Luther College
IN-49: Innovation C

Six Luther students each year have an opportunity to do a fall internship observing, banding and releasing hawks and other raptors in partnership with Northeast Iowa Raptor Resource Project (RRP). The internship allows students to observe and research migratory activity. A blind built at the northeast corner of the Luther Campus on "Hawk Hill" is large enough to host a class for teaching.

The Upper Iowa River, which flows through Luther's campus, is a secondary migratory route for the Mississippi River flyway, so it is an ideal place to trap and band raptors. Luther students also may interact with high school students from Decorah Public Schools--the community school district where Luther is located.

At the Luther banding site, researchers use banding techniques for the purpose of learning more about the migration fly-zone over Decorah and to track the health statistics of migrating raptors in the area.

The partnership with RRP also allows for regular opportunities to participate in raptor research, observation and banding at other sites, such as the Mississippi River. Bird banding is a collaborative effort between researchers all across the country, Canada, and Center and South America for the purpose of understanding bird populations, dispersal, migration, life-history and survival rates.

A quote from a forthcoming article in the Winter, 2022 Luther Alumni Magazine: "Just as exciting as experiencing raptors firsthand is the joy of sharing that experience with others. Biology major Emily Martinsen ’22 is a de facto raptor ambassador. 'I’ve been able to bring a lot of housemates up,' she says.
After visiting Hawk Hill, one of those housemates, Olsen, became an RRP intern herself. She says, 'Sharing the experience and catching birds with other people—especially new people—is always a lot of fun. They’re always just so excited about it—and I am too. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of people.'"

https://www.raptorresource.org/