Hawk Migration Association

Lunch & Learn Series: Northwest Winds – Winds of Change, Winds of Hope
2025-02-05 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
Join us for our February Lunch & Learn presentation with Clay Sutton. Clay was the Plenary speaker for our 50th anniversary conference in November in Duluth, MN and we’d like to share his fabulous presentation with the wider hawkwatching community!
Clay Sutton will reflect upon his own 50 years of watching hawks, primarily at Cape May, New Jersey, but also at many of the key raptor watches throughout North America and beyond. He relates “What a long, strange trip it has been,” and how in his wildest dreams he never expected to see, in his lifetime, the changes that he has witnessed. Many changes have been good and for the better, and some not so much. We have benefitted greatly from emerging resources, and have been the benefactors of amazing advances in optics, information, and technology. We have all seen changes in the composition of raptor flights, and changes in the very expectations of what we may see. We have experienced significant shifts in the migration phenology and winter ranges of hawks. But what hasn’t changed is the energy, dedication, and enthusiasm of those who annually staff their posts, climbing to mountain outcrops, urban overlooks, sandy beaches, and lighthouses at land’s end to monitor and celebrate the annual passage of birds of prey. Clay will conclude that the 21 st Century may have brought great changes, but that shifting winds will never diminish the need, or our passion, for what we do.
Clay Sutton is a life-long resident of Cape May County, New Jersey, where he has worked as an environmental planner, environmental program administrator, vice-president of an environmental consulting firm specializing in threatened and endangered species. Now “mostly retired,” he spent the last past two decades as a self-employed environmental consultant, field biologist, and naturalist. Clay is a free-lance writer, lecturer, tour leader, and was a long-time instructor for the Institute for Field Ornithology. He first began watching hawks in 1974, and the science and wonder of bird migration has remained his captivating interest.
Clay is a co-author, with Pete Dunne and David Sibley, of the classic Hawks in Flight (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1988; Second Edition, 2012), a complete and holistic guide to raptor identification. Clay has long been proudly associated with HMA, and has been a member since 1979.
Clay and his wife Pat Sutton co-authored How to Spot Butterflies (1999), How to Spot Hawks & Eagles (1996), and How to Spot an Owl (1994), all published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Their acclaimed book, Birds and Birding at Cape May (Stackpole Books, 2006, 568 pages), is the in-depth result of their efforts over many years documenting and protecting the migration and the area that they so love. This landmark book is a complete guide to birds and birding for the Cape May region, covering what to see, when, where, and how to go, as well as chronicling the unique and storied ornithological history of the Jersey Cape.
This program is FREE and open to all. Registration is required, please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtd-mgqj4pGdCj7gqvhFwoPz-AFA-Cfwa8

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMANA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, hmana.org, following the event.

Lunch & Learn: USGS Bird Banding Laboratory: a century supporting and advancing management and conservation science
2025-03-26 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
Join us for our March Lunch & Learn as we welcome Antonio (Tony) Celis, Chief of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Bird Banding Lab (BBL). Tony’s talk will provide an overview of the Bird Banding Lab (BBL) program, including its history, current initiatives, and future vision. He will discuss the lab’s mission, methods, key successes, and what lies ahead for the BBL.
Bio: In this role, Tony collaborates with the BBL team and partners to maintain the lab as
the premier resource for long-term bird banding and marking data in North America. His vision
is to enhance the BBL as an integrated scientific resource that quickly adapts to emerging
research needs, study methods, and technologies to support effective bird management and
conservation science.
Tony earned his B.S. in Biology from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos in
Mexico (2002), followed by a Master’s in Integrative Biology (2008) and a Ph.D. in Natural
Resources and Environmental Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(2015). He later held a postdoctoral research position at the Illinois Natural History Survey
(2017). His research focuses on various aspects of avian ecology and behavior, with an
overarching goal of improving conservation efforts. His work includes studies on bird migration
and stopover ecology, population dynamics of species of concern, and bioacoustics
This program is FREE and open to all. Registration is required, please click the link below to register.https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/_71RTYngQaSXYwsX95QhhQ

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, www.hawkmigration.org following the event.

April Lunch & Learn: Tadoussac: A Paradise for Hawk Watchers and so much more!
2025-04-30 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
We are excited to welcome Alexandre Terrigeol, Director of the Tadoussac Bird Observatory as our April Lunch & Learn speaker!

For over 30 years, the Tadoussac Bird Observatory, on the North Shore of Quebec, Canada, along the Saint Lawrence River has been monitoring bird migration through a multitude of research projects. Once primarily known for its exceptional numbers of raptors during the fall, visible at close range, it is now songbirds that have taken the spotlight since 2018. Drawing on various research projects, we will highlight the essential role this site plays in enhancing our understanding of bird migration and migration trends. We will also discuss upcoming projects, other sites where we work, and the initiatives we are developing to encourage the public to visit us.

Alexandre Terrigeol is a biologist specializing in the study of birds and their migration. Since 2021, he has served as the Director of the Tadoussac Bird Observatory, where he leads research to better understand the migratory behaviors of birds with his team of passionate ornithologists. His commitment to wildlife preservation is complemented by his dedication to raising public awareness of ecological issues. He annually organizes the Côte-Nord Migratory Bird Festival and leads various birdwatching activities while capturing bird photography. He is also involved in bird population monitoring programs and actively participates in scientific outreach events.

This program is FREE and open to all. Registration is required, please click the link below to register.https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/pK6ZFIU8Tp-WN9wKv9NFsw

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, hawkmigration.org, following the event.

Monitoring American Kestrel populations at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, PA
2025-05-21 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
For our May Lunch & Learn, we are happy to welcome JF Therrien, Senior Scientist and Graduate Study Director at Hawk Mountain, who will speak about Monitoring American Kestrel populations at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, PA.
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is well known for its long-term population monitoring of North
American raptors. In 1954, it launched the first American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) nestbox
program in the world. Over the years, the project grew and was replicated with innumerable
networks of nestboxes scattered across the Americas. The network in place at Hawk Mountain
includes over 125 nestboxes monitored annually, some of which, at the very same location they
were erected 60+ years ago. Combined with other methods, the nestbox program allows a “peak
under the hood” during the breeding season, a critical life history stage for this small colorful
falcon. The long-term study of this iconic farmland raptor at Hawk Mountain has allowed a
broad spectrum of discoveries from basic descriptions of diet, occupancy, site fidelity, clutch size
and hatchability rates to advanced analyses of reproduction effort, growth and survival rates, all
the way to genetic structure assessment as well as population dynamics and the factors associated
with the observed ongoing temporal trends such as contaminant load, disease prevalence, and
habitat use. Overall, this unique and invaluable long-term monitoring program assists in
identifying conservation needs, helps orient efforts and acts as a model for conservation
worldwide.
JF Therrien grew up in Sherbrooke (Canada), about 30 minutes from the border with Vermont.
He has a Bachelor degree in biology from the Université de Sherbrooke (2003) and a Master degree in biology from the Université Laval, Canada (2006). He received his Ph.D. degree in biology at the Université Laval, Canada (2011). JF is the Senior Scientist and Graduate Study Director at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary since 2011 and is working on various aspects of raptor conservation science such as satellite tracking of rough-legged hawks, Turkey vultures and snowy owls, monitoring American kestrel breeding populations and monitoring raptor migration around the globe.
This program is FREE and open to all. Registration is required, please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/v0WYbkT7S_CtUnO8QaSywQ

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, hawkmigration.org, following the event.

We hope to see you there!

Ecovida Hawkwatch: Studying and Celebrating Raptor Migration
2025-06-18 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
For our June Lunch & Learn, we are excited to welcome Kenneth Acuña Vargas and Randall A. Montoya Solano who will be speaking about the Ecovida Hawkwatch in Costa Rica.

The Ecovida Hawkwatch, located in the lowlands of the tropical rainforest in northern Costa Rica at Refugio Lapa Verde, has been studying raptor migration since 2022. Join us to learn how we carry out the monitoring from our stunning observation tower, as well as the seasonality, species, and numbers of raptors we record each season. We’ll also explore how a local community turned raptor migration into a celebration—focused on education, conservation, and culture around birds —and created Costa Rica’s first international raptor festival, with the support of partner organizations beyond our borders.
Kenneth Acuña Vargas is a Tropical Biologist with a focus on ecology and sustainable development. He currently has 8 years of experience studying birds and 3 years working with raptors. In 2023, he began his journey as a volunteer at Ecovida Hawkwatch, and in 2024, he became the project’s field coordinator.
Randall A. Montoya Solano is a Conservation Biologist working through community engagement and participatory science. He was part of the founding team of Ecovida Hawkwatch as the volunteer coordinator. Currently he serves as the Festival Coordinator of Alas Viajeras, Costa Rica’s International Migratory Raptor Festival.

This program is free and open to all but registration is required. please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/66AYUlqCQD2lyRj6ZaidJw

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, hawkmigration.org, following the event.

We hope to see you there!

Wings Across Borders: How Audubon is Protecting Birds Throughout the Americas
2025-07-23 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
Join us for our July Lunch & Learn presentation with Jorge Velásquez, Science Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at Audubon Americas.
Audubon Americas is addressing the interconnected bird conservation crisis across the Western Hemisphere by advancing three core strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean: Protected Areas, Regenerative Agriculture, and Coastal Resilience. Our efforts are part of the hemispheric response to the loss of nearly 3 billion birds in North America and the mounting threats to resident bird species in Latin America. Through strategic partnerships and community-led action, we are helping safeguard critical habitats, transform working lands into bird-friendly landscapes, and build nature-based defenses along vulnerable coasts. Together, these strategies not only protect birds but also strengthen ecosystems and communities in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Jorge Velásquez serves as Science Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at Audubon Americas. In this role Jorge conducts spatial action mapping efforts to develop conservation portfolios for multiple projects, coordinates the development of web apps and tools to communicate results and leads impact monitoring of conservation projects. He holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from SUNY Stony Brook.
This program is free and open to all but registration is required. please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/Ja0xlz34SMicVdd92vlSsQ

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, hawkmigration.org, following the event.
We hope to see you there!

Andean Condor Conservation in Ecuador: National Aviary's Satellite Telemetry Project
2025-08-13 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
Join us for our August Lunch & Learn (Wednesday, Aug 13 at 12pm ET), where we will learn about Andean Condor conservation efforts.

With fewer than 150 Andean Condors left in Ecuador, the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA is actively working with our partner, Fundación Cóndor Andino, to help this Vulnerable species (classified as Critically Endangered at the national level). In 2024, our Senior Director of Avian Care and Conservation Programs Kurt Hundgen, alongside our partners, launched the Satellite Telemetry Project. The goal of this project is to better understand Andean Condor movement in the Southern Andes of Ecuador in order to develop more effective conservation strategies in this region. In this presentation, Kurt will be sharing details from this project, discussing Andean Condor conservation more generally, and will talk about the National Aviary’s role.

Kurt Hundgen, having been with the National Aviary since 2013, currently serves as the Senior Director of Avian Care and Conservation Programs. He oversees all animal care standards as well as nearly a dozen active conservation programs locally in Pennsylvania and globally. This includes leading key conservation programs for Andean Condors in Ecuador, Guam Kingfishers in Guam, African Penguins in Namibia, and more.

This program is free and open to all but registration is required. please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/r-A9T7ulQpqkGJ_5k1xshg
For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, hawkmigration.org, following the event.

We hope to see you there!

American Goshawk Breeding Ecology and Microclimate
2025-09-17 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
For our September Lunch & Learn, we are excited to welcome Jessy Wilson, a master’s student studying raptor biology at Boise State University. She will be presenting preliminary results from her master’s thesis research, in which she evaluates nest microclimate as a potential driver of breeding success for American Goshawks in the northern Great Basin.
This goshawk population is unique in its connectivity across multiple forested mountain ranges of southern Idaho and northern Utah, whose territories consist of naturally fragmented stands of mixed conifer and aspen, all nested within a predominantly sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. While goshawks can and do take advantage of this fragmented forest habitat during the breeding season, they are considered sensitive to exposure induced by low canopy cover and to temperature extremes, though these relationships have not been extensively studied at fine spatial scales. Forest temperatures are variable and known to deviate from local weather station temperature data due to heterogeneity in topography and vegetation structure, among other factors. Jessy’s thesis addresses this research gap by placing thermologgers in known goshawk nest structures, quantifying canopy cover using smartphone hemispherical panoramas, and conducting survival analyses of nestlings incorporating these data. Using a more biologically relevant scale of temperature data may reveal insight on goshawk nest microclimate-nestling survival dynamics that has not been previously documented.
Jessy Wilson is a master’s student studying raptor biology at Boise State University. Before reaching her current progress in her graduate degree, Jessy spent several years migrating to places where she could study raptor species, including California Condor recovery efforts in southern California and Arizona/Utah, Snail Kite breeding monitoring in the Florida everglades, hawk migration banding in Minnesota and Idaho, and Golden Eagle nest monitoring along the Snake River.

This program is free and open to all but registration is required. please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/EifsVtj5SAqS9Jwe3DXD1w

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, hawkmigration.org, following the event.

We hope to see you there!

Comparative Immunogenomics of the holarctic Gyrfalcon and globally-distributed Peregrine Falcon
2025-10-29 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
Please join us for our October Lunch & Learn series where we will welcome Sage Dale, Boise State Master’s student, who will speak about her Gyrfalcon and Peregrine Falcon research.

Low pathogen abundance throughout the Arctic has been advantageous for nesting birds to avoid diseases found at lower latitudes, but may have limited selective pressures to develop genomic mechanisms of immune defense. The poleward shift of vectors of diseases has increased opportunities for novel pathogen exposure to high latitude communities. There is a need to understand the genomic mechanisms of immunologically naive Arctic wildlife. Here, we leverage high quality genomes and a comparative genomic approach to characterize the innate immune genes of an essential protein of the vertebrate immune system, toll-like receptors (TLRs), between a specialized Arctic raptor with suspected low immune competence (Gyrfalcon, Falco rusticolus) and its globally distributed congener (Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus). We hypothesize that TLRs will be closely related between falcon species, with Gyrfalcon showing lower TLR diversity.

Bio: Sage Dale is a Master’s or Raptor Biology student in the Conservation Genetics Lab at Boise State University. She’s interested in Arctic ecosystem biodiversity and using molecular and computational techniques to enhance traditional ecological methods for studying birds on these landscapes. While at BSU, she had the opportunity to participate in several long term gyrfalcon monitoring efforts including those with The Peregrine Fund in Nome, Alaska, the High Arctic Institute in NW Greenland, and with the Natural Science Institute of Iceland. Prior to graduate school, she received her bachelor’s in zoology from Oregon State University and spent several years working various field and research positions throughout the country and abroad. Some of these included working on raptor migration in New Mexico, spotted owl bioacoustics in Oregon, osprey distribution and relatedness studies throughout the southeast United States, and kiwi bird conservation in New Zealand.

This program is free and open to all but registration is required. please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/nA_NkpwfSJSKJHQwa5cOKA

For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, www.hawkmigration.org, following the event.

We hope to see you there!

Lunch & Learn: Owl Banding in the Boreal Forest
2025-11-19 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
Please join us as we talk OWLS for our November Lunch & Learn! We will be welcoming Bruce Murphy, bander and educator from the Hilliardton Marsh Research and Education Center in Ontario, Canada.
Since 2000 we have been banding northern saw-whet owls at the Hilliardton Marsh in Ontario. During that time we have also had a great deal of success banding boreal owls and long eared owls. This talk we lead you through what we have discovered about our research and how fortunate we are to live in the boreal forest where so many of these owls breed then disperse across the Atlantic flyway. You will see what we have discovered about boreals owls, but be warned after this talk you will want to travel to the boreal to see these mysterious owls for yourself!
Bio: Bruce is a retired environmental science and outdoor education teacher and has been banding songbirds at the Hilliardton marsh since 1996 and owls since 2000. His interest in banding began when he was in grade six when he visited a banding station with his class and saw a black capped chickadee being banded. He was fortunate to teach a semester-long outdoor education class that we called TERRA where his grade 11/12 students taught visiting school groups and the general public about banding and wetland ecology. It was the highlight of his career and many of his students have had their weddings at the marsh. Currently he is still very involved in both songbird and owl banding and lives 3 miles away from the marsh on the shores of the Blanche river where he and his partner Joanne enjoy watching birds at the feeders when the chickens and turkeys aren’t stealing all the bird food.
This program is free and open to all but registration is required. please click the link below to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/W0X6DVrfRneq5ynNhhNpJQ
For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, www.hawkmigration.org, following the event.

We hope to see you there!

Restoring the Iconic Bearded Vulture and other Vulture Species to their Former Range in Europe – a Success Story.
2025-12-17 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit)
For our December Lunch & Learn presentation, HMA will be cohosting with the Harris Center for Conservation Education to talk vultures! We will be hearing from José Tavares and Alice Gama from the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) in Europe.
The VCF is an international foundation committed to the conservation of European vultures. The VCF has extensive experience in captive breeding, reintroduction, restocking and conservation of vultures in their natural habitats. The VCF is the lead organisation in all aspects of the conservation of vultures in Europe. In particular, the VCF coordinates the highly successful reintroduction of the Bearded Vulture in the Alps, including the coordination of monitoring at an alpine scale, thus working with a wide range of partners, and is also reintroducing this species in Andalusia, Corsica, Grands Causses (France), Maestrazgo (Spain) and Bulgaria. The VCF also coordinates the captive breeding network for this species.
The VCF has also been translocating Cinereous Vultures for reintroduction in France and Bulgaria, and is leading the global fight against illegal wildlife poisoning, namely through the implementation of a very successful model called Wildlife Crime Academy, through which enforcement authorities and other competent agencies get their capacity and skills enhanced to fight this threat. The VCF has also co-led the production of the Vulture Multi-species Action Plan – the global blueprint for conservation of Old-World vultures, that has been endorsed by the CMS. The VCF gathers the latest data, produces best-practice and know-how on vulture conservation in Europe.
José Tavares is the VCF Director and has 30+ years of experience in implementing nature conservation solutions. At the VCF since February 2013, José is working towards turning the VCF into a sustainable, effective, leading organization securing the protection of vultures and their habitats. This work involves not only on-the ground conservation projects and activities on vultures, but also, crucially, organizational development and management. This includes the management of projects in multiple countries, the development of complex partnerships and stakeholder building, and problem-solving.
Alice Gama is the Financial and Administrative Manager at VCF. Natural from Portugal. BSc in Biology. Between 2003 and 2006 she developed field work about raptor migration and breeding in Costa Rica and USA, and the impact of power-lines on bird populations in Portugal. From 2007 to 2016, she worked at a local environmental NGO, in Northeast Portugal, as a conservation manager, overseeing raptor conservation projects, including EU funded LIFE projects. At the VCF since 2016, she is responsible for the financial management and supporting the organisation’s administration and bookkeeping. Even if focused on the administrative side of things, working in vulture conservation at the VCF is truly inspiring and impactful, especially as we focus a lot on creating cooperation initiatives with so many organisations across borders and continents.

This program is free and open to all but registration is required. please click the link below to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/RhR-1SXERVy4XbR-32sSeQ
For those not able to join via Zoom, we will live stream the program on our HMA Facebook page as well. Recordings of all programs will be available on our website, www.hawkmigration.org, following the event.
We hope to see you there!
