Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,
It's hard to believe we're already about half way through our spring migration season, especially as we've still had plenty of snow flying with the birds! Over 5,200 raptors of 13 species, as well as 8,500+ other birds of nearly 50 species have been counted to date. Diversity of birds is also picking up, which is always fun to see! There's still plenty of time to come out and enjoy the spring migration with us daily now through May 31 and you can check out the current raptor total HERE or live count HERE. Please read the March migration summary, exciting upcoming events, & cool updates on grad student research projects below!
P.S. If you missed our last e-newsletter, you can view that and older versions by clicking HERE.
March Spring Count Summary
The West Skyline Spring Count was in operation for 29 days during month of March with two days of inclement weather (rain/snow and poor visibility) with a total of 176.5 hours covered. The overall weather was colder then normal with many days of N-NW winds and a few with NE, which has been the trend the past few years in March. In terms of migration, numbers were average, tallying 3,272 raptors.
The bulk of the adult Bald (northern population) and Golden Eagles migration occurred during the month of March, with peak days occurring after mid month. There were several notable flights of eagles, which included a record day, March 17, of Bald Eagles with 1206 counted surpassing the previous record of 1076 on March 23, 2019. Another highlight of the March 17th flight was 41 Golden Eagles, which is the second highest daily count with 53 counted on March 17, 2019. With the bulk of adult eagle migration over now, Bald Eagle will continue their migration of mainly non-adults into April and May.
There were low numbers of non-eagles this March, mainly due to snow depth to our south and north of the count site and poor weather for pushing flights of Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers and accipiters. An annual species seen, but considered unusual, was an adult Red-shouldered Hawk on the 24th. April will bring the bulk of the Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawk migration along with all the other regular raptors.
Non-raptor diversity was fairly low this March, with almost no noticeable waterfowl migration, due extensive ice on lakes and rivers and snow-covered fields. Passerine migration was movements of Bohemian Waxwings, Common Redpolls and several small flights of American Robins Daily ebird checklists can be found here for our spring count locations at Thompson Hill and Enger sites, which you can follow along with!
As the spring weather warms up, it will be great to see more birds and visitors! Our spring education programs with Margie & Sara will begin in April & May too - hope to see you soon!
-Frank Nicoletti & Sean McLaughlin, Spring Counters
Upcoming April Events
Pick A Bird Brain Series
March-August 2022 (virtual programs & field trips)
Pick a Bird Brain is back as a new series of virtual presentations with optional field trips! These will be held monthly March-August with a focus on bird families (woodpeckers to warblers and sparrows and more!). Each month, this series will look a little more in depth at particular groupings of birds during the virtual presentation, then follow with an optional birding field trip to see what we can find. You can register for the full series or a la carte for any of the virtual presentations or field trips (note: field trips have max of 15 participants). We hope you will join us! Check out the April schedule details below (as that starts next week!) more info on registration and monthly schedule HERE!
April 19 Virtual Program 7:00 pm – Woodpeckers Where They Are and Where They Aren't
Woodpeckers are the well known denizens of the forest, or are they? Did you know that they are not everywhere we find trees and forests? Why are they found in some locations and not in others? Interesting question, let’s see what we can find out!
April 24 Field Trip 7:00-9:00 am -Woodpeckers and other spring migrants
Birding trip to Indian Point and Western Waterfront Trail with focus on woodpeckers by sight, sound, signs and other spring migrants.
Spring Migration Weekend Workshop
April 22-24th, 2022
Join us for a great weekend to enjoy the spring migration in the field, while learning about the overall science of spring migration, basic ID skills, counting essentials, natural history, interesting current Hawk Ridge Research! We'll learn first hand at the West Skyline Spring Count, one of the top spring raptor migration sites in the US, as well as birding trips to the Duluth Harbor and St. Louis River area for migrants of all types! Participants will have multiple options for how they choose to participate in the workshop. Sessions will be either grouped as the full weekend experience at a discounted price or you can select which activities you would like to attend and choose them a la carte. Register HERE today!
One of the ongoing events to mark this welcome spring migration is the annual Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) Raptorthon. The goal of the Raptorthon is to count the maximum number of raptor species within 24 hours in support of hawkwatches throughout North America. The proceeds raised are split between the participant’s hawk watch site of choice and HMANA. We invite you to please sponsor the West Skyline Spring Count Team in the 2022 Raptorthon to support both the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) in their important raptor conservation work! Please pledge your support HERE today!
March 1 - May 31, 2022
2022 marks the 5th consecutive, full spring season of bird migration monitoring research at the West Skyline Spring Count in Duluth, MN! This is one of the premier spring bird migration sites in North America with record numbers of Bald and Golden Eagles, as well as other raptor species. The spring migration count average from 2018-2021 is over 25,000 raptors and thousands of other birds. Over 125 different bird species were recorded in 2021! Spring migration highlights include an amazing diversity of 15-20 different raptor species, as outlined:
Peak for each species (high counts listed)
- Eagles: around March 25 (Bald: 100-500/day; Golden: 10/day)
- Rough-legged Hawks: April 10-20 (up to 75/da
y) - Red-tailed Hawks: April 10-20 (1,000-2,000/day)
- Broad-winged Hawks: May 1-10 (3,000-4,000/day)
- Sharp-shinned Hawks: April 10-20 (up to 450/day)
Graduate Research Project Updates
Hawk Ridge is thrilled to be collaborating with 4 graduate students at the University of Minnesota Duluth on the following raptor research projects. Three of the four students were part of our banding traineeship program at Hawk Ridge, which we look forward to continuing this fall! Here are their project updates:
Allie Pesano's research project is titled "Determining subspecies probability assignments of migratory Red-tailed Hawks in Minnesota." Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is a great hub for observing various Red-tailed Hawk phenotypes in Minnesota, especially B.j. abieticola "Northern" types and non-harlani dark-morphs. B.j. abieticola's polymorphic status, and relatedness to other Red-tailed Hawk subspecies, is not currently known. To better understand which described subspecies B.j. abieticola is most closely related to, genetic data is currently being analyzed using microsatellite markers. Using similar techniques, we can also determine what subspecies non-harlani dark-morphs are most closely related to. This research will uncover patterns of population structure within Minnesota's migratory Red-tailed Hawk population and potentially elucidate novel polymorphic traits in unsuspecting Red-tailed Hawk subspecies. A recent highlight, in addition to collecting genetic data, is two Cellular Tracking Technologies satellite transmitters have been deployed on non-harlani adult dark-morphs. After wintering north of Indianapolis, one of the dark-morphs, Trudi (pictured above), has begun migrating north and was last located on the border of Indiana and Illinois!
Emily Pavlovic's research project is titled "Estimating natal origins and migratory patterns for raptors." A largely unanswered question at Hawk Ridge is where exactly our raptors are migrating from geographically. In Fall 2020, 240 feather samples were collected for stable isotope analysis from juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks, Northern Saw-whet Owls, and Red-tailed Hawks to help us understand the connection between breeding regions and migratory corridors like Duluth. Highlight: Early analysis indicates that some of our late season migrants for the three species are coming from as far north as Alaska (a minimum distance of 1500 miles!). The map shows the most probable location for an individual Sharp-shinned Hawk banded during October at Hawk Ridge. The green represents the most probable location and the + shows the location of Hawk Ridge. More to come!
Halle Lambeau's research project is titled "Factors influencing occupancy, productivity, and early life mortality at American Kestrel nest boxes in the Upper Midwest." American Kestrels are a rapidly declining raptor. It is hoped this project will tell us more about optimal landscape, prey, and temperature conditions for these birds in the study areas in MN and WI. The first step: putting up nest boxes! 75 boxes were successfully installed in northern Wisconsin these last two weeks. These boxes will become part of the larger study that incorporates nest boxes from Friends of Sax-Zim Bog, Madison Audubon, Central Wisconsin Kestrel Research, and Cedar Grove Ornithological Research Station among others for a total of about 450 boxes!
Hannah Toutonghi's research project is titled "Winter Ecology of Northern Hawk Owls (Surnia ulula)." Many unknowns exist for Northern Hawk Owls, especially during the winter months where little is known about their range, movements, and activity. To better understand hawk owl ecology, 10 GPS/GSM transmitters were deployed on individuals in northern Minnesota and Manitoba this winter. This research will uncover the winter movements of these nomadic denizens of the boreal forest, and will add knowledge about what these movements mean in terms of habitat selection and survival. A recent highlight is two first-cycle hawk owls banded within 100 yards of each other in Roseau MN have flown over 600km north, crossing Lake Winnipeg! (map below)
Other News Updates
Hawk Ridge 50th Anniversary Celebration!
Sept. 22-25th, 2022
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Hawk Ridge is turning 50!! Be sure to SAVE THE DATE for our 50th Anniversary Event! Hawk Ridge is celebrating 50 years of raptor research and education! We will kick off the event Thursday evening at the beautiful Greysolon Ballroom for a grand celebration of the past, present, and future of Hawk Ridge on Thurs. 9/22/22! Our annual Hawk Weekend Festival will follow that weekend (Fri. 9/23 - Sun. 9/25) with a great line up of speakers, field trips, and special events. We invite you for this very special celebration and hope to see many of our Hawk Ridge friends from past and present!
Registration opening in June!
Panama: Under the River of Raptors!
October 25th - November 1st, 2022
Hawk Ridge is heading back to Panama again this fall for another amazing birding and nature trip! Margie Menzies, Hawk Ridge Education Director, in cooperation with Holbrook Travel will be accompanying a lucky group to witness this incredible river of raptors in peak season, as well as other birding and nature hotspots.
At Hawk Ridge, we are thrilled with incredible views of thousands to tens of thousands of raptors a day during fall migration season. The hawk count site in Panama counted over 2 million raptors in one day with daily counts ranging in the hundreds of thousands! This is a great opportunity to see where many of our northern migrants are heading during the fall for their wintering grounds.
In addition to seeing raptors, we will experience the best of birding in Panama with visits to a variety of settings including rainforest, cloud forest, tropical dry forest, and Mangrove habitats, among others, each with it’s own unique endemic species, colorful and unique local resident birds, and visiting migratory species. The tour group will be guided each day on this expedition by an expert local guide in each region of the trip. Click HERE for general information and HERE for full itinerary/registration. We hope you can join us! P.S. There is also a pre-extension trip to the Darien Oct. 20-25th - more details on that portion of trip HERE.
Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve Facilities Improvement Plan
.jpg "A beautiful day at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (photo by Gail Johnejack)")
The Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve Facilities Improvement Planning is continuing to receive positive response. The first public open house was held on March 2nd and followed up with a presentation to the City of Duluth Parks & Recreation Commission last week. We continue to welcome and appreciate feedback coming in from the public through the planning page online HERE. What's clear is that there are many people who enjoy Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve as a beloved outdoor space in Duluth and appreciate the efforts of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory through research, education, and stewardship. We look forward to implementing this plan to improve facilities at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve for road safety issues, accessibility, increased education program space, and enhanced visitor viewing. Thank you to staff & committees (Hawk Ridge, SAS+ Associates, City of Duluth), people involved in focus groups, and the and public (members, visitors) for your input. We will continue to update you through this exciting project!
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!
Support Hawk Ridge by Shopping!
.jpg "Celebrate Diversity by E Regnier (2)")
Be sure to purchase one of our unique artist-designed Hawk Ridge shirts or tote bags online! Our featured artist is Emma Regnier, who completed both the Bird Banding & Bird Migration Count Research Traineeships at Hawk Ridge in 2020 & 2021. She created 2 new beautiful designs for our limited-edition shirts for 2021, including the popular "Celebrate Diversity" design pictured here!
If you like to shop on Amazon, we'd also super appreciate you adding Hawk Ridge as a charity you support via Amazon Smile. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory receives a donation of 0.5% of eligible purchases!.
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!
Books with Portion of Proceeds coming to Hawk Ridge!
Art on the Edge of the Boreal Forest: Alternative Futures for the trees, birds and insects
Original art by ten Minnesota artists
Text by Lee Frelich, Ph.D. and Gerald Niemi, Ph.D.
A group of Minnesota botanical artists applied their skills and knowledge to create a visual archival record of Minnesota's threatened boreal forest. Dr. Frelich, director for the Center for Forest Ecology, and Dr. Niemi, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology, University of Minnesota Duluth (and former Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Board Member & Research Chair), as well as Jane Albers, DNR Forest Health Specialist, contributed research on threatened boreal trees, plants, birds, and insects. This collection is important because the ecology of the boreal forest is undergoing slow and silent but significant change due to disturbances caused by fire, invasive insects and stressful climate conditions. Books for sale online from various sellers, including HERE.
Hawks on High - Everyday Miracles in a Hawk Ridge Season
By Phil Fitzpatrick with drawings by Penny Perry
Phil Fitzpatrick captures the magic of migration at Hawk Ridge and interesting bird bits beyond through his beautiful collection of poetry. Poems are brought to life through the artwork of Penny Perry. Books for sale online and at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve during the fall season September 1 - October 31.
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.
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
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