Join us for our March Lunch & Learn presentation. We’ll be diving into raptor identification with Josh Haas! Perfect timing to get you ready for hawk watching during spring migration!
Raptors in flight bring a sense of wonder and struggle to birders, especially when it comes to identifying them at a distance. Field marks are not enough when back-lit conditions and birds miles out lack any color. Flight ID is the standard in identifying migratory raptors at a distance, however books only take it so far. Join hawk watcher Josh Haas as he shares the principles of migration, an overview on identifying raptors in flight, and how video changes the game to preparation. The talk will include clips from his movie Hawks on the Wing, an innovative way to learning raptors in flight. The program and movie feature side-by-side videos of raptors in flight, making conquering the technique faster and easier.
Josh Haas first developed a love for raptors working with the birds of prey at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. A hawk watching trip to Lake Erie Metropark opened his eyes to raptors in migration. Perplexed by seeing specks at a distance with an overwhelming itch to know what they were, he started learning from veteran hawk watchers and was hooked. He would end up spending seven Fall seasons working with the Detroit River Hawk Watch as a relief counter. There he honed his skills and developed a love for teaching visitors unique ways of telling the shadowy specs apart. This, combined with his experience in bird photography and videography took his teaching to a new level. His goal of making raptors accessible to everyone spawned his movie “Hawks on the Wing”, teaching viewers raptors in flight through the use of video and audio commentary. Josh’s passion started with raptors but he can be found birding and photographing in all seasons, often with his wife, daughter, and son.
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