Sue Cottrell has been watching and monitoring hawks for three decades.
Yet she still has moments of wonder when she sees them, like what she witnessed in a Skagit County field three weeks ago.
She and a friend had been checking on the nest of a red-tailed hawk. Nearby, “we had as many as 12 juvenile red tails practicing hunting, swooping down on each other,” she said.
“It’s hard to describe that, seeing the youngsters out there just playing around. I just love watching that.”
Cottrell, a longtime volunteer in studying birds of prey, will share photos and insights into her work Sept. 10 at the Marysville Opera House. She is the next speaker in this year’s Outdoor Speaker Series.
During her talk, Cottrell said she will discuss the 16 types of raptors that can be spotted in northwest Washington, such as gyrfalcons, prairie falcons and northern goshawks.
Cottrell said she’s fascinated by raptors — a group of birds that includes hawks, eagles, vultures and falcons.
“Oh goodness, that’s a tough one,” she said when asked about her favorite bird. Since she’s currently studying red-tailed hawks and American kestrels, “they’re definitely at the top of the list.”
The winter season will provide an opportunity to see some birds that visit only seasonally, including the rough-legged hawk.
Even casual observers of birds like to travel to Skagit County’s open fields to see falcons and hawks flying above. Many of these points are accessible on two-lane roads, but Cottrell said visitors shouldn’t simply stop along the side of the road for a view.
She suggested going to designated state Fish and Wildlife areas near Bow and on Fir Island where parking is available.
Cottrell recently was part of a volunteer group that built 26 nesting boxes for American kestrels, which are cavity nesters. The nest boxes can be attached to a tall post or a tree.
Most birders will go to Skagit County, but Cottrell said anyone with property in Snohomish County where they’ve spotted kestrels and are interested in the program should contact her.
Cottrell, 65, lives in Bellingham. Her interest in raptors began in the early 1990s when she took a class led by Bud Anderson of the Falcon Research Group, based in Bow.
By 1999, she began banding hawks during the fall migration. Volunteers who band birds need to apprentice with someone who has a permit to do so. Cottrell is permitted to band any raptor, but she specializes in the study of American kestrels, red-tailed and coopers hawks.
Banding helps monitor whether bird populations are increasing, steady or declining. The information gathered on the birds is sent to a national lab that collects the data.
This year Cottrell began weekly visits to red-tailed hawk nests to check on the birds and their offspring. A similar nest box study of kestrels is just getting under way.
One issue affecting red-tailed hawks is a disease that causes their bills to grow unusually long — in some cases making it impossible for them to eat, so they die. “That’s why we started the nesting survey,” she said.
Observing hawks and other raptors helps connect people to the environment they live in, Cottrell said. “The more people are connected to nature around us, the more they’ll want to take care of it.”
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
If you go
Raptor expert Sue Cottrell will give a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 on “Winter Raptors of Northwest Washington” at the Marysville Opera House, 1225 Third St., Marysville. Tickets are $5 at the door. Call 360-363-8400 or go to tinyurl.com/mvilleoutdoor for more information.
The Marysville Outdoor Adventure Speaker Series is held on second Tuesdays, January through May and September through November. Presentations cover hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, biking, photography, boating, birding and more.
Oct. 8: Heather “Anish” Anderson, National Geographic’s 2019 Adventurer of the Year, will present “Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home.”
Nov. 12: Photographer Paul Souders will share on “Arctic Solitaire: A Boat, A Bay and the Quest for the Perfect Bear.”
Places to spot raptors
Samish Wildlife Area Unit, 12296 Samish Island Road, Bow; 360-445-4441; wdfw.wa.gov/places-to-go/wildlife-areas/samish-wildlife-area-unit. About 445 acres of agricultural fields and wetlands adjacent to Padilla Bay in northwest Skagit County.
Fir Island Farm Reserve Wildlife Area Unit, 15802 Fir Island Road, Mount Vernon; 360-445-4441; wdfw.wa.gov/places-to-go/wildlife-areas/fir-island-farm-reserve-wildlife-area-unit. A game reserve with nearly 300 acres of restored intertidal estuary and managed agricultural land in southwest Skagit County.
Kestrel nest boxes
Volunteers are deploying 26 American kestrel nest boxes primarily in Skagit but also in Whatcom and Snohomish counties. If you’ve spotted kestrels on your property and would like to have a nest box, email buteoresearch@gmail.com.
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