In June 2018, Hawk Mountain staff and trainees successfully trapped and tagged two adult male broad-winged hawks, the first males to ever be equipped with satellite transmitters.

The broad-winged hawk project team has tagged and tracked female broad-wings every year since 2014, using the satellite data to observe the species’ movement ecology year-round, in addition to recording nesting behaviors during the summer months. This work continues to be supported by the Kittatinny Coalition and several private donors.

The first male, named Brady, was tagged at the base of Hawk Mountain, at the same nest site as a female tagged in 2015, Ridgena. The couple have produced two successful young consistently since 2014, and this year was no different. Following the nesting season, both raptors used a similar range, spending most time on mountain slope but also visiting forests on the west side of Route 61.

Broun, the second tagged male, was captured on the Kittatinny Ridge north of Shartlesville. He was initially banded in 2014, when the sanctuary team equipped one of his chicks, Kit, with a satellite unit. Due to his recapture, he now has a satellite transmitter in addition to his bands. His range includes both sides of the ridge, while his offspring Kit used mainly the south slope prior to migration.

The broad-winged hawk is 13 to 17 inches and weighs about 1 pound.

Due to the small body size of male broad-wings, the equipped satellite transmitter and accompanying solar-powered battery had to be smaller than what has been used for the females.

Both Brady and Broun’s units stopped signaling after a few days, indicating that their reduced solar panels cannot hold the charge as long and are currently not getting enough sun to recharge the unit battery.

The broad-winged hawk nests throughout northeast and northcentral forests, but faces threats and challenges throughout its life cycle and may be in decline in some regions.

Each autumn the broad-winged hawk vacates North America, traveling thousands of miles to winter in Central and South America.

Although highly secretive and rarely seen during nesting, broad-wings are conspicuous during migration, forming impressive flocks that number thousands of birds.

Nearly the entire world’s population will pass through eastern Mexico and Central America on their way to southern wintering areas, and all concentrated into a two-week period The amazing concentration and the different cultures and landscapes encountered makes migration a dangerous journey.

Threats during migration and on the wintering grounds include shooting, deforestation, contaminants and more. And, despite the abundance of migration data, still very little is known about their habitat use, migration, wintering and nesting behavior, and conservation threats. Such data are critical to the long-term conservation of this iconic migrant and its migration spectacle.

The team hopes that as the birds leave the forests and start to soar south for autumn migration, the units will recharge and continue to provide interesting movement data.

To follow the male movements along with the two females still signaling, visit the interactive map at hawkmountain.org/birdtracker.

The 2,500-acre Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the world’s first refuge for birds of prey and is open to the public year-round by trail-fee or membership, which in turn supports the nonprofit organization’s raptor conservation mission and local-to-global research, training, and education programs. To learn more about Hawk Mountain or other programs, call 610-756-6961 or visit www.hawkmountain.org.