This is not a project of NYSOA. This information is provided for New York birders who may encounter marked hawks. It is taken from the September 2001 issue of Winging It, the newsletter of the American Birding Association.

Note added 4/3/2003:   This multi-year study, a joint project of Little Gap Raptor Research Group, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and the Wildlife Information Center, is ongoing and reports of sightings are still sought.   For more details, see the Wildlife Information Center website and navigate to the section about Research.

From the article in the September 2001 issue of Winging It:

Researchers in Pennsylvania are seeking any reports of Red-tailed Hawks color-marked this summer as part of a study of the movements of this species. Hawks were marked with green, yellow, or pink dyes on their outermost secondary feathers; the birds could turn up almost anywhere through the spring of 2002. Ninety hawks marked in this manner during the summer of 2000, the first year of the study, produced sixteen confirmed sightings through April of this year, as far south as Virginia (last fall) and as far north as Canada (during spring migration), according to the study's organizers.

If you spot a hawk with the markings described, you can assist the project by reporting

• the date (including year), time of day, and location of the sighting (state, county, locality)
• the age of the bird (adult or immature)
• right wing dye color
• lift wing dye color
• the behavior of the bird (e.g., migrating north or south, hunting, perching, nesting, etc.)
  

Submit the information along with your name and contact information to:

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