Glacier National Park Invites Volunteers to 2024 Annual Hawk Watch Training

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The September 23 training will be an in-the-field training day for volunteers interested in participating in the Lake McDonald Lodge Hawk Watch during the end of September through October. This field training will take place from noon to 4 pm in Jammer Joe’s parking lot adjacent to Lake McDonald Lodge.

To join the Hawk Watch Team, participants will learn from park biologists on how to identify and count migrating raptors. Park biologists will answer questions and share information about the integral role of raptors in our ecosystems, risks they face, and why Glacier started the Mount Brown Hawk Watch Program.

Volunteers interested in registering for either or both training days should email the Glacier Citizen Science Office, GLAC_citizen_science@nps.gov, for additional details.

Each year in the fall, golden eagles migrate from northern breeding grounds to warmer climates. One of the most important North American golden eagle migration routes passes directly through Glacier National Park. Large numbers of other raptors also use this migration corridor during the fall and spring months.

In the mid-1990s biologists documented nearly 2,000 golden eagles migrating past Mount Brown annually. Recent data from outside Glacier National Park indicate significant declines in golden eagle numbers. Due to this concern, the park initiated a Citizen Science Raptor Migration Project in 2011 to investigate possible locations for a Hawk Watch site.

Hawk Watch sites are part of an international effort to track long-term raptor population trends using systematic migrating raptor counts. Observers also record data on sex, age, color morph and behavior of raptors, as well as weather and environmental conditions. To see a map of Hawk Watch sites around the world go to www.hawkcount.org.

Funding for the Mount Brown Hawk Watch program is provided by the National Park Service, Glacier National Park Volunteer Associates, and Glacier National Park Conservancy. The Northwest Montana Lookout Association assisted with Mount Brown lookout refurbishments. For more information about the Mount Brown Hawk Watch program, contact park staff via email at GLAC_citizen_science@nps.gov or call (406) 888-7986.

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