Kyle Dudgeon '19: Flying High

Ohh there’s a bald eagle right here. You see him?  Counting down the ridge?  Plenty of those today.

 

If you’re a student at Oneonta, most likely, you have a hobby.  Maybe you have a love for sports? Music?  Knitting?  The top player of Can Jam in your residence hall?  Even if you don’t have a hobby, there are over 150 clubs on campus for you to explore.  

 

Today, we’re going off campus to meet up with our next guest.  

“My name is Kyle dudgeon. I'm counting hawks up here at Franklin Mountain Hawk Watch.....enjoying a nice cold early winter day, early December day.”

 

Vo:  You hard that right.  He’s counting Hawks.  Today, he’s also on the lookout for the Golden Eagle.  Kyles is a wildlife photographer and avid birder, and volunteers his time, counting hawks, in between classes.  

“So I'm actually working for the Delaware/Otsego Audubon society.  I was a sophomore, I transferred here, so I just came up here one day and got involved with everybody and uh, you know, it took a year of coming up here in the fall during Hawk watch season and then eventually I was vetted and I became a counter. So this is my second year, um, being a fall counter.  It's been fun.”

Kyle’s interest in birds started when he was in high school, when his family introduced him to the local hawkwatch in his hometown of Warwick, NY.

“all through high school I was going up there and I got really interested in hawks and birds of prey. It's like a big thing in the fall.  I got really involved in, the birding really came from that. I, my friends used to joke with me, I could care less about, you know, a little tiny songbird or whatever it may be. Back when I was, you know, first getting into this because I was so interested in seeing eagles and hawks and falcons and all that exciting stuff, But I guess in the past couple of years, i it's really become like a passion for me.”

“So the first thing I'll always do is just throw in my binoculars because it takes probably 10 minutes to get ready and, uh, any bird can sort of pick up and start flying in those 10 minutes.  So it's important to, you know, be ready and be on a watch. But then I'll set up my scope, get the cameras out, um, you know, take my first set of data through data sheets on a clipboard and maybe drink a little coffee and, uh, yeah, I can get on with the day.”

Every hour, Kyle documents the weather conditions on the mountains, such as wind, temperature, and barometric pressure.  Today, its been snowing for most of the morning, and visibility is low.

“Yeah, well, today's cold, um, typical of early know or December either. Um, we have northwest winds today, which is really good for migration. And on a typical year we'd be seeing lots of Golden Eagles today. Um, but this year has been not so typical.”

 Franklin Mt. Is known to be the best location in NYS to spot Golden Eagles, as they migrate south for the winter.  During the fall season, they can be seen daily basis.  However, October 28th, 2018 was a day to remember for Kyle and bird enthusiasts from across the state.

Kyle Dudgeon:

"October was a, was an odd month. We had record numbers for an entire season in the month of October alone. Um, and then of course the Big Day of 10/25, 128 (golden eagles)which was pretty miraculous. I was here for an hour and saw a 20 and then had to go to class. But, um, I was happy for those people to all get those spirits."

 

"when I was here, there was probably 15, 20 people here, not including the counter. So it was a pretty good crowd for sure. And they were all very surprised and very happy when they went home."

As the snow continued to fall, Kyle decided to call it a day.  The data he and other counters collect from Franklin Mountain is sent to the Hawk Migration Association of North America, and will be used to gauge the health of the hawk population and help paint a bigger picture of the health of our environment.  

 

There are indicators for the overall health of our ecosystems our environments, especially now with climate change here and present. Um, we need to pay attention to things like birds and see what they're doing. Why are they moving earlier? Why are they not nesting here when they used to nest here for the last thousand years, whatever it may be. Um, so that's, that's why it's important aside from it being a hobby and whatnot. But luckily today we have databases like E- Bird, you know, people go out and just bird every day and they'll record what they see and that now can be used for science. So they call it citizen citizens science. Um, you know, this is citizen science too. I'm a volunteer. It's just people going out doing what they love and it contributing to the bigger picture.

 

So what’s next for Kyle after graduation?  He’s off to Montana to manage the Bridger Mountains Hawkwatch and is pursuing his passion of photography.  If you're interested in learning more about Golden Eagles check out the links in the show bio.  For My Oneonta Life, I’m Jared Stanley, see you next time.