world. Not all of Bob’s research time devoted to raptors has been in the breeding barns. He was instrumental in developing radio-telemetry for use in falconry and field research, ran a long-term banding program with Scott Ward monitoring the southbound Peregrine migration along the east coast of the U.S., and spent considerable time in Central America in search of the exciting and elusive Orange-breasted Falcon, the subject of much of his research over the past few decades. More than 40 researchers associated with the Orange-breasted Falcon recovery program have received support from Bob (https://www.peregrinefund.org/projects/orange-breasted-falcon). Bob has published the results of his research in the Condor, the Journal of Wildlife Management, the Journal of the Raptor Research (of course), the Living Bird, and Cornell’s Birds of the World database, as well as several popular magazines and edited volumes. Bob’s interest, influence, and generous financial support extend beyond birds of prey. He has provided leadership and guidance to several ornithological and conservation organizations, including the Midwest Peregrine Society, Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology, and the Wyoming chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Bob has supported and guided the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and especially its citizen science project, eBird. His vision for and support of eBird have helped enable that project to take off globally, becoming a game-changing global database on bird distribution and abundance, and empowering birders around the work to make their observations count for science and conservation. Bob and his wife Carol S. Berry have directed much of their philanthropy to ensure the future of raptor researchers, raptor conservationists, and the raptors he so cherishes, but they have also given generously to higher education, including their establishment of an endowed position in Ecology at the University of Wyoming and providing research funds which contributed to the training and success of more than 50 ecology graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Wyoming. Finally and fittingly, I will end this necessarily incomplete catalog of Bob Berry’s accomplishments with one I know he is proud of—the establishment of the Archives of American Falconry in honor of his mentor, James N. Rice. Rob Bierregaard 29 June 2021 Additional information about the Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award can be found on the award’s website. The post Robert Berry receives the Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award appeared first on Raptor Research Foundation. View the full article

Winners of the RRF 2020 Awards and Grants We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Raptor Research Foundation awards and grants program. Please join us in congratulating these talented members of our raptor community. The next application period for these grants and awards will begin in early 2021. Research Grants Leslie Brown Memorial Grant: The Brown Grant provides financial assistance to promote the research and/or the dissemination of information on African birds of prey. Evan R. Buechley from HawkWatch International won for the project titled “First assessment of the Bearded Vulture in Ethiopia: quantifying population size and spatial ecology to inform conservation”. Stephen R. Tully Memorial Grant: The Tully Grant supports research and conservation of raptors specifically to students and amateurs with limited access to alternative funding. Brittanie L. Loftin from Angelo State University won for the project “Population Genetics of Mississippi Kites in the Great Plains”. Dean Amadon Grant: The Amadon Grant assists researchers working in the area of distribution and systematics of raptors. Lily Martin from the University of Georgia for the project titled “Using acoustic spatial capture-recapture to estimate Eastern Screech-Owl density and the effects of anthropogenic noise in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia.” Oscar Beingolea Raptor Research Grant: The Oscar Beingolea Raptor Research Award provides financial support for field research on raptors in Latin America (including the Guianas) and the Caribbean. Beatriz M. Miranzo from the Center for the Study and Conservation of Raptors in Argentina won for her research project: “Identifying and characterizing potential mortality sites for birds of prey associated with the presence of water reservoirs in ecosystems in the semi-arid zone of central Argentina. Can mortality be mitigated by placing rescue ramps in water reservoirs?” Achievement Awards Tom Cade Award: The Cade Award recognizes an individual who has made significant advances in the areas of captive propagation and reintroduction of raptors. Àlex Llopis Dell, Vulture Conservation Foundation, Head of the Bearded Vulture Captive Breeding Unit in Spain. His key career highlights include 1) First to breed Lesser Grey Shrike in captivity and created a new rearing protocol so that young chicks were able to capture live prey and 2) developed new protocols and methods made it possible to successfully raise, release and pair bearded vultures. Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Award: The Hamerstrom Award recognizes an individual who has contributed significantly to the understanding of raptor ecology and natural history. The award committee recognized two recipients in 2020. Clayton B. White, Brigham Young University, USA James R. Belthoff, Boise State University, USA Service Awards President’s Award: This award is given by the President in recognition and appreciation of exceptional service to the Raptor Research Foundation. Rob Bierregaard, Drexel University, USA Clint Boal, USGS and Texas Tech University, USA Miguel Saggese, Western University of Health Sciences, USA RRF is thankful for these committee leadership of the award and grant committee chairs and many committee members: Sofi Hindmarch, RRF Award Committee Chair Jennifer Coulson, Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Award Chair and Tom Cade Award Chair Jim Harper, James Koplin Award Chair Isabel Caballero, Dean Amadon Grant Chair Jean Francois Therrien, Stephen R. Tully Memorial Grant Chair Guy Rondeau, Leslie Brown Memorial Grant Chair The post 2020 Award and Grant Winner Announced appeared first on Raptor Research Foundation. View the full article

Read the newest Wingspan Newsletter online on the RRF website! View the full article

The JOURNAL of RAPTOR RESEARCH Red-tailed hawk by Jeff GandertInstructions for free online access for RRF members on Bioone. Journal of Raptor Research June 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2. https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2 Raptor Interactions with Electrical Systems: Progress and Knowledge Gaps James F. Dwyer Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 89-92 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.89/Raptor-Interactions-with-Electrical-Systems-Progress-and-Knowledge-Gaps/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.89.full Power Pole Density and Avian Electrocution Risk in the Western United States James F. Dwyer, Brian D. Gerber, Paul Petersen, William E. Armstrong & Richard E. Harness Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 93-109 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.93/Power-Pole-Density-and-Avian-Electrocution-Risk-in-the-Western/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.93.full A Spatially Explicit Model to Predict the Relative Risk of Golden Eagle Electrocutions in the Northwestern Plains, USA Geoffrey Bedrosian, Jason D. Carlisle, Brian Woodbridge, Jeffrey R. Dunk, Zach P. Wallace, James F. Dwyer, Richard E. Harness, Elizabeth K. Mojica, Gary E. Williams & Tracy Jones Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 110-125 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.110/A-Spatially-Explicit-Model-to-Predict-the-Relative-Risk-of/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.110.full Golden Eagle Perch-Site Use in the U.S. Southern Plains: Understanding Electrocution Risk James F. Dwyer, Robert K. Murphy, Dale W. Stahlecker, Angela M. Dwyer & Clint W. Boal Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 126-135 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.126/Golden-Eagle-Perch-Site-Use-in-the-US-Southern-Plains/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.126.full Variation in Electrocution Rate and Demographic Composition of Saker Falcons Electrocuted at Power Lines in Mongolia Andrew Dixon, Nyambayar Batbayar, Batbayar Bold, Batmunkh Davaasuren, Tuvshinjargal Erdenechimeg, Batbayar Galtbalt, Purevsuren Tsolmonjav, Sarangerel Ichinkhorloo, Amarkhuu Gunga, Gankhuyag Purevochir & Md. Lutfor Rahman Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 136-146 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.136/Variation-in-Electrocution-Rate-and-Demographic-Composition-of-Saker-Falcons/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.136.full Collision Avoidance by Wintering Bald Eagles Crossing a Transmission Line Elizabeth K. Mojica, Claudia E. Rocca, Jeffrey Luzenski, Richard E. Harness, John L. Cummings, Jeremy Schievert, Daryl D. Austin & Melissa A. Landon Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 147-153 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.147/Collision-Avoidance-by-Wintering-Bald-Eagles-Crossing-a-Transmission-Line/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.147.full Golden Eagle Breeding Response to Utility-Scale Solar Development and Prolonged Drought in California Jeff P. Smith, Colleen M. Lenihan & Jeffrey A. Zirpoli Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 154-165 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.154/Golden-Eagle-Breeding-Response-to-Utility-Scale-Solar-Development-and/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.154.full Electrocution on Power Lines is an Important Threat for the Endangered Chaco Eagle (Buteogallus coronatus) in Argentina José H. Sarasola, Maximiliano A. Galmes & Bryan D. Watts Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 166-171 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.166/Electrocution-on-Power-Lines-is-an-Important-Threat-for-the/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.166.full Failure of Utility Pole Perch Deterrents Modified During Installation James F. Dwyer, Renee C. Taylor & Germaine A. French Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 172-176 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.172/Failure-of-Utility-Pole-Perch-Deterrents-Modified-During-Installation/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.172.full The Use of Mobile Nesting Platforms to Reduce Electrocution Risk to Ferruginous Hawks Cindy M. Kemper, Troy I. Wellicome, Denis G. Andre, Benjamin E. McWilliams & Cameron J. Nordell Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 177-185 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.177/The-Use-of-Mobile-Nesting-Platforms-to-Reduce-Electrocution-Risk/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.177.full Perch Management May Reduce Raptor Electrocution Risk on Horizontal Post Insulators Michael C. Tincher, James F. Dwyer, Gail E. Kratz, Amy Watrud & Richard E. Harness Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 186-192 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.186/Perch-Management-May-Reduce-Raptor-Electrocution-Risk-on-Horizontal-Post/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.186.full Use of Falconry and Shooting as Rock Pigeon Abatement Techniques at an Electrical Converter Station in Alberta, Canada Nikki Heck & Steve Schwartze Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 193-197 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.193/Use-of-Falconry-and-Shooting-as-Rock-Pigeon-Abatement-Techniques/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.193.full Conservation Letter: Raptors and Overhead Electrical Systems Steven J. Slater, James F. Dwyer & Megan Murgatroyd Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 198-203 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.198/Conservation-Letter-Raptors-and-Overhead-Electrical-Systems/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.198.full John B. (Jack) Holt, Jr. 1940–2019 Gary Denzler, Robert Thobaben, Jeffrey L. Hays, Joseph Papp & Pete DeSimone Journal of Raptor Research May 2020 Vol. 54, No. 2: 204-206 https://www.bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-54/issue-2/0892-1016-54.2.204/John-B-Jack-Holt-Jr-19402019/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.204.full View the full article

A new meeting has been added to the =1']Ornithology Meetings database. Meeting Description: On behalf of everyone at HawkWatch International, we extend a warm greeting and invite you to join us at the 2017 annual conference in Salt Lake City, UT. After more than 30 years, we are thrilled to welcome everyone back to the beautiful state of Utah for this year’s international conference. Home to five national parks, 43 state parks, eight national monuments, three national recreation and historic areas, seven national forests and the greatest snow on earth, Utah represents the best of the Rocky Mountains and the Desert Southwest. More than 20 million people visit the state each year to enjoy easy access to all types of outdoor recreation (hiking, camping, climbing, skiing, mountain biking, hang gliding, wildlife viewing, vista and scenic viewing, photography, etc). If this is your first time visiting Utah, we can’t wait to welcome you and help you plan your return trip (we know you’ll want to return). For those familiar with the area, we look forward to helping you experience something new through our off-site events and field trips we have planned, so don’t forget to register for an excursion. Registration opens May 1. Early registration closes June 30. Mark your calendars now for November 7-12, 2017 and we look forward to seeing you this fall! -HawkWatch International For questions contact Local Conference Committee Chair Dave Oleyar, Ph.D Senior Scientist, HawkWatch International doleyar@hawkwatch.org Meeting Website: http://www.raptorresearchfoundation.org/conferences/current-conference/ Click here to view the meeting