ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
BIRDS
OF
PREY
THE ANNUAL WINTER RAPTOR SURVEY OFFERS A WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER THE CHANCE TO OBSERVE THE BIRDS THROUGH HER LENS Story and photos by Linda Steider
T
oward the end of each year, I look forward to my winter raptor surveys as a volunteer for East Cascades Audubon Society. I began in the winter of 2015-16 when an “open call” for volunteers came through our local birding group to pick up an established survey route. That compelled me to take a series of workshops to learn more about birds of prey, including where to find them, distinguishing characteristics, and how they live, breed and die. Jeff Fleischer is our project coordinator, as well as a generous mentor and cheerleader. He founded Winter Raptor Surveys in 2004-05 in Oregon, which is a prime area for wintering raptors, and included the initial Gorge territories of Hood River, The Dalles to Dufur, and Maupin. He continued to expand it, adding the Washington side of the Gorge in 2010-11. Our surveys now cover all of Oregon, most of Washington and Idaho, as well as small segments in northern California and northeast Utah. There are currently more than 452 routes with 350 volunteers. Once a month, I drive two established routes. My original route is along the Washington side of the Columbia from Bingen to Dallesport, including many side roads leading to open fields and forests. This allows an opportunity to see all the various species we have. We’re careful to not interrupt the lives of raptors, to quietly observe them from a distance. When stopping too close to a bird of prey, it will fly away, using energy it needs for hunting, especially during a bleak winter. Watching their behavior through binoculars or a long camera lens from farther away offers a more natural observation and is truly an amazing experience. Territory disputes, mating rituals, nesting, hunting or fishing, and eating — these behaviors are fascinating to watch and an education in itself.
JUVENILE BALD EAGLE
Each raptor is counted and entered into a data form which is electronically submitted after each survey. Fleischer compiles all the routes into charts and an interactive map on the East Cascades Audubon Society website. Our recorded data from December through February (and optional months of November and March) helps determine wintering populations of raptors in the Gorge and across the Pacific Northwest. The two main reasons I volunteer are to place myself where the raptors are to further study and photograph them, and to gain firsthand knowledge about the well-being and lives of our local raptor population. If you’d like to learn more about raptors and our surveys, Jeff Fleischer has a slide show presentation at ecaudubon.org/wrs-ppt.
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WINTER 2021-22 II THE GORGE MAGAZINE
