Dear Friends of Hawk Ridge,
Happy
Fall Bird Migration! The migration is ON at Hawk Ridge and you can find
our staff at the nature reserve daily (9am-4pm) now through October
31st. Be sure to read the count & banding highlights below! You can
view our LIVE Bird Migration Count HERE! We invite you to join us at the Ridge and/or at one of our upcoming events!
Read on to find out about our Hawk Weekend Festival, programs, planning
your visit, our Take Flight with Hawk Ridge Gala and then come
celebrate the magnificent migration at Hawk Ridge with us!
Migration Update
The first two weeks of September was characterized by wind and rain for
an unusually wet start. A Swainson’s Hawk was seen on September 2, the
second of the season. Other highlights include 1844 Sharp-shinned Hawk
and 1393 Bald Eagle with one day having 460 individuals. Broad-winged
Hawk numbers were fairly low due to cold, rainy days, but the coming
weeks will likely see large numbers at Hawk Ridge. Saturday the 14th and
Sunday the 15th promise slightly warmer weather with less chance of
rain than the past few days. 
As
of September 12th, 4,735 raptors of 14 species have been counted,
including BLACK VULTURE (1, which is 2nd record ever at Hawk Ridge!),
TURKEY VULTURE (49), OSPREY(71), BALD EAGLE (1663), NORTHERN HARRIER
(93), SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (2026), COOPER'S HAWK (14), NORTHERN GOSHAWK
(7), BROAD-WINGED HAWK (457), RED-TAILED HAWK (54), AMERICAN KESTREL
(242), MERLIN (32), PEREGRINE FALCON (9) and unknown raptors (24). For
our overall bird migration count, over 29,000 birds of 106 species have
been counted August 15-September 12. You can follow along daily via our LIVE COUNT or read our daily Hawk Ridge Facebook page posts. Total counts can be found here on HawkCount.
August Count Summary
The fall hawk watch began on August 15th, and after a slow start migration kicked into gear by the end of the month. August concluded with a total of 742 raptors representing 14 species. This total includes one remarkable individual -- a BLACK VULTURE! Just the second time this species has been seen at Hawk Ridge, this sighting from August 18th is the eighth record of this more southerly species being sighted in the state of Minnesota.
BALD EAGLE were the most common raptor migrant tallied for the month, comprising just over one-third of the total number of migrants at a total of 270. SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, at a total of 182 birds were next-most common, followed by 160 BROAD-WINGED HAWK. These three species were the only to see triple-digit numbers of migrating individuals among raptors, though RED-TAILED HAWK (33), AMERICAN KESTREL (27), and NORTHERN HARRIER (25) have shown well for the month. One SWAINSON’S HAWK on August 28th was another early highlight.
Among other taxa, the biggest surprise has been the incredible number of CLIFF SWALLOW seen migrating past the overlook. A total of 5,172 were counted for the month of August, with 80% of this total seen across two days on the 28th and 29th. COMMON NIGHTHAWK migration is a known Duluth specialty, and on August 30th a total of 6,423 were seen from the watch. Finally, the last two days of the month saw the first small push of migrating warblers, with triple-digit numbers of migrants both mornings.
Everyone’s excited for another great season of some of North America’s best migration action here at Hawk Ridge!
Gary Palmer
2019 Fall Counter
August Banding Summary
On August 15, we started our 48th year of banding raptors and
conducting research at Hawk Ridge. We started off slow with very little
captured and banded but the last few days the flight started to pick up
and we ended up with the best August in recent years with 138,
drastically up from the lowest August on records last year with 21
banded. The raptors started flying just as the new banding trainees were coming
in for the season. We are happy to have Hannah Toutonghi, Abbie Valine
and Breanna Wagner for the season to learn the process of handling and
banding raptors. We will have some great volunteers again this year,
which includes David Alexander, Miranda Durbin, Allie Pesano along with
others. Kate Maley will run the owl banding project again this season,
second year running the project. The banding operation could not be
successful without the hard work of these professional and I'm happy to
have the opportunities to work with them all. The Hawk Ridge station was covered for 15 days and Moose Valley station was running on 3 days.
August Raptor Banding Totals::
Northern Harrier- 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk- 89
Cooper's Hawk- 6
Northern Goshawk- 3
Broad-winged Hawk- 2
Red-tailed Hawk- 10
American Kestrel- 6
Merlin- 17
-Frank Nicoletti, Hawk Ridge Banding Director
Meet Our Fall 2019 Staff
We have a great crew of many return, as well as new, staff for fall of 2019. You can find out who's who HERE
on our staff page or just stop by Hawk Ridge this fall and meet us in
person! We are all excited to share in the migration with you!
UPCOMING EVENTS
HAWK WEEKEND FESTIVAL
September 20-22, 2019
REGISTER HERE TODAY!! (only a few field trip spots left!)
- Natural History & Birding Train Trip Fri. 9/20
- Guided morning field trips Sat 9/21 & Sun. 9/22 (Sun Trips are FULL)
- Advanced Hawkwatching Workshops Sat 9/21 (Sat. FULL) & Sun. 9/22
- Naturalist programs & hikes at Hawk Ridge Fri. 9/20-Sun. 9/22
- Hawks on High Book Signing Sat. 9/21 & Sun. 9/22 12-3pm
- Vista Birding & Boat Dinner Cruise Sat. 9/21
- HAWK RIDGE BIRD OBSERVATORY ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING on Sat. 9/21 at 7pm (held at UMD Life Sciences Building Room 185)
- Evening presentation by John Fitzpatrick Sat. 9/21 at 7:30pm (held at UMD Life Sciences Building Room 185; FREE Members, $10 suggested donation - at door - for Non-members)
- Post-Festival "Science and Wonder of Migration" Workshop Sun. 9/22-Mon 9/23
REGISTER HERE TODAY!!
Come and celebrate the fall bird migration with us! Hawk Weekend is the annual festival held by
the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, MN.
It is a wonderful opportunity to showcase one of North America’s best
places to experience the fall bird migration at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve! There will be a variety of field trips, hikes, programs, and
activities for all ages! We’re also excited to announce our Saturday
evening guest speaker will be John W. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of
the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He will present “How Birds (Including
Hawks!) Can Save the World"!
Plan on staying after the weekend and join us for our post-festival “Science and Wonder of Migration” workshop!
For more information about the festival (program schedule, field trip details), please click HERE. We hope you can join us!
Take Flight with Hawk Ridge Gala - Fri. October 11th, 2019
Please join us for an inspirational & important evening in
celebration and support for Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory
at the Radisson Hotel ballroom in downtown Duluth.
Enjoy a
delicious dinner, cash bar, live education birds, nature & artwork
fundraiser, book signing, Lifetime Achievement Award (2019 recipients:
Hawk Ridge Volunteers - Gail Marsman & Jeanne Filiatrault-Laine),
and guest speaker.
We’ll
share highlights from the spring & fall bird migration, how your
support makes a difference, and end the evening with a fantastic program "Owls: Souls of the Night" by Scott
Weidensaul, ornithologist and author. Scott is well known for his over 2
dozen books, including Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds, and owl migration research through Project SNOWstorm and Project Owlnet (www.scottweidensaul.com).
COST: $65/members, $75/non or $500 Table of 8!
Public Programs
Check out our calendar HERE for our program schedule! Daily Sat. & Sun. programs, special events, workshops, evening programs, and more!
NEW Private Guided Morning Bird Walks at Park Point!
Join one of our expert birders and Count Interpreter staff, Clinton Nienhaus or Alex Sundvall, for a private guided morning bird walk at Park Point. A great diversity of shorebirds, warblers, waterfowl, and other exciting bird species are frequently observed at the birding hotspot.Click HERE for more info on how to register!
Join one of our expert birders and Count Interpreter staff, Clinton Nienhaus or Alex Sundvall, for a private guided morning bird walk at Park Point. A great diversity of shorebirds, warblers, waterfowl, and other exciting bird species are frequently observed at the birding hotspot.Click HERE for more info on how to register!
10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26; 8pm at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve ($5/person -
limited tickets for sale beginning 9/1 at Hawk Ridge merchandise trailer
and online by clicking HERE).
Private Owl Programs also available beginning mid-September through October 31. Click on link for more info on how to register.
NEW Fall OWL 2-day Workshop! Amazing Owls: Ecology, Mysteries, and Research. October 10th & 11th. Limited to 12, so be sure to register today! Click on link for more info on how to register. 
Hawks on High Book Signings
VISIT US AT HAWK RIDGE NATURE RESERVE 9AM-4PM DAILY SEPT 1 - OCT. 31ST!
OTHER NEWS
Phil Fitzpatrick officially released his poetry book Hawks on High:Everyday Miracles in a Hawk Ridge Season on September 9
at Zeitgeist in
the Atrium (222 E Superior St, Duluth). It was a wonderful event
attended by many. Artist Penny Perry opened her exhibit of the drawings
from the
book, which will continue to be on display. We enjoyed listening to the beautiful poetry
readings by Phil and ending the evening with music by the band Woodblind. The
book is on sale at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve and Zenith Book Store.
Phil will be holding several book signing events, which can be found in
the event info above or at hawkridge.org.
West Skyline Spring Count 2019 - Join one of our Please click HERE
to read the West Skyline Spring Count Final Report and monthly
summaries. It was an exciting season and we look forward to Spring of
2020!
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
If
you're already a member of Hawk Ridge, we sincerely appreciate your
support! THANK YOU! If you aren't, we hope you've enjoyed your
experience with us and at Hawk Ridge and ask that you renew or join as a Hawk Ridge member today! Our memberships and donations help drive our bird conservation research and education programs. You can check out our exciting membership benefits and join or renew online HERE!
.jpg?0.7989867935476688 "Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk by John Richardson (3)")
2018 ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS - Please click HERE to read and see how your support is helping us make a difference! Thank you!
RAISE $ FOR HAWK RIDGE BY WITH YOUR ONLINE SHOPPING!
Two simple ways to raise money for Hawk Ridge are by using 1) GoodShop and 2) Amazon Smile for your online shopping in support of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory to receive proceeds.
Sincerely,
Janelle Long
Executive Director
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 3006
Duluth, MN 55803-3006
Call: 218-428-6209
Contact: mail@hawkridge.org
Visit: www.hawkridge.org
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