Jim Armbruster – Field Research Coordinator
An interesting location update for one of our Rough-legged Hawks! Bird #215629 AKA Champ is now back in Vermont. She crossed back into the state from Canada sometime on the morning of 6/15/22. There is only one other confirmed sighting of a rough leg in Vermont in June from 2018. This is an unusual time of year to be in our area but several birds in the study are staying further south than normal including Lemons, bird #215630, who is still just north of Quebec. We will continue to monitor their movements and see where they end up for the rest of summer.
Also an unfortunate update for two of our Vermont birds in the study. Jersey, a juvenile female banded 1/10/22, and Ash, an adult female banded 1/12/22, went down in Quebec in early May. Tentative results are in and it is suspected they both became infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, HPAI. The virus is especially prevalent in Quebec, where both birds were recovered.