The mission of HawkWatch International (HWI) is to monitor and protect hawks, eagles, other birds of prey and their environments through research, education, and conservation. We believe that through our efforts to monitor and protect birds of prey (also known as raptors), we can also protect our shared environment, our rich natural heritage, and ourselves. HWI was founded as a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) organization in 1986.

Raptors are an essential part of healthy, functioning ecosystems. As regulators of natural systems, raptors are crucial to maintaining the stable, healthy, and diverse ecosystems upon which we all depend. And as sensitive and widespread predators at the apex of food chains, raptors are superior indicators of ecosystem health worldwide. Humans share these ecosystems with raptors and all other species--thus, whatever happens to the raptors will happen to us. Hence, HWI's mission of protecting raptors is very relevant to the human condition. HWI fulfills this mission through programs in research, education, and conservation. Through these programs, HWI promotes an ethic of ecological sustainability and conservation for this and generations to follow.

The core of HWI's research program focuses on the development and maintenance of a long-term, large-scale database of raptor population numbers and trends. HWI collects these data primarily by operating a network of standardized migration count projects at migratory concentration points (ridgelines, coastlines, and other geographic features that Holding banded raptorconcentrate migrating raptors). In the late 1970's, HWI's organizational precursors began some of the first significant efforts to monitor raptor populations in western North America. Since then, HWI has taken a lead in developing an extensive network of long-term, standardized count projects in the region. Currently, our monitoring network includes 14 sites in eight western states, and HWI is a founding partner in a project that monitors the world's largest raptor migration in Veracruz, Mexico. This is the largest network of long-term, standardized, raptor migration monitoring projects coordinated by a single organization anywhere in the world!

HWI also uses trapping and banding, satellite telemetry, stable isotope analysis, and other methods to obtain raptor movement data. HWI project sites also support studies that may involve the collection of feathers, blood, and other non-invasive measurements, within the limits of federal regulations concerning the handling of raptors. We have contributed greatly to what is known about raptor populations in the U.S., and our data are used by state and federal agencies, academia, and non-profit conservation organizations for setting raptor conservation and management priorities. The ultimate purpose of this work is to foster the maintenance of healthy, sustainable raptor populations and the ecosystems upon which they depend.

HWI's Long-term Science Plan is available on our web site as a downloadable Adobe PDF file. Click HERE to download a copy of this document.

HWI conducts education programs using live raptors to stress the essential importance of nature's complex inter-relationships, the value of raptors as environmental barometers, and to promote environmental awareness and responsibility. In 2001, we reached over 40,000 people though our programs for schools, universities, community groups, and businesses in Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and Wyoming. It is inspiring to see a person's eyes light up when they see a live hawk close-up. The encounters facilitated by our educators between the public and our magnificent education birds impart to the audience their responsibility to ensure that our shared environment remains a place where both raptors and humans can thrive.

We also educate over 10,000 visitors each year at our migration study sites on topics such as raptor migration dynamics, the importance of raptor conservation, and raptor identification skills. In addition, site visitors are frequently treated to a close encounter with a wild, banded raptor prior to its release... an experience that often sparks a flame for wildlife conservation that burns for a lifetime.

HWI's Long-term Education Plan is available on our web site as a downloadable Adobe PDF file. Click HERE to download a copy of this document.

Through 1999, HWI's conservation impact has largely been a result of its research and education programs (identifying raptor flyways, developing credible long-term raptor population trends for western North America, taking our research results to the environmental community and natural resource managers, nurturing societal appreciation of raptors, and fostering public involvement in wildlife conservation). HWI has also conducted direct conservation efforts to protect raptors and their habitats (e.g., submitting public comment about proposed agency actions, cooperative networking with other organizations on specific issues, working at a small scale to get safety devices installed on power poles). However, HWI's goal of conducting raptor conservation efforts on a larger scale has never been realized due to lack of organizational resources.

In 1999, after recruiting several talented new staff and board members, HWI was ready to build a worthwhile conservation program to complement our education and research efforts. Thus, HWI began developing a conservation strategy to build organizational capacity, guide our conservation actions, and achieve measurable conservation results. HWI completed its Conservation Strategy in 2000. The goal of the Conservation Strategy is to contribute to the protection of raptor populations and their habitat by (1) assisting on-going avian and habitat conservation efforts so that they benefit raptors, and (2) reducing human-related threats to raptors. HWI has identified the following high-priority threats to raptors: powerline electrocutions, toxic contamination, persecution and disturbance from humans, and habitat loss and degradation. HWI's Raptor Conservation Strategy outlines actions to take to positively address these threats. The strategy document, entitled HawkWatch International's Raptor Conservation Program: Issues and Priorities, is now complete and downloadable from our web site as an Adobe PDF file. Click HERE to download a copy of this document.

Education Plan - View PDF File

Long-Term Conservation Science Plan: 2006-2010 - View PDF File