Dear Friends of Hawk Ridge,
We hope this letter finds you healthy and happy
during this holiday season. THANKS to
your support, we had another successful year! You can
read the November count and banding reports below, as well as our highlights from 2019. If you'd like to make a year-end, tax-deductible donation to help Hawk Ridge continue to do our best for the birds, you can easily do so by clicking HERE TODAY! www.hawkridge.org/support/donate/ We truly appreciate your gift and look forward to connecting with you in 2020!
November 2019 Banding and Count Reports
Raptor Banding Summary
The
first half of November was good for migration. It was an impressive number of the raptors seen from the blind, this good
response was due to colder than
normal temperatures and a steady movement with westerly winds. The second
half of the month turned to easterly winds, warmer than normal temperatures, and many
cloudy days. It was clear that most raptors by then, especially
goshawks, were already settled in their winter territory. It was unusual to not
catch any goshawks after the 14th of November!! 
Raptors
that eat small mammals (voles and mice) seem high from the reports I
received from observers north of us. Lots of Rough-legged Hawk
with counts of 50 plus in Sax-Zim alone were reported all month with
lesser numbers of Northern Harriers and Red-tailed Hawk. Likely Boreal,
which were reported moving in good numbers in eastern Ontario, were
likely stopped short before reaching us due to the high density.%202.JPG "RLHA(2) 2")
The HRBO station was open 29 days with the 30th of
November closed due to a winter storm that dumped 20 plus inches of snow
in Duluth. A total of 96 raptor were banded, which is well above our
average in recent years. The Moose Valley site was in operation on 3
days during the month. For the second year in a row, the season's only
Rough-legged Hawk (an adult female light morph) was captured at this site. 
The following was captured and banded:
Northern Harrier-2
Sharp-shinned Hawk-3
Northern Goshawk-42
Red-tailed Hawk-48
Rough-legged Hawk-1
One more highlight was catching and banding Northern Shrike. Two were banded this November.
-Frank Nicoletti, Hawk Ridge Banding Director
Owl Banding Summary
Owl migration came to a gradual close leading up to the end of the
banding season on November 9. A few Northern Saw-whet Owls were still
moving through each night, with a total of 25 individuals caught in
November. Long-eared Owls kept the nights exciting until almost the
very end, including a late push of 27 individuals on November 7. In
fact, nearly half of the Long-eared Owls caught this fall were caught in
the last 10 nights of the season!
A total of
1263 individual owls of were caught throughout the fall: 1144 Northern
Saw-whet Owls, 111 Long-eared Owls, 5 Barred Owls, 1 Eastern
Screech-Owl, 1 Short-eared Owl, and 1 Boreal Owl. Thank you to everyone
involved in making this yet another amazing owl season at the Ridge!
-Kate Maley, Fall Owl Bander
Bird Migration Count Summary
November wrapped up our
last month of migration at Hawk Ridge! A total of 2,268 raptors were counted
for the month, the most for the last five years. By far the most numerous of
the raptors were Bald Eagles, with a total of 1,160 counted in November. This
number is not unusual, though it did help set a new Fall record for Bald
Eagles. That previous record was set two years ago at 6,099 in 2017. The new
record this Fall is 6,177!
The second highest
numbers were the Red-tailed Hawks. Many Red-tails came through within the first
two weeks of November, but a few still trickled through right to the end of the
season. We saw 840 this month and 6,734 for the season. The only other raptor
to reach triple digits for the month was Golden Eagles, just managing to see
101 in November. This is almost half of all the Golden Eagles seen at Hawk
Ridge for the whole season! The season total for Goldens is 203 individuals.
The rest of the more
common November raptors made steady if not spectacular appearances.
Rough-legged Hawks came in third with 79 birds in November, a very low number
for the month where usually over two or three hundred are seen. In fact, the
total Rough-legged count is just 158, the lowest season sinc
e 1989!
One
of the amazing
things about November is the chance to see fantastic looks at Northern
Goshawks. This is the month when many adults begin coming through and
many times, the view of
these birds coming straight through the treetops is like nothing else.
We ended
up with a November total of 62 Goshawks leading to a season total of 239.
Finishing off the
raptors came a few late Sharp-shinned Hawks, with 17 birds in November and 9
Northern Harriers. These late stragglers rounded out the November raptor
species diversity a little, giving a small change of pace from eagles and
Red-tails.
raptors came a few late Sharp-shinned Hawks, with 17 birds in November and 9
Northern Harriers. These late stragglers rounded out the November raptor
species diversity a little, giving a small change of pace from eagles and
Red-tails.
Most non-raptor numbers decline at the end of the season. However, the
American Robin made its way to the claim the highest number spot with 43,903
counted by the end of November. While “unidentified warbler” came in right behind Robins,
Blue Jays were
the second highest of the birds we were able to identify at 24,371
for the season. One bird that also became a regular in November was the
Northern Shrike. This hunting passerine made 11 appearances at the Ridge totaling
23 for the season. All of the passerine daily checklists can also be found on e-bird
for Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L268365
It
was a cold and snowy end to the season, but we are very grateful to all the volunteers
and regular watchers who made the last few months enjoyable. We are looking
forward to the Spring 2020 count, and seeing many of you next Fall for another
great season at Hawk Ridge!
-
Krista Botting and Hawk Ridge Count Team
2019 Hawk Ridge Highlights
Here’s what your support is helping us achieve:
Bird Migration Count Research –
Conducted both spring and fall counts this year with over 90,000 raptors of 17 different species and nearly 210,000 other migrating birds of over 160 species counted in 2019! New Bald Eagle records for both spring and fall! Over 3 million raptors have been counted at Hawk Ridge since the standardized count started in fall 1972! This data is contributed to hawkcount.o
rg and other projects to be used for bird conservation research, such as the Raptor Population Index. You can view the fall raptor count totals HERE and season totals HERE. The West Skyline Spring Count starts again March
1st - hope to see you there!
Conducted both spring and fall counts this year with over 90,000 raptors of 17 different species and nearly 210,000 other migrating birds of over 160 species counted in 2019! New Bald Eagle records for both spring and fall! Over 3 million raptors have been counted at Hawk Ridge since the standardized count started in fall 1972! This data is contributed to hawkcount.o
rg and other projects to be used for bird conservation research, such as the Raptor Population Index. You can view the fall raptor count totals HERE and season totals HERE. The West Skyline Spring Count starts again March
1st - hope to see you there!
Bird Banding Research – Hawk Ridge is the largest raptor banding
operation in the country and completed its 48th fall season! Over 3300
raptors (including 1263 owls) were banded in fall 2019. Highlights were
recapturing the Eastern Screech Owl from 2018, as well as banded Short-eared
and Boreal Owls! We continued passerine banding
research & education
at Hawk Ridge, including the volunteer-led summer MAPS project and breeding
bird surveys. All banding data is contributed to the USGS Bird Banding
Lab. Through banding, we can better
understand the life history and population ecology of birds by tracking
survival, behavior, and movement. 
Education - Taught over 200 programs nearly 5,500
participants of all ages in 2019! This includes our school programs, youth
groups, workshops, field trips and outreach events. We also continue to
share the wonder of the migration with thousands of visitors through live
bird education demos, kid's cart activities and crafts, and interpretive programs. 
Stewardship of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve
- Coordinated volunteer-led
projects and efforts throughout the year at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, including invasive species management,
cleaning up the reserve (trails, litter), & working on site management
maintenance and improvements.
Events - Held our annual Hawk
Weekend festival in September. Dr. John Fitzpatrick gave a wonderful bird
conservation presentation and attendees enjoyed field trips and workshops. We
also held our 3rd Take
Flight with Hawk Ridge Gala in October. We shared successes
& highlights, celebrated long-time volunteers Gail Marsman & Jeanne
Filiatrault Laine with the Hawk Ridge Lifetime Achievement award, enjoyed a
fantastic owl presentation by guest speaker Scott Weidensaul, and close to
$9,000 filled our kettle of hawks in support of Hawk Ridge! 
Volunteer & Traineeship Programs - Over 70 volunteers
contributed 3000 hours to Hawk Ridge this year! We had 7 new trainees
this fall that worked closely with our managers and gained professional field
experience skills within our count, banding, and education program areas. THANK
YOU to all of our volunteers and trainees from 2019! We couldn't do what we do
without you!
We hope our 2020 highlights will be just as memorable as this year! We are
counting on your support TODAY to help make that happen!
Your tax-deductible contribution will have an enormous impact in not only helping ensure
we can continue our fall migration count, bird banding, and environmental education
programs, but also help Hawk Ridge reach it's full potential. Please consider making a year-end gift to make it possible to carry out our important bird
research and education programs in 2020 and help Hawk Ridge Take Flight. Thank you! http://www.hawkridge.org/support/donate/
We truly appreciate your support!
Sincerely,
Janelle Long
Executive Director
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory
The
fall season is winding down on another great bird migration at Hawk
Ridge. We wrapped up our public education programs at Hawk Ridge Nature
Reserve on October 31. October summaries for our bird
migration count, banding research, education programs, and the Take
Flight with Hawk Ridge Gala event are included in this newsletter. 
Thank you to all of our friendly,
knowledgeable staff and volunteers for sharing the magic of the migration at Hawk
Ridge with thousands of wonderful visitors this fall. We also can’t thank our amazing members
and donors enough for visiting and supporting our cause. 
October was another
spectacular month of migration at Hawk Ridge! An impressive total of 15,084
raptors were counted for the month. Sharp-shinned Hawks showed up in good
numbers for October, including a surprisingly high count of 1,354 on the 13th.
They slowed down to single digits per day by the end of the month, but Sharpies
totaled 6,006, making them October’s most common raptor at the Ridge. 
Not far behind the
Sharpies were Red-tailed Hawks, which started the month relatively slowly but
quickly built in numbers. Red-tails peaked at a total of 902 on the 23rd on
their way to an October total of 5,565. Bald Eagle was the other raptor
totaling in the thousands for the month, with 2,080 seen, including a peak of
172 on the 17th. With a full month to go, Bald Eagles have already surpassed
5,000, and are just shy of their average over the last ten years of 5,069. 
Right on schedule, some
late-season specialties have picked up considerably throughout the latter part
of the month, and promise to continue their upward swing into November.
Northern Goshawks have begun to put on a fantastic show, including a thrilling
total of 28 on the 23rd. Golden Eagles also arrived en masse, with an October
28th peak of 18 contributing to a solid total of 100 for the month.
Rough-legged Hawks have increased more gradually, peaking at 14 on the 20th and
reaching a total of 78 for the month.
As far as non-raptors, October saw some good movement of robins and blackbirds. On October 13, 3,277
Rusty Blackbirds and close to 800 Yellow-rumped Warblers were counted along with
many other migrating passerines. A late Philadelphia Vireo was a nice surprise.
October 14 was another amazing morning for robins and blackbirds with 4,237
American Robins, 3,165 Rusty Blackbirds, and 2,202 Common Grackles counted. The
first Northern Shrike was also counted. 
October 16, 17, 20, & 24 also had a
good push of passerines, including 6,689 Rusty Blackbirds on the 16th
and 12,530 American Robins on the 24th. All of the passerine daily checklists
can also be found on ebird for Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve: 
October
numbers were down in comparison to previous Octobers. We were able to
cover the Hawk Ridge station most days with less coverage at the two
satellite stations. The flight never materialized and kept birds higher
than normal. The one day that stands out is October 23 with 14 Northern
Goshawks banded, including our first adults of the season. 
Northern Harrier- 10 (55)
October was an exciting month for owl banding! The month started
strong, with peak Northern Saw-whet Owl migration occurring in the first
half. The 954 saw-whets caught in October put the season total over
1,000. 
Despite the
lower Northern Saw-whet Owl numbers, the second half of the month was
anything but a let down. On October 28, in addition to the 28 saw-whets
and 12 long-eareds, we caught a Short-eared Owl. This was only the
17th Short-eared Owl caught at HRBO and the first in nearly a decade!
On top of that, we caught the first Boreal Owl of the season the
following night!
So
much bird education fun in so little time! October has come and gone, as have
our days of daily outdoor programming (though one adventurous group scheduled a
November visit)! Many thanks to our dedicated and talented education crew of
naturalists Allie Quick, Andy Witchger, Jason Heinen, and Kaitlyn Okrusch, as
well as Frances Whalen and Katy Dahl - our education trainees for 2019. Lisa
Oakland and Noel Larson, our Visitor Services folks provided the glue to keep
things moving smoothly for all of our many visitors. Alex Sundvall and Clinton
Nienhaus kept visitors informed and enthralled as count interpreters.
October
was a wet month with 4 full days of major weather cancellations, and a
number
of partial days, which required some creative rescheduling. Late October
remained cloudy and wet, so it was almost a relief to have the wet
switch to
frozen forms. October weekends were full of great regularly scheduled
weekend
public programming. We also had 3 evening Owl Programs - the first of
which was
held indoors due to inclement weather, but the last 2 were held outdoors
and well attended. MEA weekend was lovely this year with plenty
of visitors and an opportunity to unveil our new Exploration Station- a
drop by
visitor education station filled with bird trivia, bird artifacts, and
knowledgeable staff.
Approx
Our
3rd annual Take Flight Gala on Friday, October 11th was a successful
fundraising event for Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. 140 wonderful people
filled the Radisson Hotel ballroom in
Steve Wilson also received a 10-year service award for his time on the Hawk Ridge Board.
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. 
September Migration Reports 2019 - Click 
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!.jpg?0.7989867935476688 "Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk by John Richardson (3)")
2018 ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS