Broad-winged Hawk Movement Update October 2023
Jim Armbruster – Field Research Coordinator

After a summer of waiting we finally began to see movement updates for Ottauquechee! We expected radio silence as she had better things to do than keep us informed of her whereabouts. During this time she was raising her young in the woods just off route 4 in Taftsville. All the time spent in the shade meant the batteries on her GPS were low and it was not transmitting information to us. Now that migration season is here she is making some big moves!

Ottauquechee began her trip in the second week of September and by the 27th she was already out of the US. Her first stop was in Tamaulipas Mexico and as of October 2nd she was moving through Chiapas. A straight line from here banding location to Chiapas is approximately 2200 miles. This means she traveled much more than that as she flew around the Gulf of Mexico. We may loose track of her again as she finishes her trip since data transmission relies on connections with cell towers.
We hope that our other banded birds made a similarly safe journey this fall. We won’t know their movements unless they happen to be re-sighted somewhere along their route. Next year we will survey their territories to see if they return and nest again.
To learn more about the banding and GPS mounting process read our previous blog post
For more updates check out the Broad-winged Hawk Project Facebook page
She’s a beauty!!