Neil Paprocki is a raptor researcher studying for his PhD at the University of Idaho. You can follow him on both Twitter and Instagram. He is studying the movements of Rough-legged Hawks primarily in his PhD work, using geolocators on the hawks to track their annual journeys from breeding in the Arctic to wintering in mostly the lower 48.

I always love getting my fix of RLHA both at the Skagit and Sammish Flats and on Eastern Washington trips in winter. Rarely we get them in the south Puget Sound area. When one is sighted in Pierce County it is much chased by we county listers.
On the episode Neil talks about the two primary types of geolocators used on these hawks, the type that gives near real-time location using satelite communication, and the type that uses cell tower communication for uploads of data, meaning the researchers only get data when the birds are in cell range, i.e. for RLHAs not really on their breeding grounds.
Neil has also worked with the California Condor reintroduction and monitoring project with the Peregrine Fund. These are spectacular birds. I first saw them soon after their reintroduction from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, but got my first listable condor at Pinnacles National Park in California. These are spectacular birds, gigantic, and unmistakable. I cannot find my photos of these birds quickly now, but here is a link to my eBird list with photos.
Neil has also worked with Hawk Watch International, as a biologist. Hawk Watch International has a wonderful network of sites staffed by professional hawk watchers and counters placed along the flyways of raptors where at many of these birders can visit and watch the migratory spectacle for ourselves. I have limited experience at hawk watch sites, really just at Cape May and at the Butler Mountain site in New York. I hope to spend more time at these wonderful sites in years to come.
Thanks for reading and listening.
Good birding. Good day!