Dear Friends of Hawk Ridge,
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. 
Give to
the Max day is next week, which is a major annual giving day here in MN for many
nonprofits, including Hawk Ridge. We would super appreciate your donation
during this important giving campaign. We count on this day of support to ensure we can continue our
mission of protecting birds of prey and other migratory birds in the Western
Lake Superior Region through research, education, and stewardship.
Let’s make 2020
another great year for Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory together for the good of the
birds, people, and place. Thank you!
P.S. Remember you can view our raptor count HERE for totals & daily summaries and watch the count in action LIVE HERE or via hawkridge.org now through November 30th!
OCTOBER MIGRATION SUMMARIES
Below
you'll find the October summary reports and highlights from our bird
migration count staff, bird banding research staff, and education staff.
We had a great October and look forward to sharing more with you as our
fall count and banding research continues through November!
October 2019 Fall Bird Migration Summary
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.
Broad-winged Hawks were
the story of September, but October brought just 22 of them, including two
relatively late individuals spotted on the 23rd. Also tapering off early in the
month were Osprey, with just eight seen, the final bird on the 10th. This
brought their total to 201 for the season, well below the 10-year average of
269. Peregrine Falcons were near daily throughout the first half of the month,
reaching a season total of 155, considerably higher than the 10-year average of
121.
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: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L268365
The
fall count continues through November 30, so be sure to continue
following along online or if you'd like to brave the cold - we welcome you to
stop by the hawkwatch and say hi!
-Gary Palmer and Hawk Ridge Count Team
October 2019 Fall Raptor Banding Summary
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.
October raptor numbers are below:
Northern Harrier- 10 (55)
Sharp-shinned Hawk- 270 (1651)
Cooper’s Hawk- 4 (24)
Northern Goshawk- 62 (69)
Broad-winged Hawk- 0 (11)
Red-tailed Hawk- 34 (52)
American Kestrel- 0 (24)
Merlin- 9 (68)
Peregrine Falcon- 3 (4)
Total- 392 (1958)
(#) Denotes season total
-Frank Nicoletti and Raptor Banding Team
Owl Banding Summary
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. And we still have part of November left!
Our
biggest night of the season took place on October 3. We caught 168
saw-whets as well as one Long-eared Owl and one Eastern Screech Owl.
Turns out, the screech owl was the same individual we caught in 2018,
making it still the first and only Eastern Screech Owl to have been
caught at the HRBO banding site.
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!
-Kate Maley, Hawk Ridge Owl Bander
October 2019 Fall Education Summary
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.
Approximately
450 educational programs were provided to over 10,000 visitors in fall
2019. These program included school programs and other private group
programs, public programs, bird
demonstrations, owl programs, Hawk Weekend festival,
Kid’s Cart and Exploration Station.
Whew! That’s a lot of bird talk- but stay tuned there is
always more to come over the coming winter and spring!
-Margie Menzies and the Education Team
OTHER HAWK RIDGE NEWS
Take Flight with Hawk Ridge Gala was a Success!
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
celebration and support for the important bird conservation work we do. Attendees
enjoyed the great music by Jeffrey Flory and members of the Arrowhead
Chorale, artwork by Alexa Carson and jewelry by Curious Metal Design,
live birds from Wolf Ridge ELC and the Lake Superior Zoo, and poetry by
Phil Fitzpatrick from the Hawks on High book. We honored 2 of our loved,
longtime volunteers, Gail Marsman and Jeanne Filiatrault Laine, with
the 2019 Hawk Ridge Lifetime Achievement Award. The local news even came
to interview them, which you can view HERE!
Steve Wilson also received a 10-year service award for his time on the Hawk Ridge Board. Many wonderful nature and art-related auction items were bid on, migration highlights were shared, and much
support was given to help Hawk Ridge continue to Take Flight. The evening came to a close with a fantastic program "Owls: Souls of the Night"
by Scott Weidensaul, which also emphasized the importance of the owl
research we are doing at Hawk Ridge. Thank you to all that donated -
whether it was your time, auction item, donation or other - it is all
truly appreciated!
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 join us on November 14, 2019, for Give to the Max
Day and help us continue to protect birds in the Western Lake Superior Region
through research, education, and stewardship with our work at Hawk Ridge Bird
Observatory.
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
celebration and support for the important bird conservation work we do. Attendees
enjoyed the great music by Jeffrey Flory and members of the Arrowhead
Chorale, artwork by Alexa Carson and jewelry by Curious Metal Design,
live birds from Wolf Ridge ELC and the Lake Superior Zoo, and poetry by
Phil Fitzpatrick from the Hawks on High book. We honored 2 of our loved,
longtime volunteers, Gail Marsman and Jeanne Filiatrault Laine, with
the 2019 Hawk Ridge Lifetime Achievement Award. The local news even came
to interview them, which you can view HERE! Steve Wilson also received a 10-year service award for his time on the Hawk Ridge Board. Many wonderful nature and art-related auction items were bid on, migration highlights were shared, and much
support was given to help Hawk Ridge continue to Take Flight. The evening came to a close with a fantastic program "Owls: Souls of the Night"
by Scott Weidensaul, which also emphasized the importance of the owl
research we are doing at Hawk Ridge. Thank you to all that donated -
whether it was your time, auction item, donation or other - it is all
truly appreciated!
NOW through
Thursday, November 14th!
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 join us on November 14, 2019, for Give to the Max
Day and help us continue to protect birds in the Western Lake Superior Region
through research, education, and stewardship with our work at Hawk Ridge Bird
Observatory.
Your
donation on Give to
the Max Day also may help us win additional prizes! How? On November 14,
every
gift made on GiveMN.org will be entered into additional prize drawings
for Golden Tickets $500 will be awarded every 15 minutes and $1000 every
hour, as well as one $10,000 Super Sized Golden Ticket. New this year
are Power Hours at 10am and 10pm awarded to the top
three organizations who raise the most money between 10:00-10:59 a.m.
and 10:00-10:59 p.m. First place will receive $3,000; second place will
receive $2,000; and third place will receive $1,000. 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 14 by visiting GiveMN.org and searching
for "Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" or by simply clicking HERE!
September Migration Reports 2019 - Click HERE to read our September Bird Migration Count, Banding, and Education Summaries
August Migration Reports 2019 - Click HERE to read our August Bird Migration Count and Banding Summaries
West Skyline Spring Count 2019 - 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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