Closed for the Season

Well, I closed everything down this week! I just haven't had much time to get out,and thought I had better get it done before the Snow Flies.
 It was not a great season in general, but I will accept it for what it was, after all I am in it for the long haul and each year is diffeent for whatever reasons.
 The weather was the biggest factor,as it always is ,for good or bad!
We had far to many days of South winds that just don't help with the overall flight of migrating Raptors.Much of the winds were very strong and warm. Rain kept me from getting out on more than a dozen days and work got in the way!
 Overall individual species numbers were down in comparison to previous years. We did how ever set 2 new "Station Highs" both on the same day!
Broad-winged Hawks and Bald Eagles

They came on an All-time High Count day at the station , and if it wasn't for this day the Season would have been a total Crash!

 I finished with 14 Hawks Banded ,which is the lowest total in 6 years of Operation.
Red-tailed Hawks seemed to fail breeding wise , with mostly Adults being caught and not many being seen! The summer weather I thought was near perfect for Breeding, but maybe the Food Source just wasn't that great! They usually make up 75% of Hawks banded at the station, but this season made up for about 25%.

 The Owl migration was also slow, due to the same problems as the Hawk migration.
I finished the year with 76 new Northern Saw-whet Owls and 1 Screech Owl.

 6 Owls were caught that had been previously banded. Last year I caught 100 Owls and none were previously banded. 2 of them were from Whitefish Point!
 I had one week that kept me busy with 54 Owls.

 There were many highlights, such as when Minna came out and the night of the Northern Lights, so not all was lost!

 Hopefully we will have a good winter and catch some Snowy Owls and hope for some surprises!