On Saturday, 23 Oct 2010 the Detroit River Hawk Watch had the privilege to be visited by hawk photographer and ID expert Vic Berardi. Vic and his wife, Ann were invited to give a talk on Raptor Identification in the Digital Age. The event was hosted by the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance and Huron-Clinton Metroparks. Gerry Wykes (Lake Erie Metropark's Marshland Museum) and Greg Norwood (IWR) acted as hosts and gave introductory speeches.
The day started a bit earlier, with a number of visitors at the Hawk Watch itself. Members of the Erie Shores Birding Associaton arrived early with a table setup, while Greg set up another with information literature about the hawk watch and refuge. Rob Payne, lead counter for the DRHW, along with volunteer spotters Jeff Schultz, Rodney Laura, and others stationed themselves at the LEMP boat launch.
It would be an extremely slow day, however, with only 16 Sharp-shinned Hawks being counted. Weather did not help, with overcast, rainy skies and lack of wind. Just days earlier (and following) Turkey Vultures moved through the count site by the thousands, which is more typical of most count days.
I had to leave at noon to photograph the Gibraltar Bay Refuge dedication on Grosse Ile, so by the time I returned at 3 pm the count day had ended. So I drove back to the Marshland Museum where Vic, Ann and a good number of visitors had gathered for his talk.
Vic described the challenges that most hawk watchers face when trying to identify distant raptors flying overhead or at odd angles under extreme lighting conditions. The advent of the digital camera has, however, been a gift to bird photographers for its ability to provide instant imaging and documented evidence for helping to identify raptors in flight. Jerry Liguori's "Hawks From Every Angle" is a perfect example of how digital photography has helped us to become better hawk / bird photographers.
After a question / answer session, a number of us met up on Grosse Ile to have dinner at Vitale's Restaurant and Pizzeria. Thanks, Vic and Ann, for a wonderful visit and entertaining presentation!
