Dear Friends of Hawk Ridge,
What a wonderful year it has been at Hawk Ridge! Thanks to your support, some of our major highlights this year include: hiring a full-time year-round Research Director, grant funding to build our first accessible trail as part of our Hawk Ridge facilities improvement plan, record breaking fall season counts for both Bald & Golden Eagles, banding Boreal Owls & 1 Short-eared Owl, hosting the Hawk Migration Association's 50th Anniversary conference, the amazing team of staff & volunteers involved in leading our research, education, and stewardship efforts, and YOU continuing to help make all this possible!
Help us soar into the New Year and reach our year-end fundraising goal of $25K for 2025 to continue our important bird conservation efforts.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation by clicking HERE today (note: if you've already made an annual contribution - thank you so much!!)
We invite you to read the latest e-news below, which includes November monthly summaries from our fall count and banding, as well as other events. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and hope to connect with you in 2025!
P.S. If you missed our last e-newsletter, you can view that and older versions by clicking HERE. Keep up with recent news by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
November 2024 Bird Migration Count Summary
The Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory began its final month of the fall count on November 1, and tallied 2,441 migrant raptors and 19,912 migrant non-raptors! The count was conducted for 28 days (weather cancelling two days), totaling 191.33 observation hours. The weather in Duluth this month was reported by the National Weather Service as above average temperatures, 3-6 degrees above on most days. Precipitation was above average for the first time all season! Winds were evenly spread around the compass. The most notable blow out of the northwest was during the last ten days of the count (9/10 days).
November Raptor Totals
Turkey Vulture (1): Above Average The last Turkey Vulture of the season was a late day bird on November 2. With the arrival of true cold and wintry temperatures, most vultures have left the Midwest and will return next April.
Bald Eagle (1,464): Above Average, RECORD SEASON This season, we counted more migrant Bald Eagles than any other fall season at the Ridge! This record was broken on the last day of the count for a grand total of 6,184! We expect Bald Eagle flights to continue well into December as northern lakes freeze over.
Northern Harrier (2): Below Average Just below the average of 5, two adult male harriers passed this month. The final harrier of the year was seen on 11/17.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (32): Above Average Sharp-shinned Hawks take a steep dive at the end of the season, dropping off after two solid months of thousands of birds. The Blue Darters that are counted in November are typically adult males, desperate to retain their summer territories. However, there were a handful of young sharpies this month too!
American Goshawk (19): Below Average Another dismal month of very few Goshawks. There were two notable days this month, 11/8 and 11/11, when we counted 7 and 8 Goshawks, respectively. The pendulum did slightly shift to majority adults this month, but the utter lack of birds was astonishing. We hope that Goshawks are enjoying plenty of grouse and hares in southern Canada this winter.
Golden Eagle (202): Above Average, RECORD SEASON Over 200 Golden Eagles in the month of November is an all time high, and helped to set an all time record for the season (306)!! The highlight of the month was clearly 11/1, a warm day with light SE winds that produced 54 Golden Eagles! This is the second highest single day count for Hawk Ridge and Minnesota.
Red-tailed Hawk (302): Below Average Despite extremely favorable conditions and excellent counts of other soaring birds (RL, GE, BE), there were very few Red-tailed Hawks this month. The high day for this species in November was 11/6, with a count of 71.
Rough-legged Hawk (410): Above Average A nearly identical count to October, the Rough-legged irruption continued into November. Two excellent days of 49 each on 11/6 and 11/7 supplied nearly 25% of the Rough-leggeds we counted this month.
Merlin (8): Above Average There were a handful of Merlins in the first half of the month, including 4 on 11/7. There was a hunting Merlin frequenting the ridge in the third week of November that snatched a chickadee from the feeding station just 5 feet from the platform!
Unknown (1)
November Non-raptor Highlights
19,912 migrant non-raptors of 51 species were counted this month! November is the last chance for the remaining little birds to escape the cold grips of Minnesota winter. The most numerous migrant non-raptors were Redpoll (9,440), American Robin (2,309), Pine Siskin (1,830) and American Goldfinch (1,103). Redpolls surprised us all when they arrived in force on November 15, 1,014 in a day! The following days produced more Redpolls, but the invasion was short-lived, and the final day with >1,000 birds was November 22.
There was good finch diversity, with modest counts of Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, and Red and White-winged Crossbills. Pine and Evening Grosbeaks were in low numbers. Notable sightings this month were a Great Black-Backed Gull, 2 Red-throated Loons, and a very late Killdeer (11/23). The final days of the count can be cold and bitter, but the cheery presence of finches and our local chickadees, nuthatches and ravens keep our hearts warm.
Thank you all for a fantastic season, and keep an eye out for the fall season report coming soon! We hope to see you at the West Skyline Spring Count, starting March 1!
Sean McLaughlin and Marie Chappell, Fall Counters
Fall 2024 Bird Banding Summaries
November Raptor Banding Summary
The warm weather of September and October continued into November with the warmest fall on record. November was the second warmest by 1 degrees, as the last week of the month providing good cold fronts. November totals were low with 34 raptors banded.
.jpg "Rough-legged Hawk with transmitter 2024")
I covered the Hawk Ridge station for 29 days with Miranda Durbin covering on two days while I visited with friends who attended the Hawk Migration Association's 50th anniversary conference celebration. David Alexander ran Moose Valley on 4 days. Liv Fortuna covered 12 nights and I covered 2 nights toward the end of the month. We were able to deploy two transmitters during the month, one on a hatch year light morph Rough-legged Hawk and a Boreal Owl, first time a device of this type has been put on a Boreal Owl. We will update the movement of these birds in our end of season report.
Total raptors banded in November were as follows:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
American Goshawk - 1
Rough-legged Hawk - 7 
Merlin - 1
Northern Saw-whet Owl - 14
Long-eared Owl - 5
Barred Owl - 2
Boreal Owl - 3
Total: 34
Frank Nicoletti, Senior Researcher
Fall 2024 Owl Banding Summary
As we wrap up the 2024 owl banding season, we reflect on a remarkable and highly successful season. Running from mid-September through November, this season was one of the most memorable in recent years, with notable developments across species diversity, record-breaking nights, and the return of rare northern visitors.
Total owls banded at Hawk Ridge in fall 2024 were as follows:
Northern Saw-whet Owls - 834
Long-eared Owls - 47
Barred Owls - 3
Great Horned Owls - 2
Short-eared Owls - 1
Boreal Owls - 33
Fall 2024 Total Owls Banded: 920
Northern Saw-whet Owl Recaps: 42
Highlights and Notable Owl Species:
A particularly exciting aspect of this year’s season was the rare appearance of Short-eared owls and Boreal owls, both of which had not been seen at HRBO in nearly five seasons.
Boreal Owls: Catching our first Boreal Owl in five years was truly magical. The decision to open two additional banding locations for Boreal Owls was exciting, and incredible to see how quickly the team mobilized to take advantage of this unique opportunity. The enthusiasm to collect data and brainstorm potential projects and publications was inspiring, and being part of that process was a special experience.
Species diversity: We had 6 species this season (NSWO, LEOW, BOOW, GHOW, BAOW, SEOW)! Being able to experience all of these species up close, in hand was incredible.
Record-Breaking Nights:
September 17th: Earliest GHOW of the season!
October 7th: Busiest night of the season, 107 owls banded. This was also our largest catch of Long-eared owls, with 13 individuals October 8th: First Boreal Owl in five seasons!!
October 18th: First Short-eared Owl in five seasons!!
October 31st: 13 BOOWs total between the main station and Lakewood station.
Acknowledgments:
A huge thanks to apprentices Sarah Needles and Jess Matyas. This work can be intense and all-consuming, with long hours and irregular schedules, but you both demonstrated incredible dedication throughout the season. This season simply could not have happened without your hard work and commitment. Watching you both grow and develop your skills over the course of the season was truly magical, and I am so proud of all you accomplished.
To our trainees, June, Phil, and Arzu, it’s been a pleasure seeing each of you discover what truly excites you. You each found your own rhythm and thrived, growing into your roles with enthusiasm and determination. I am so proud of each of you and the progress you've made.
A heartfelt thank you to every staff member who volunteered their time at the owl blind, led owl programs, and shared their knowledge of raptors with our visitors. HRBO could not operate without your dedication and passion.
A final thank you to all the HRBO biologists. Abbie, Emily, Frank and David, your constant encouragement, wealth of knowledge, and availability at any time of day (or night) made me feel truly supported. Thank you for generously sharing your bird banding expertise and for your guidance throughout the season.
The biggest thank you goes to all the owls we banded! Although I'm sure it was truly terrifying, you are the real heroes of owl conservation. You’ve provided invaluable data 
that will help protect and preserve your species.
We all love and appreciate you more than you know.
Liv Fortuna, Fall Owl Bander
Fall 2024 Passerine Banding Summary
It was another unusual year at Hawk Ridge, with warmer and drier conditions than usual through the season. We also had less days with strong winds. As a result, we were able to band for 65 days from August 6th through October 27th at the main station. We were also able to band for three late season days at Moose Valley, primarily for redpolls. We had very few washouts or rained out days, which was good for numbers but kept the banding team busy. October was fairly typical with decreasing numbers of warblers migrating as most of them had already moved south as the month progressed.
We did have decent numbers of Hermit Thrushes (60), White- Throated Sparrows (60), Ruby-Crowned Kinglets (43), Fox Sparrows (40, and Slate-Colored Juncos (42). We also managed to band a Wilson’s Snipe at the main station and Kara Beer caught a Northern Shrike at Moose Valley in one of the raptor nets. Our totals for October were 371 birds banded of 32 species, and we banded a total of 15 days.
For the season, we banded an astonishing 2181 birds over 65 days! This included 406 American Redstarts, 166 Swainson’s Thrushes, 171 Magnolia Warblers, 158 White-Throated Sparrows, and 95 Nashville Warblers. A look at our passerine banding data from 2012 to the present shows that 2024 was definitely an exceptional year for Hermit Thrushes - we captured 89 compared to an average number of 27 over 13 years. We seem to always also have a lot of Swainson’s Thrushes, but the 166 we caught this year is a fraction of the 2023 total of 351. But overall the total was higher than a normal at 117 being the average number of Swainson’s Thrushes in the last 13 years. American Redstarts were also significantly above normal numbers this year with 406 captured compared to an average of 210 over the last 13 years.
Surprisingly, the overall sense was that daily numbers of most birds were down, as it was an exceptionally wet early breeding season this year. Our MAPS capture numbers told us that birds were not as successful in raising young as they normally are, at least in this area, so this might provide some evidence for smaller than normal numbers. We were glad to still see plenty of young birds coming through this fall- presumably from areas to the north of us.
We are noticing a gradual increase in more temperate species in our area over time. This includes more Gray Catbirds (29), another Wood Thrush for the this fall, our first banded House Finch at the ridge, as well as five Scarlet Tanagers banded. We also caught in this summer during MAPS and in the early fall our first hybrid Golden-Winged/Blue-Winged Warblers; this probably indicates that Blue-Winged warblers are breeding closer to our area that in the past. 
None of this would be possible without our great crew. Thanks especially to our naturalists, banders, trainees, and the dedicated volunteers who make it all work. We look forward to MAPS 2025 which begins in early June.
David Alexander & Margie Menzies
Lead Passerine Banders
UPCOMING EVENTS
International Birding Tour
Birds and Wildlife of Tanzania
Tanzania is home to the world’s greatest overland animal migration and is a must-see destination for any safari enthusiast. This is a country blessed with biodiversity and unique ecosystems including wetlands, coastal forests, grassland savannas, alkaline Rift Valley lakes, and block mountain forests. With so many incredible, larger-than-life mammal species hogging the spotlight, it is easy to understand why the country’s abundant bird life is often overlooked.
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On this 15-day birding adventure we will look to uncover Tanzania’s incredible list of avian species, beyond perennial safari favorites such as Marabou Stork, Gray Crowned-Crane, African Spoonbill, Secretarybird, and Kori Bustard. Many travelers might be surprised to learn that Tanzania’s bird list exceeds 1,000 species (31 endemics) and its lands contain an impressive
number of vital habitats including 80 IBAs and 4 Ramsar sites!
We’ll combine the best of both worlds as we journey to national
parks, reserves, and wetlands in search of birds, while also soaking
up some big game viewing along the way.
Highlights:
Spend a full day birding the savannas, wetlands and forested areas of Arusha National Park, under the shadow of dormant Mt. Meru. - Discover Tarangire National Park, known for having the second largest concentration of wildlife in Tanzania, including large herds of elephants.
- Explore Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in search of ostrich, raptors, flamingos, and more.
- Search for endemics such as Fischer’s Lovebird and Karamoja Apalis among the Serengeti’s larger-than-life “Big Five” game.
- Meet with members of the Maasai community and learn about their culture and semi- nomadic lifestyle during a visit to a traditional village.
Click HERE for an Overview, Itinerary, Pricing, Travel Information, How to Enroll and Resources. *Please note space is limited and
requires a minimum of 10 participants. Make a trip deposit to
reserve a spot on the trip, but wait to make airline reservations and
pay the full trip amount until you receive notice that the trip has
reached its minimum enrollment. For more information or questions,
please contact Debbie Jordan at debbie@holbrooktravel.com or
866-748-6146 or Hawk Ridge Education Director, Margie Menzies at
mmenzies@hawkridge.org.
Become a MN Master Naturalist in 2025!
Become a Master Naturalist through Hawk Ridge this spring or summer! Courses coming up! Two options available to take the North Woods, Great Lakes Master Naturalist Course with Hawk Ridge this spring into summer. Learn about the birds and so much more! Explore the wonders of the North Woods as winter changes to spring with Hawk Ridge. Lots of things are happening at this point in the year, including spring migration!
Starting March 1st we will explore the fascinating geology, plant and animal communities, inland lakes and bogs, ecology and
human interactions of the North Woods, as well as how Lake
Superior impacts and interacts with these ecosystems. The course
will be based at Hartley Nature Center in Duluth, Minnesota, and
we will visit many other amazing places in the area.
Course runs Mar. 1, 15, and 29, Apr. 12, and May 3. Or if you would rather have a great North Shore intensive course - join us at North House Folk School in Grand Marais from May 30-June 3 for 5 packed days of field experiences to explore a variety of area plant and animal communities, amazing geology, and Lake Superior, while
also investigating human interactions in these ecosystems. Situated on the Grand Marais Harbor, North House offers an exceptional launching place for learning about the Northwoods and Lake
Superior.
Register for either course by clicking HERE or copy/paste: https://minnesotamasternaturalist.org/courses/
Hope to see you at one of these courses!
Margie Menzies, Education Director
MN Master Naturalist Instructor
Other News
Hawk Migration Association 50th Anniversary Event
We had an amazing time helping host and celebrate the Hawk Migration Association's 50th Anniversary Conference here in Duluth November 7-10th. Over 110 were in attendance from 30 states and several countries. We enjoyed a variety of events from pre/post conference birding field trips, kick-off social with wonderful vendors & sponsors, hawkwatching and evening owl programs at Hawk Ridge, and many research and education bird migration highlights from poster session and presenters.
During the Friday & Saturday evening events, several awards were given, including a few to Hawk Ridge recipients. Dr. Jerry Niemi received the Maurice Broun Award, Frank Nicoletti received the Jerry Liguori Conservation and Education Award, Gail Marsman received an HMA Appreciation Award, and HRBO presented Russ Edmonds a Lifetime Achievement award for his 30 years of volunteering at the Hawk Ridge hawkwatch.
You can check out the synopsis of the event, 50th Anniversary Video,
and more HERE! A big thank you to all the generous sponsors, silent auction donors, vendors, presenters, HMA & HRBO
(staff, volunteers, & board), and all of the participants in person and
virtually for helping make the 50th Anniversary such a special,
successful event!
P.S. 50th Anniversary merchandise is also still available to
order by clicking HERE!
Hawk Ridge 10-Year Service Appreciation Award
The Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Board of Directors presented Dr. Matt Etterson an appreciation award for 10 years of serving on the board, as well as chairing the HRBO Research Committee. Thank you Matt for your leadership and contributions in raptor research, especially in growing and guiding HRBO research programs through the years.
Thank You for Your Support!
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory thanks all of our supporters. We appreciate you! As a nonprofit organization, we are primarily funded by individual gifts to put our bird migration research and education programs in action. Below are some of the ways you can help us keep sharing the magic of the bird migration!
Thank you for Giving to the Max in November!
We truly appreciate all those that gave during the
special Minnesota Give to the Max event in November.
Over $15,000 was raised between online & mailed
donations! Thank you so much for your support!
You can still help us meet our year-end goal of $20K
by making a tax-deductible donation HERE today!
Support Hawk Ridge by Shopping!
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Thanks to those that shopped our Amazon Wish List this fall for needed supplies! You can check out our list HERE. If you're looking to purchase holiday gifts with Hawk Ridge merchandise, you can check out some items available through our online shopping options:
Big Frog (direct ship or pick up at Duluth store)
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!
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.
Thank you again for your wonderful gift of support! Hope to connect with you this fall at Hawk Ridge or feel free to reach out by email or phone!
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season & Happy New Year!
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
501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization
Federal Tax ID 76-0746366
.JPG?__nocache__=1 "Rough-legged Hawk by S McLaughlin 10-24 (2)")
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.jpg?__nocache__=1 "Northern Harrier Oct 22")
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