Jenner Headlands Hawkwatch

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Jenner Headlands Hawkwatch Jenner Headlands Preserve's annual fall raptor migration at the Sonoma Coast. Raptor Identification. Sonoma County California.
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Jenner Headland's annual fall migration. Come see hundreds of migrating hawks along the Sonoma Coast. The stunning Jenner Headlands provide a large coastal prairie with vast open areas and endless perching spots. Some of the raptors fly right on by, some slow, some fast. While other southward raptors stop over for a meal, it may be avian prey for the Merlin's, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks. As well as crucial undeveloped coastal prairie grassland habitat that is bustling with small mammals for the Kites, Harriers, Buteo's and Kestrels. The Jenner Headlands Hawk Watch was established over a decade ago involving volunteer citizen scientists, specializing in raptor identification, census and surveys. These volunteers came from many different north bay communities, such as Madrone Audubon, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Wild by Nature walks & talks, North Bay Birds, I'm Birding Right Now!, Redwood Regional Ornithological Society, West County Hawkwatch, various land trust and open space groups, as well as various north bay wildlife care and rescue organizations. West County Hawkwatch aka West Coast Hawkwatch is a local raptor education, natural history and identification outreach group. WE currently run the teams out at the Jenner Headlands migration location. The teams work under guidance and permission from The Wildlands Conservancy and Sonoma Land Trust. The public support to TWC and SLT has paid off and now the hawks are on display. The Jenner Headland’s Coastal Migration Project is well on its way, with special interest in helping people learn about the natural history and identification of birds of prey. During the raptor migration counts we are also compiling data on rare raptor species and sightings. We also study raptor interaction with other raptors, hunting success and territorial battles. As well as all the other bird species and their movements. We also document other animal activity such as the bobcats, coyotes, badgers, deer, butterflies, ground squirrels, reptiles, turkeys and feral pigs...
Come out and enjoy your Jenner Headlands Preserve.

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,Please join us this Sunday, 25 October 2026 for Hawkwatch.Fall migration is peaking ...
10/24/2026

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,

Please join us this Sunday, 25 October 2026 for Hawkwatch.
Fall migration is peaking and birds are migrating through. Lots of falcons lately and even a juvenile Golden Eagle! We are still waiting for the arrival of Ferruginous Hawks. Maybe we'll see some this weekend after the storm front came through.

We hope you can join us up on the hill!

We are excited to sponsor two weekly teams this year – and some additional surge days when migration peaks.
Wednesdays starting 8/26 with Dave Barry and Sundays starting 8/30 with Bill Perry and Shelly Anderson.

Individual day sign up is encouraged, but not required. Email and text still work for us. And Dave is a big Facebook user and communicates that way as well. As you may remember, we are limited to 5 vehicles, so our maximum is 12-15 people each day watch.

The usual Jenner Hawk Watch protocol applies:
Meet @ the Jenner Visitor Center (JVC) @ town of Jenner 9:15 am
Then at 9:30 am Sharp, we will head up to the Jenner Headlands. > There is limited space for parking, so Carpooling is a must.
The count up on the hill runs from 10 AM - 2 PM, weather permitting. We'll drive back down to JVC by 2:20 PM.
All attending MUST sign a liability waiver ONCE a season AND a daily sign in sheet each time day you're on the watch (per The Wildlands Conservancy).
What to bring: water, lunch, layered clothing, sunscreen, shade hat, camping chair or blanket to sit on, raptor ID books, binoculars, spotting scope.
Hawkwatch runs from 10am to 2pm, We are behind a locked gate.

We hope to see you soon!

The 2026 Jenner Hawkwatch Team

A past tribute to Larry Broderick.
10/22/2026

A past tribute to Larry Broderick.

Well we had our largest Hawkwatch turnout of the season, probably hoping for a repeat of last Thursday's great day. We w...
10/22/2026

Well we had our largest Hawkwatch turnout of the season, probably hoping for a repeat of last Thursday's great day. We were not so fortunate on this day though.
It was actually a very very slow day! Even with the approaching Cold front, the first of the year, still slow.
Mammals did make up for the slow Bird day. We had 1 large mature Black-tailed Deer Buck, 5-6 Bobcats, and Humpback Whales all day long!
Sarah Reid, Deb Kremins, Monica Schwalbenberg-Pena, Gene Hunn, Nancy Hunn, Lucas Bonnema, Jerry Meshulam, Clark Peterson, Don Kirker, John Markham, Steve Corey, Rich Eliason, Deborah Curle, Beckly, and Janelle Libertone all joined me up on the hill today.
Our Observations:

TUVU: 16
OSPR: 2
NOHA: 4
SSHA: 1
RTHA: 9
AMKE: 6
MERL: 3
For a total of 41 Raptors for the day.

Merlin photos of a male adult Taiga subspecies Falco columbarius. columbarius. Courtesy of Team member Don Kirker. Red-tail and Bobcat photos courtesy of Team photographer Jerry Meshulam.

Overall a fun day with great conversation.
Dave Barry

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,Please join us this Wednesday 21 October 2026 for Hawkwatch. Fall migration is peak...
10/20/2026

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,
Please join us this Wednesday 21 October 2026 for Hawkwatch.
Fall migration is peaking and birds are migrating through. Merlin have really been migrating this week! We hope you can join us up on the hill!
We are excited to sponsor two weekly teams this year – and some additional surge days when migration peaks.
Wednesdays starting 8/26 with Dave Barry and Sundays starting 8/30 with Bill Perry and Shelly Anderson.
Individual day sign up is encouraged, but not required. Email and text still work for us. And Dave is a big Facebook user and communicates that way as well. As you may remember, we are limited to 5 vehicles, so our maximum is 12-15 people each day watch.
The usual Jenner Hawk Watch protocol applies:
Meet @ the Jenner Visitor Center (JVC) @ town of Jenner 9:15 am
Then at 9:30 am Sharp, we will head up to the Jenner Headlands. > There is limited space for parking, so Carpooling is a must.
The count up on the hill runs from 10 AM - 2 PM, weather permitting. We'll drive back down to JVC by 2:20 PM.
All attending MUST sign a liability waiver ONCE a season AND a daily sign in sheet each time day you're on the watch (per The Wildlands Conservancy).
What to bring: water, lunch, layered clothing, sunscreen, shade hat, camping chair or blanket to sit on, raptor ID books, binoculars, spotting scope.
Hawkwatch runs from 10am to 2pm, We are behind a locked gate.
We hope to see you soon!
The 2026 Jenner Hawkwatch Team

Photos from our Napa/Solano Audubon outing. Multiple Merlin, Sharp-shinned Hawk attacking an American Kestrel, and a Red-tailed Hawk.

It was a cool and breezy day on the hill. The fog came and went. The raptor count was low, but we still saw 8 species. ...
10/18/2026

It was a cool and breezy day on the hill. The fog came and went. The raptor count was low, but we still saw 8 species. Today, Shelly Anderson and I were joined by Mookie Fudemberg, Melissa Witte, Joe Lishka, Cathy Johnson and Kathy O'Brien.

Here are the numbers;

TUVU: 40
OPSR: 1
NOHA: 2 males
SSHA: 2 juveniles
COHA: 1 juvenile
RTHA: 13 (5 juveniles)
AMKE: 12 (1 male, 9 females, 2 undoc)
PEFA: 1 juvenile
Unidentified Accipiter: 1

We also saw one bobcat and 4 deer including a large buck. Before we headed up the hill we spotted a beautiful adult BAEA across the river from the Visitors Center in the tall cypress tree.

Bill Perry and the Hawkwatch Team

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,Please join us this Sunday, October 18th for hawk watch at Jenner Headlands Preserve...
10/16/2026

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,

Please join us this Sunday, October 18th for hawk watch at Jenner Headlands Preserve.

Fall migration has picked up and the Wednesday team saw the first Golden Eagle in the past several years. Looks like the weather cool off a little on Sunday to make for a good birding day.

As you may remember, we are limited to 5 vehicles, so our maximum is 12-15 people each day watch. Let us know if you plan to join us at : [email protected].

The usual Jenner Hawk Watch protocol applies:
Meet @ the Jenner Visitor Center (JVC) @ town of Jenner 9:15 am
Then at 9:30 am Sharp, we will head up to the Jenner Headlands. > There is limited space for parking, so Carpooling is a must.
The count up on the hill runs from 10 AM - 2 PM, weather permitting. We'll drive back down to JVC by 2:20 PM.
All attending MUST sign a liability waiver ONCE a season AND a daily sign in sheet each time day you're on the watch (per The Wildlands Conservancy).

What to bring: water, lunch, layered clothing, sunscreen, shade hat, camping chair or blanket to sit on, raptor ID books, binoculars, spotting scope.

Hawkwatch runs from 10am to 2pm, We are behind a locked gate.



We hope to see you soon!

The 2026 Jenner Hawkwatch Team

Hawkwatch report 14 October 2026:Wow wow wow!Edit: First GOLDEN EAGLE since 2019!! Our first GOLDEN EAGLE in (3?) years...
10/14/2026

Hawkwatch report 14 October 2026:

Wow wow wow!

Edit: First GOLDEN EAGLE since 2019!!

Our first GOLDEN EAGLE in (3?) years! A Beautiful subadult 2 year old Eagle.

Deb Kremins, Vicki Chung, Jerry Meshulam, John Markham, Steve Corey, Monica Schwalbenberg-Pena, new comer Deborah Curle, and veteran team photographer Don Jackson joined me on the hill today.
It was warm and no wind at first which made for slow birding, but the winds shifted and picked up kick starting migration today.

We observed a total of 9 species today:

TUVU: 57
WTKI: 1
NOHA: 10
SSHA: 1
RSHA: 3
RTHA: 20
GOEA: 1
AMKE: 6
MERL: 1
unidentified accip: 2
For a Total of 102 observations.

We also saw 1 beautiful Rock Wren thanks to Monica hearing it's call. 4 Bobcats and Humpback Whales all day nearshore! Thanks Don and Jerry for the beautiful wildlife photos.
Just a tremendous Day up on the Hill!
Cheers, Dave Barry.

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,Please join us this Wednesday 14 October 2026 for Hawkwatch. Fall migration is p...
10/13/2026

Greetings Fellow Raptor Enthusiasts,

Please join us this Wednesday 14 October 2026 for Hawkwatch.

Fall migration is peaking and birds are migrating through. Merlin have really been migrating this week! We hope you can join us up on the hill!
We are excited to sponsor two weekly teams this year – and some additional surge days when migration peaks.

Wednesdays starting 8/26 with Dave Barry and Sundays starting 8/30 with Bill Perry and Shelly Anderson.

Individual day sign up is encouraged, but not required. Email and text still work for us. And Dave is a big Facebook user and communicates that way as well. As you may remember, we are limited to 5 vehicles, so our maximum is 12-15 people each day watch.

The usual Jenner Hawk Watch protocol applies:
Meet @ the Jenner Visitor Center (JVC) @ town of Jenner 9:15 am
Then at 9:30 am Sharp, we will head up to the Jenner Headlands. > There is limited space for parking, so Carpooling is a must.
The count up on the hill runs from 10 AM - 2 PM, weather permitting. We'll drive back down to JVC by 2:20 PM.
All attending MUST sign a liability waiver ONCE a season AND a daily sign in sheet each time day you're on the watch (per The Wildlands Conservancy).
What to bring: water, lunch, layered clothing, sunscreen, shade hat, camping chair or blanket to sit on, raptor ID books, binoculars, spotting scope.
Hawkwatch runs from 10am to 2pm, We are behind a locked gate.
We hope to see you soon!
The 2026 Jenner Hawkwatch Team

Hawkwatch Report from Saturday 10 Oct 2026. Wow, what an Amazing Hawkwatch Day! John Markham and Andy of The Wildla...
10/12/2026

Hawkwatch Report from Saturday 10 Oct 2026.
Wow, what an Amazing Hawkwatch Day!

John Markham and Andy of The Wildlands Conservancy joined me on the Hill today for a Special Event Hawkwatch. Today we were joined by a group from the Napa/Solano Audubon Society. They brought 15 folks along. In hour 3 of Hawkwatch we were also joined by 44 Students from UC Davis. They were extremely interested in what we were doing and asked very good questions. Mark Stephenson President of Napa/Solano Audubon and myself did our best to answer their questions. I invited them to join our Hawkwatch when they have the chance to do so.
We were treated to a closeup with a large Bobcat right at the start.
Surprisingly the winds stayed consistent and did not blow us off of the hill, but the moderate Northwest winds did bring the birds!

We were able to observe 11 species of Raptor today, many right over our heads.

We observed:

TUVU: 120 86 in hour 2 alone!
OSPR: 2
BAEA: 1 Adult
NOHA: 2
SSHA: 5
COHA: 5
RSHA: 2
RTHA: 21 11 juvenile
AMKE: 3
MERL: 5
PEFA: 3

unidentified accip: 1
For a grand total of 170 Raptors!!

I'd say we did World Migratory Bird Day most epically with a Jenner Headlands Hawkwatch flair!

Cheers, Dave Barry

The Sunday team 10/11/26 enjoyed a really fun day up on the hill this Sunday. Probably our first real hopping day this ...
10/12/2026

The Sunday team 10/11/26 enjoyed a really fun day up on the hill this Sunday. Probably our first real hopping day this season. The weather was clear, cool, and some winds made for great conditions. Our team of eight included: Bill Perry, Adrian Johnson, Ric Vetter, Karen Vogel, Vicki Chung, Joe Lishka, and Joe Park, and me. As an extra bonus, Dave Berry brought his raptor hike group up to meet us as well.



Some highlights included our first Broadwinged Hawks and Peregrin Falcons of the season for the Sunday crew, as well as an uptick in Merlins and Red Shouldered hawks. In all we counted 167 Raptors. Ric and Adrian were both taking pictures so there should be some great ones later today.

The count looked like this:



100 TUVU

2 WIKI

5 NOHA 3 juvi

1 SSHA juvi

1 COHA juvi

5 RSHA (all juvi)

2 BWHA (juvi)

31 RTHA (13 juvi)

12 AMKE 4 male

6 MERL

2 PEFA (1 juvi)



Such a lovely day in the Jenner paradise. Hope to see you up there soon,

Shelly Anderson

Address

10439 Highway 1
Jenner, CA
95450

Telephone

(707) 791-0335

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