Hawk Ridge News - October 2020 Migration Update

 

 

Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,

It definitely feels like winter started to creep in this past month with snow and cold temps! However, the bird migration continues to keep our hearts warm! We have enjoyed a nice movement of the larger raptors migrating this month, such as Red-tailed Hawks, Bald & Golden Eagles, Northern Goshawks, and record-breaking numbers of Rough-legged Hawks!

Special highlights included breaking the single day record for Turkey Vultures on October 1, breaking our single day and season high record for Rough-legged Hawks last week (583 on 10/23 and currently over 1300 - surpassing previous season high of 1123 in 2017 - *NOTE: be sure to check out our special limited edition merchandise online campaign below to commemorate this), Golden Eagle captured and banded (1st time was back in 2012!), and multiple great owl encounters (both Long-eared and Short-eared Owls were counted on October 2, daytime roosting sightings of both Northern Saw-whet Owls and Long-eared Owls & the same Eastern Screech Owl recaptured for the 3rd year in a row).

We’ve counted over 60,000 raptors so far this fall (check out our LIVE Count HERE) and safely connected with thousands of visitors who have come out to enjoy the 2020 fall bird migration. The count and banding research continues through 11/30, but our migration interpretation/education at the main overlook for visitors ends 10/31. Please read on for upcoming events, such as a virtual Advanced Raptor ID workshop with Bill Clark, our 2020 Limited Edition Online Merchandise Campaign, September Research & Education summaries, & more! Happy Hawkwatching and thank you!

P.S. If you missed our virtual Hawk Ridge Annual Meeting and speaker presentation with Joe Barnes, Nongame Wildlife State Specialist, Nevada Department of Wildlife on Peregrine Falcons as a Biomonitor: A Local Study Taken to a Continental Scale, you can find the recorded video clips HERE or at hawkridge.org under the Events tab. Thanks to those that were able to attend - we truly appreciate your membership and support!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Virtual Advanced Raptor Identification with Bill Clark

Friday, November 13th (Evening) & Saturday November 14th (Morning/Afternoon)

Have you ever wondered how our counters can identify raptors from far distances or in large numbers? Well now's your chance to learn some tricks and tips from the comfort of your home with raptor expert, Bill Clark (co-author of Peterson Guide to Hawks & Photographic Guide to North American Raptors). We are excited to have him join us virtually for an Advanced Raptor ID course. This workshop is sure to help bring you up a notch in your hawkwatching skills. Bill will provide an ID skill review and then go into details on challenging raptor ID in groups (accipiters, buteos, eagles, vagrants, and unusual plumages). The course will run Friday 6-8pm, Saturday 9-11am & 1-3pm with a minimum of 8 participants and maximum of 50.

COST: $120/person ($100 member)

REGISTER HERE TODAY!

Raptor expert, Bill Clark, is a photographer, author, researcher, and lecturer and has over 5 decades experience working with birds of prey, including 5 years as Director of NWF's Raptor Information Center. He has published numerous articles on raptor subjects; has traveled extensively world-wide studying, observing, and photographing raptors; and regularly leads raptor and birding tours and workshops, both home and abroad. He is the co-author of the Peterson Guide to Hawks and Photographic Guide to North American Raptors, as well as author of field guides for Europe, Africa, and Central America.

Hawk Ridge Limited Edition 2020 Online Merchandise Campaign (Starts TODAY!)

We have 2 new fantastic designs we're excited to share with you! They're available in a wide variety of shirts and masks available online only for a limited time! The first campaign ends November 8th for shipping directly to you by the end of November. We'll launch a 2nd campaign after, in case you missed it and need some gift ideas for those on your holiday shopping list. All proceeds from sales go to support the bird conservation research and education efforts of Hawk Ridge!

Now is your chance to purchase limited edition "Corvid vs. Covid" merchandise (shirts & masks), while supporting 2 good causes (Hawk Ridge research & education and to help protect yourself/others from Covid)! Local artist and former Hawk Ridge Owl Bander, Annmarie Geniusz, is well known for her fun, creative spin on creatures of all kinds and created this one-of-a-kind design for Hawk Ridge!

Commemorate the record-breaking Rough-legged Hawk count at Hawk Ridge fall of 2020 with limited edition "2020 - A Rough Year" merchandise (shirts & masks). We all know 2020 has been a "Rough" year! This beautiful photo of a Rough-legged Hawk was taken by Jason Heinen, Hawk Ridge Naturalist.

Click HERE to get to our online store!

Thanks for your support and don't miss out!

Give to the Max for Hawk Ridge!

Thursday, November 19th (Early Giving starts Nov 1st - help us WIN the $10,000 Golden Ticket!)

Each year, generous supporters like you celebrate Give to the Max Day by making your online donation on GiveMN.org. Your generosity on this day makes a difference far beyond the 24-hour giving event. Please consider making a donation on November 19, 2020 or during the early giving period starting November 1st. Drawings will be held during the early giving period and many more opportunities to grow your gift on Give to the Max Day.

Your gift of $10 or more could instantly turn into an extra $500, $1,000 or even $10,000 for us! The more gifts we generate on GiveMN.org during Give to the Max Day, the more our chances increase to receive those additional prizes. Imagine what we could do with $10,000! Our goal is to raise $5000 and you can help us reach it! Be sure to mark your calendar and make your gift on November 19 (or earlier!) by visiting GiveMN.org and searching for "Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" or by simply clicking HERE to Give to the Max in support of Hawk Ridge!

SEPTEMBER MIGRATION SUMMARIES

Below you'll find the September summary reports and highlights from our bird migration count staff, bird banding research staff, and education staff.

September Count Summary and Highlights

September is already in the books, hard to believe it flew by so quickly! Perhaps, because we had such a great month. We had a decent fall for Broad-winged Hawks this year with almost 33,000 to date. Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Bald Eagles all moved in decent numbers. Notables for September were 2 Red-shouldered Hawks, 5 Swainson’s Hawks and the first Mississippi Kite in several years.

As far as the songbirds go we had a huge year for Blue Jays, surpassing 50,000 and they continue to trickle through. We had big passerine flights during the later part of September During the morning hours. Decent estimates suggest 20-30,000 birds passing over Duluth per sq/km per hour - simply amazing to witness! Winter birds which we hope stick around are starting to show up. Almost 10,000 Pine Siskins have moved through. 10,000 American Robins with more to come no doubt have migrated by.

We are looking forward to October as the Red-tailed Hawks, Goshawks and Golden Eagles come through, we hope you get see a few yourself! You can view our count live HERE!

Eyes to the skies everybody!

-John Richardson, Fall Count Director

September Banding Summary and Highlights

The month of September was consistent with mainly westerly winds, which brought some fair flights. We had several days where we banded 100+ and several others in the 90’s, which kept our interns and volunteer banders busy. The stations were run most days, which included Moose Valley covered by Abbie Valine and Paine Farm by David Alexander and Miranda Durbin. This season’s interns, Halle Lambeau and Jessy Wilson, are doing great and we are so blessed to have these two young biologists training here.

We had several in-season recoveries likely from station up the shore, but will update when information comes back from the USGS Bird Banding Lab. An exciting highlight was the capture and banding of the 3rd ever Red-shouldered Hawk.

Owl season began on September 15th and the owl banding station was run every night. The owl banding project is being led by Danny Erickson who recently trained at the world famous Cedar Grove Banding station in Wisconsin. This season's numbers are consistent with the up cycle of Northern Saw-whet owls and a high percentage of them were hatch-years. Also exciting is a return of our now local Eastern Screech owl, which has been captured for the third season in a row.

The numbers for the raptor banded this season is as follows: Northern Harrier- 18 Sharp-shinned Hawk- 1626 Cooper’s Hawk- 22 Northern Goshawk- 13 Broad-winged Hawk- 7 Red-shouldered Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk- 828 American Kestrel-35 Merlin- 90 Peregrine Falcon-3 Total hawks-1843 Northern Saw-whet Owl-443 Long-eared Owl-7 Barred Owl-1 Eastern Screech Owl-1 Total owls-452 Total raptors-2295

-Frank Nicoletti, Banding Director

September Education & Visitor Services Summary

While Covid-19 has canceled our Hawk Weekend Festival, the majority of education field trips and other large group formal programs this fall, we’ve still been able to safely conduct programs for several small groups and provide general education/migration interpretation for the visiting public. We appreciate the visitors adhering to our safety protocol (our Hawk Ridge masks have been our #1 selling item this fall) and thank you all for your support!

Thanks to our returning staff helping with education, migration interpretation, and visitor services at the overlook (Andy, Jason, Allie, & Lisa), as well as intern, Claire, from the College of St. Scholastica. We miss our volunteers and all those that were unable to make it to the Ridge this year. We’ll be there for just a few more days through October 31 and hoping for a return of a regular season next fall. Thank you for hanging in there with us!

-Margie Menzies, Education Director

Hawk Ridge Research Update

This Fall marks the second year of a three-year study “Hg and PFAS risk to MN raptors.” So far this year, we have collected samples from over 500 raptors banded at Hawk Ridge to assess their exposure to two environmental contaminants that can cause reproductive and developmental effects in birds. Mercury (Hg) and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) both bioaccumulate and biomagnify placing raptors at elevated risk due to their high trophic position. We assess mercury exposure by collecting a few small body feathers and we assess exposure to PFAS by collecting a blood sample, from which we extract the serum for contaminant analyses. This will be among the first broad comparisons of PFAS exposure in terrestrial raptors in the US.

This work is a collaborative study between Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory (Duluth, MN), The US Environmental Protection Agency (Duluth, MN), The Raptor Center (St. Paul, MN), and Biodiversity Research Institute (Portland, ME). Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).

-Matt Etterson, Research Committee Chair

WAYS OF GIVING

Hawk Ridge thanks each of you for believing in and supporting the work we do for the protection of birds. Every gift is much appreciated!

Charitable Giving Options

Charitable Giving Incentives Under the the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) passed in March, which means there are increased tax incentives for charitable giving. If you itemize your taxes, the AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) limit for charitable cash contributions has increased from 60 percent to 100 percent deducted. IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions can also be applied. If you don't itemize your taxes, the CARES Act allows for an additional "above the line" deduction for up to $300 for cash gifts made to charities, like Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. Donors should consult with their tax/legal advisor for questions on charitable giving incentives. Please contact Executive Director, Janelle Long, if you have questions on gifts of stock or other securities. 

Become A Member Today!

If you're already a member of Hawk Ridge, we sincerely appreciate your support! THANK YOU! If you're not a member and have enjoyed your experience with Hawk Ridge, we invite you to 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! Please click HERE to read the 2019 annual highlights and see how your support is helping us make a difference! Thank you!

Support Hawk Ridge by Shopping!

If you missed out on one of our fun shirt designs from a past season at our merchandise trailer, you might be in luck. You can order some of our past designs like this adorable Northern Saw-whet Owl by Alexa Carson and it's shipped directly to you! Order online HERE!

Two more simple ways to raise money for Hawk Ridge are by using charitable online shopping options. 1) You can shop online at your favorite stores through GoodShop and Hawk Ridge earns cash back! 2) If you like to shop on Amazon, you can add Hawk Ridge as your charity you support via Amazon Smile and Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory receives a donation of 0.5% of eligible purchases!

Simply Donate

You can always simply donate online by clicking HERE or by mailing a check made out to Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, P.O. Box 3006, Duluth, MN 55803

P.S. If you missed any of our recent previous newsletters, you can find them HERE.

Thanks again for your support!

Sincerely,

Janelle Long

Executive Director

Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory

Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory

P.O. Box 3006

Duluth, MN 55803-3006 

218-428-6209 

mail@hawkridge.org

hawkridge.org

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Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with mission to protect birds of prey and other migratory birds in the Western Lake Superior Region through research, education, and stewardship.