Dr. Given Harper and tracing Red-Tailed Hawks with stable hydrogen isotopes

Today, Evan and Nate are joined by Dr. Given Harper from Illinois Wesleyan University to discuss his current research on Red-tailed Hawks (RTHA). We first caught wind of Given when Piatt County residents began calling us telling us that a person is trapping Red-tailed Hawks in our area. We immediately knew we had to find out who this was. After a series of fortunate events and family members, we were able to track down Given for this interview.

We being by discussing some of his research on lead toxicity in raptors. What is the significance and what can be done to solve this problem?

How does a person capture a RTHA? They are not only huge raptors but they also have sharp beaks and pointy talons. Once they are captured how do you determine where they are from? What are the implications of the migratory movements of RTHAs? With climate change are less raptors moving south?

All of these questions and more will be answered by Dr. Given Harper. He additionally gives us some sage advice for birders with wives.

Happy listening and Happy Birding!