Raving About Raptors

The program by Kathy Bricker of the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch features hawks and owls and their adaptations to their top-of-the-food web lifestyle. Special focus is on the hawk migration through the Straits, which has been studied intensively for six years. Buteo hawks and other raptors often soar overhead in spiral formations called kettles, rising on warm updrafts. Owls are studied at night through a long-term banding project. Starting in fall 2015, a waterbird count was added to better understand the importance of the Straits to migrating and resting waterfowl.