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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

September 22, 2014:   Set up early around 7:30am  and moved the hawks in their boxes to the beach before the heat of the day.  Readied myself and changed into work clothes so I looked fresh, not wilted from the  heat  and moving the hawks to the staging area at the cabana.  Set the hawks in and out several times due to the threat of rains, which for the most part missed the key.   It was Monday, and slow season, so during the day, pest birds were few.  I also noted many small  baby iguanas around the key, this years hatchings, which are a prey item for the Harris hawks.  I have to be careful as to not let the hawks catch one.   I walked the entire key to survey for droppings and bird activity during the day, and found the minor bird activity was around the bistro (food dropped) and the trees which have dropped small fruit on the ground that resembles crab apples.   Otherwise a quiet day, until the evening roosting started  around 6:30.   Hawks were in position by the office building and the birds (grackles and starlings) were moving nervously with the hawks in the area.   I kept two them up flying around until dusk fell and until they  showed roosting behavior, crated into their boxes.  A third one was up who sticks close by and rode on a T post the entire time.  That hawk was called back and forth on from T post to T post under lights after dark.  Just the sound of the wings and bells made the pest birds very nervous and they would vacate the trees for another area.  This is a good technique, for the birds are reacting to the  sounds of the hawk, not know if it is hunting or just moving about.   Finished up around 8:30 and packed up the hawks for another night.     

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