March 2024 Meeting

Tue, March 5, 2024, 7:30 pm
Blue Spruce County Park Lodge
Speaker: Dr. Brian Wargo

Description

Dr. Brian Wargo will present "Raptor Identification: Techniques and Applications" at this meeting.

Hawkwatching is an esoteric subset of birding that utilizes unique skills and techniques for identification. Hawks are usually far out in the sky, often appearing black, and nearly devoid of any plumage patterns. Making matters worse, these birds rarely vocalize, are moving fast, and do not return for a second glance. All of these problems conspire against the hawk counter who must quickly identify the raptor and move on to the next bird. So, how do they do it?

Your guide, Dr. Brian M. Wargo, author of "Bird!: An Exploration of Hawkwatching", takes you into the mind of the hawk counter and shares the techniques that hawk- watchers practice to make the identification. In addition, Wargo is the Eastern Flyway Editor for Hawk Migration Studies, taking countless hours to analyze the data collected from the nearly 90 hawk sites in the eastern part of the United States. This information helps reveal the state of the raptors for the east coast. This workshop provides tips and tricks for hawk identification, all while integrating population trends for each raptor species.

Dr. Brian M. Wargo is a physicist by training, a decorated science educator, and a hawk counter at the Allegheny Front Hawk Watch. He serves as the President of the Allegheny Plateau Audubon Society and is on the board of directors for the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) where he chairs the Data Committee as well as the Education and Conservation Committee. In addition, he is the Eastern Flyway editor for Hawk Migration Studies, the official journal of HMANA. When not counting raptors, analyzing data, teaching students, or writing books, Wargo enjoys birding and has done so in all 49 contiguous states in North America.