...but the Hawk-watching will continue!
To all of my hawk-watching friends,
I've done a lot of thinking over the last few months and I've finally made
my decision about this fall's Raptor Watch at Rosetta. As many of you
already know, since the end of last season's Watch I've been contemplating not
being at Rosetta in 2017 and unfortunately that's exactly what's going to
happen. Sometimes life just gets in the way of fun. I've got a
whole bunch of projects big and small that have been piling up for quite some
time...and they need doing! Being at Rosetta for four months straight is,
and has been, a great way to get away from life's little 'workloads' but
amazingly the jobs are always still there when the first of December rolls around.
Then of course by that time, it's too bloody cold outside to do anything.
When spring comes, I'm too busy with birding and gardening, and in summer it's just
too darn hot to do much work. Thankfully not all of the jobs that I have lined up are going to
be outside but sure enough, most of the bigger ones will be!
I've also noticed that over the last two years my interest
level in conducting the Watch has waned a bit so I think the timing
is right for me to step aside and take a break. Also, the 'standing in one
spot and looking up at the sky' for the better part of four months is so unbelievably
hard on the mind and body. If you don't believe me, you should try it sometime, like at Rosetta...and maybe count some hawks while you're there - lol! For those of you who have been to the Watch over the years, you know I never like to sit down for very long, I've always maintained that the view is just not the same. So it really is a self-inflicted torture each fall!
Thankfully, as I post this note, our crack Rosetta hawk-watch team is already putting together a plan as to how best to run this year's Hawk Watch in my absence. I've granted Lee E. full access to the blog so please stay tuned for further updates from her about the upcoming season. I'll also continue to post whenever possible.
One thing I will do is continue to maintain the 'Monarch
Tagging' portion of the blog on a daily basis as I know first-hand there's likely going to be a
whole lot of tagging done! Terry and Betty should be quite busy as it appears to be a banner year for Monarch butterflies.
During August and possibly the first half of September, when time permits,
I'll be down at the park in the garden searching for butterflies and maybe the odd hawk flying overhead. Then after that it'll be hit and miss for me. I'll try to get
down on days with good strong northwest winds, if nothing else.
The hawks will still fly over Rosetta whether I'm there or not so keep looking up!
Walter
