Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,
Over
61,500 raptors of 17 species and still counting through the end of the
month! Our October count, banding, and education summary reports are
below, as well as upcoming events (note: two start tomorrow, Friday,
November 13th - in case you missed previous notice). We had a nice break
with some warm temps, before more rain & snow and still enjoying
the Red-tailed Hawks, Bald & Golden Eagles, Northern Goshawks, and
Rough-legged Hawks! Thanks for your support! UPCOMING EVENTS
Lisa Brouellette will be presenting her raptor research
"Using DNA metabarcoding to study the diet of raptors during migration"
conducted in conjunction with Hawk Ridge virtually via Zoom https://z.umn.edu/scsefriday
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.
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 (2nd Campaign starts TODAY!)
UMD Graduate Student Raptor Research Thesis Seminar
with Lisa Brouellette
Friday, November 13th 3pm CST
Click HERE for Zoom link
Lisa Brouellette will be presenting her raptor research
"Using DNA metabarcoding to study the diet of raptors during migration"
conducted in conjunction with Hawk Ridge virtually via Zoom https://z.umn.edu/scsefridayWhile
much research has gone into understanding the timing and patterns of
migration, little has been done to understand the diet of raptors during
migration. Understanding diet during the full life cycle has important
implications for conservation, ecotoxicology, and land management. Lisa
collected samples from raptors at Hawk Ridge in 2019. Attend her
presentation to hear about her results!
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)
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.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 second campaign ends November 27th for
shipping directly to you by mid-December. We've relaunched in case you
missed our first 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.
Thanks for your support and don't miss out!
Give to the Max for Hawk Ridge!
Thursday, November 19th (Early Giving happening NOW - 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 Thursday, November 19, 2020 or during the early
giving period which started Nov. 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!
OCTOBER 2020 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.
If you missed the September 2020 summary reports, you can click HERE to find those and previous newsletters on our blog.
October Count Summary and Highlights
October
came and went in a flash! When this happens it is usually because you
are busy with birds. With little in the way of precipitation (we are
down 10 inches of rain this year), there were only 3 days with no
counting. The start of the month was more like September with mild, warm
temperatures (and an exciting Short-eared Owl sighting on October
2nd!). One day we even logged 81F! Favorable winds allowed the birds to
move not all at once, but more steady with most days seeing good
numbers. The end of the month was in stark contrast to the beginning. A
record 12 inches of snow and days with wind-chill temps in the single
digits made it somewhat sobering and uncomfortable for the count staff,
but we pushed through! 
The
bulk of the TURKEY VULTURES came on the 1st with a daily high record of
854 individuals, pushing the season total up to an impressive 2,320.
OSPREY have been in short supply this year with only 1 single bird on
the 2nd putting the likely season total at a paltry 144. What is
happening to the Osprey population? This represents the lowest season
total since 1986. We did not see any big BALD EAGLE days this October,
as we often do. It was more of a steady trickle with the biggest day of
164 on the 10th. The BALD EAGLE population seems to be continually doing
well with over 4,200 counted through the end of October and November
still to be accounted for. NORTHERN HARRIER numbers appear to be low,
with the lowest season total since 2004. With only 287 individuals this
fall did we miss them going on a different migration route? Wind
direction was generally favorable, so one can only guess. 
We
had some good SHARP-SHINNED HAWK days with the high coming on the 9th
with 885. With the current season standing at 13,572 we are far below
the post 22,000 years of 2016-17. Perhaps it was not a successful
breeding season for this species? COOPER’S HAWK numbers have continued
to decline over the past few years. This species is at the northern
limits of it breeding range and only 52 have been counted so far.
NORTHERN GOSHAWK, typically a late season migrant, are still at
historically low numbers compared to the big numbers of the 90s’ and
early 2000s’. There were some good days in late October with 18 counted
on the 24th. 
After
a good September count of BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, October saw a few late
stragglers. The last individual (a juvenile) came through on the 20th,
18 days since the last three on the 2nd! On the whole, an above average
season with 32,919 birds. Where are the RED-TAILED HAWKS one might ask!?
Don’t ask me I would respond. By October’s end only 4,501 have been
tallied, which is surprising given the ideal conditions later in the
month. The best day was 849 on the 24th and numbers have continually
declined as October past. A late push for November? 
One
of the highlights for October and the season as a whole has been the
incredible numbers of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS. 2020 has been a rough year
all-round, but this is the kind of ‘rough’ you want if you are going to
have one. An all time record (and still with November to go) of 1,462 is
just incredible, and if that was not enough the North American one-day
total of 525 was smashed to smithereens on the 23rd with 583. A truly
memorable day to remember for sure and what made the day on top of all
that was the counters talking to Jerry Liguori (the previous
record-setter) on the phone with Frank Nicoletti from his home in Utah.
What a day!! 
SWAINSON’S
HAWK numbers for HRBO were about what we would expect with a couple of
late individuals counted in October putting the season total at 7. All 7
dark/intermediate morphs likely from the NW of the continent. GOLDEN
EAGLE numbers are steady with a high of 30 on the 23rd. 137 for the
month, and 150 season total should (with November) put us about average.
The ‘golden’ highlight was Abbie Valine catching and banding the first
GOLDEN EAGLE at HRBO since 2012! Way to go and truly gorgeous bird. 
AMERICAN
KESTRELS, and MERLINS trickled through with both species logging in
with 73 individuals. AMERICAN KESTREL numbers appear to be continually
in decline unfortunately. 2002 saw 3,637 and in contrast we are only at
700 for the season. However, thanks to the count trainees, Maggie &
Emma, we did have an American Kestrel and Broad-winged Hawk show up on
October 31st! Finally, PEREGRINE FALCON numbers are down also despite
their continued decade long recovery. This species can migrate at night
and is best seen with southerly winds, which we had very few, so I would
not initially read too much into this season's numbers. 
After
last year's dismal showing of winter finches, we are back to something
far more interesting. COMMON REDPOLL (979), PINE SISKIN (11,523), PINE
GROSBEAK (541), and both RED CROSSBILL (424) & WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILL (2,233) have all been present. There is still a whole month of
counting left and this amazing season shows no sign of slowing down!Eyes to the skies everybody!
-John Richardson, Fall Count Director
October Banding Summary and Highlights
Nearly 4,000 raptors banded through the end of October. October
was surprising slow especially for Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned
Hawks, and Cooper's Hawks. However, this was certainly made up for with
the record breaking flight of Rough-legged Hawks. Also exciting was
catching good numbers of Northern Goshawks, especially SY (second-year)
birds. The major highlight
though was catching the first Golden Eagle since 2012. November is off
to a good start and a full banding summary report will be shared in
December. Thanks to all our supporters and the hard-working banding
crew! Here are our season numbers for banded raptors through 10/31.
Northern Harrier-25
Sharp-shinned Hawk -1844
Cooper's Hawk -23
Northern Goshawk-52
Broad-winged Hawk -7
Red-shouldered Hawk -1
Red-tailed Hawk -74
Rough-legged Hawk -63
Golden Eagle -1
American Kestrel - 36
Merlin - 93
Peregrine Falcon- 5
TOTAL 2224
Northern Saw-whet Owl - 1586
Long-eared Owl- 159
Great Horned Owl- 39
Barred Owl- 15
Eastern Screech Owl- 1
TOTAL OWLS-1764
Total Raptors Banded as of 10/31 = 3,988
Northern Harrier-25Sharp-shinned Hawk -1844
Cooper's Hawk -23
Northern Goshawk-52
Broad-winged Hawk -7
Red-shouldered Hawk -1
Red-tailed Hawk -74
Rough-legged Hawk -63
Golden Eagle -1
American Kestrel - 36
Merlin - 93
Peregrine Falcon- 5
TOTAL 2224
Northern Saw-whet Owl - 1586Long-eared Owl- 159
Great Horned Owl- 39
Barred Owl- 15
Eastern Screech Owl- 1
TOTAL OWLS-1764
Total Raptors Banded as of 10/31 = 3,988
-Frank Nicoletti, Banding Director
Fall Education & Visitor Services Summary
It
was a beautiful fall at Hawk Ridge this year and we were grateful to be
able to provide count interpretation and some education programming and
visitor services. There were only 3 days in each of September and
October where we were weathered out compared to last year with many wet
and soggy days with southerly winds. However, we also saw an
unprecedented amount of snow in mid to late October- way too early for
that kind of weather! Despite the cold, there
were some great days in there for teaching about
amazing numbers of Eagles, Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks! It
was especially great to have our new count board up featuring not only
hourly and daily bird migration number updates, but also information
about seasonal averages and high counts (especially since several of
those records were broken this year)! 
Thanks
to all who came out for a very different year this fall at Hawk Ridge!
The Covid threat had us revising our standard practices, putting out
extra health & safety signage, and scaling everything back. Even so,
we were able to safely offer 18 formal educational programs for a total
of about 200 participants. This of course is a small fraction of our
normal numbers. Thanks to our wonderful education/visitor services team
and our intrepid volunteers that were available on the fly to help at
times (thanks Ralph, John, Dave, Gail, Sarah, and Harry - you are
amazing)!P.S.
Be on the lookout for more virtual education programs trough the winter
months. We are looking forward to the Advanced Hawk Identification
Workshop on November 13th, and 14th, with Bill Clark, a virtual
presentation for the Duluth Maritime Museum, 11:30 am, November 19th,
and several others pending! In fact, if you know of a group that might
enjoy a virtual program, let us know, we’d be glad to work with you to
set something up! Hope to see you in the Spring!
-Margie Menzies, Education Director
WAYS OF GIVINGHawk
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
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! 
Sp
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 
September is already in the books, hard to beli
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. 
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. 
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 
What
a start to September for both raptors and passerines. On 9/16, we had a
great day counting season high 1,560 Sharp-shinned Hawks & 6,471
Broad-winged Hawks, as well as 1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 4 Swainson's Hawks
and 6,000+ Blue Jays! With yesterday's numbers, we are almost to 45,000
Blue Jays and over 20,000 Broadies already (9,551 Broad-winged Hawks
were also counted on 9/13). 
A
Golden Eagle was counted on Monday, September 14th, which is one of
the earliest records of one at Hawk Ridge in the last 15 years. Count
Trainee, Emma, shared this beautiful journal sketch of it! We also
counted a Mississippi Kite on September 9th, which is an exciting
species for us, as it's not one we see each season.
Over
28,000 raptors of 16 species have been counted for the season, as well
as 120+ species of over 100,000 other migrating birds. We are looking
forward to seeing what other surprises are to come! We also welcome 2
fantastic new Count Trainees this fall, Emma Regnier & Maggie Brown,
who will be learning and counting with us through the end of October!
A
total of 493 raptors of 8 species
were banded during the first 2 weeks of September. Northern Harrier (8),
Sharp-shinned Hawk
(431), Cooper's Hawk (7), Northern Goshawk (5), Broad-winged Hawk (3),
Red-tailed Hawk (11),
American Kestrel (10), and Merlin (18). It's been a good start to
September! We also welcome new banding staff - our awesome banding
trainees, Jessy Wilson & Halle Lambeau, and new Owl Bander, Danny
Erickson. Owl Banding started on 9/15, so we'll be sure to post updates
on that soon! 
It
has been a good start to the fall bird migration and we appreciate your
support. We're glad we can still be at Hawk Ridge during this amazing
annual spectacle and share our love of birds with you. Thanks to all
that have visited and cooperated with the new safety precautions in
place. This was an important step to ensure we could continue our
research, education, and stewardship efforts this fall. 
We
concluded our 7th year of the MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and
Survivorship) project on August 3rd. As is typical, the last session was
our busiest with 87 new or recaptured birds. We did get our first
migrants of the year with Tennessee and Canada Warblers showing up
during the last session. For the summer, we banded 269 new birds
including our first brown thrasher and winter wrens for the summer. As
importantly as the new birds, we had 85 birds recaptured during the MAPS
sessions. Some of these were recaptured from the same year they were
banded, but many more were returns from previous years. Our first two
recaptures were male redstarts caught at the same time in the same net.
Likely, they were chasing each other while trying to establish
territories in early June. Interestingly, each of the past two years, we
have heard and caught Golden-Winged warbler in the first sessions, but
they seem to disappear by July and we still haven’t found any breeding
in our MAPS territory. Perhaps next year we will get our first breeding
record and some young. 
The fall
Nevertheless, the number
of NORTHERN HARRIER (39) and RED-TAILED HAWK (60) is not bad for August with
the vast majority being immature birds making the maiden voyage south. Next,
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (243) and AMERICAN KESTREL (19) have started up well before
the bulk of those that show up in September.
The weather has been
mostly warm and very dry with little rain to speak of. We had 4 days of
easterly winds with fog 19th-22nd, but then all those birds that were backed up
came through in droves. Most notably was Tuesday 25th when Common Nighthawks
came through all day and by the end of the day we had over 27,000! 
A total of 127 raptors of 8 species
have been banded through August 29th. Northern Harrier (4), Sharp-shinned Hawk
(83), Northern Goshawk (2), Broad-winged Hawk (2), Red-tailed Hawk (6),
American Kestrel (4), and Merlin (20). It's been a good start to the season
thus far! We welcome back Abbie Valine, Banding Trainee from 2019 and longtime volunteer, now as a Bander! 
We
are also happy to be working with four great master’s students at UMD
on their raptor research (Lisa Broullette, Emily Pavlovic, Allie Pesano,
and Hannah Toutonghi) - with Allie and Hannah being former Hawk
Ridge Banding Trainees! Projects
include:
We are excited for another fall bird
migration season at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory! We are in operation
under new safety guidelines and limited staff. Visitors are still welcome
to come out and enjoy the migration. We just ask for your compliance and
understanding with safety measures in place for the health and well being
of our staff and visitors (you included!). This will be especially important at
our main overlook, which is our primary visitor viewing area. Guidelines may
also change pending regulations mandated by local, state, federal authorities.
If you are planning to visit, please read our guidelines on our 
We LOVE our volunteers and appreciate all they do. 
.jpg?0.7989867935476688 "Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk by John Richardson (3)")
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