Jenner Hawk Watch 2021 wrap up and getting ready for 2022

Fire prep at Laufenburg Ranch; Trek No. 100 to Pole Mountain summit; Reta Lockert to retire; Black History Month salutes Corina Newsome; Upcoming virtual wildflower hike

Join the Hawk Watch

Birdwatching your thing? Want to watch the big birds? The Jenner Headlands Hawk Watch group may be for you, and they’re looking for new volunteers. Each autumn, this dedicated group visits the Jenner Headlands Preserve to document raptor activity within the Pacific Flyway coastal section that funnels rare hawks on their migration path. Organized in 2009 by local raptor expert Larry Broderick, and later co-managed by naturalist Dave Barry, the group helps identify migration and overwintering trends among such species as rough-legged and ferruginous hawks. Later, they compare numbers with other groups monitoring raptors in the region. The coastal prairie grasslands on the Jenner Headlands Preserve—managed through bird friendly conservation ranching by Markegard Family Grass-Fed—provide rich feeding grounds and habitat that have been diminished elsewhere due to coastal development. "It's a wide-open expanse that is perfect for hunting," says Larry Broderick. "They've got the wind coming up from the coast, the thermals, three or four different wind patterns that basically funnel the birds right over us." To volunteer with the Jenner Headlands Hawk Watch group during the upcoming raptor season, check their Facebook page. Click here to see the 2021 report via Facebook.   #westcountyhawkwatch