WDFW scientist receives top honor for raptor research
Jim Watson has been studying birds — raptors in particular- since he was a youngster.
“They’re just really impressive. When you see a golden eagle up close like I did as a kid, that is impressive,” he said.
What’s equally impressive is that Watson, a WDFW raptor research scientist, has recently been presented with the Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Achievement Award, a non-monetary award presented by the Raptor Research Foundation (RRF) that recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the understanding of raptor ecology and natural history.
“This award is the top honor for raptor researchers worldwide,” said Dr. Joel Pagel, Ph.D., Raptor Ecologist for the Division of Migratory Bird Management with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Vice President of RRF. “I think Jim is a fantastic person. He’s in great company because all these people that have won before him are incredibly notable in the world of raptor research.”
The Hamerstrom award was established in 1990 to recognize and honor Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom’s work and long-term ecological studies. Between them, the two authored and co-authored over 240 scientific papers, books, and reviews. They were also students of Aldo Leopold (Fran was his only female student), who is considered the “father of wildlife ecology and modern conservation.” Their research is still informing what we know about raptors today.
“They’re two peas in a pod,” Dr. Grainger Hunt said of Watson and the Hamerstroms. Hunt is a former Hamerstrom award winner himself and a founding member of RRF.
“It’s nice to be recognized for your work, but people like Jim are going to do it anyway,” he said. “Jim belongs on that (winners) list because he fulfills the intention of it.”
Watson’s interest in raptors and conservation started in grade school monitoring burrowing owls that were being displaced by residential development and later by a case in Wyoming where ranchers removed hundreds of bald and golden eagles as a method of predator control. His first actual work with raptors came about because of his father, George.
“My dad was an electronic engineer working on the space program. In the early 1970s he developed a transmitter from scratch for an eagle study in northeastern Colorado just to connect me to the field.”
The researcher on that study, Alan Harmata, was a Vietnam veteran and mentor who welcomed Jim’s field assistance even as a young teenager.
Watson went on to study biology at Colorado University and got his Master’s degree from Montana State. He has been at WDFW since 1986. His two sons, Cory and Jesse, accompanied him on field excursions.
“They actually worked with me growing up, trapping bald eagles as youngsters,” Watson said.
So it’s fitting that Jesse, now a raptor research biologist in his own right at HawkWatch International, was the one to inform his father he had won the Hamerstrom award.
“They set me up by having a Zoom meeting and saying that we were going to talk about ferruginous hawks,” Watson said. “But instead, he told me about the award. Of course I was speechless.”
Another person who was surprised at Watson’s recognition, but for a different reason, was Dr. Hunt with RRF.
“What I was thinking was ‘He’s never gotten that award? Are you kidding me?” said Hunt.
Hunt is particularly impressed by Watsons large body of published work.
“There’s a cross section of people in any of these wildlife departments. Some are scholars like Jim, some are data crunchers,” said Hunt. “The thing about Jim is, he does it all. He’s got this really impressive publication list and that’s the mark (of excellence in the industry) because those are peer reviewed publications, and he has worked hard to achieve that…”
Watson says it’s the variety of species he’s published on that he is proud of.
“Ferruginous hawks, American goshawks, bald eagles, rough legged hawks… My favorite bird is probably the one I’m working on at the time, but the golden eagle and ferruginous hawks take me back to my early years,” Watson said.
So what’s next when you have literally achieved the highest honor, in the world, for your career field?
“The word achievement usually connotes that you have been around for a while,” Watson said. So, while it’s not imminent, retirement is somewhere in the future.
“The key is to do it while Jesse is still active so I can help with watching birds and banding birds and have the freedom and time to do it as a volunteer.”
He also has a tropical trip planned. Recipients of the Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Achievement Award are invited to give a plenary lecture at the subsequent Raptor Research Foundation annual meeting, which is in Costa Rica in fall 2025.
Jim Watson’s award acceptance speech
Jim Watson wasn’t able to receive the Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Achievement Award in person but videotaped a short acceptance speech that you can watch below. His use of the word “gabboons” is a reference to the hundreds of Hamerstrom research assistants that were affectionally referred to as gabboons.
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