Breeding activity of avian predators on Herschel Island

We are monitoring the nesting activity of Snowy Owls, Rough-legged Hawks, Peregrine Falcon, Short-eared Owls, and Long-tailed Jaegers. We find nests through either systematic searches or opportunistically. All nests found are positioned with a GPS and revisited during the breeding period to determine laying date, clutch size, hatching date and fledging success. We also study their diet by collecting regurgitation pellets and prey remains at nests and blood samples from adults and young for isotopic analysis. Abundance of these birds is also determined using visual counts from a vantage point and transects. In 2008, we marked 4 Snowy owls with satellite transmitters to track their migratory movements over a 2-year period.