The final weeks of September on Hawk Ridge brought a wave of east winds which spanned nearly every day until the month came to an end. These are winds that funnel in off of Lake Superior, often bringing with them damp air and dense foggy conditions, all while being effective at pushing migrant birds inland and away from the Ridge. While some of the days during this stretch did produce interesting migration counts, there was an abundance of poor weather conditions that simply made for poor migration overall.
September 21 was one of the final big migration days of the month before a series of poor weather (see: rain and fog) dramatically slowed the momentum. We were fortunate to have long-time Hawk Ridge alumni, Erik Bruhnke, assisting with covering the count for the day, which brought a fantastic non-raptor flight. The first noteworthy wave of migrant YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (867) began to pour south throughout the count - another sure sign of the gradual transition into later stages of fall migration as these are generally some of the final migrant warblers to pass along the Ridge. Additionally, the day saw a stellar flight of YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS (30) as the slender woodpeckers dashed southward throughout the sky while flashing a brilliant white slash in the wings to announce their arrival. The BLUE JAY (3101) momentum continued steadily, further contributing to what has been a record-breaking season count for this species so far (!), as well as the first noticeable push of migrant RUSTY BLACKBIRDS (281). The raptor flight gradually gained momentum later in the day, with SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS (380) comprising the bulk of the movement; however, a nice push of PEREGRINE FALCONS (12) was promising as this is the time of year when largest flights of this species generally occur (especially in the presence of south winds).
Adult PEREGRINE FALCON migrates along Ridge on September 21 
Adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK circling over the platform on September 21 
Immature COOPER'S HAWK passes over the overlook on September 21 
Migrant SANDHILL CRANES pass along the Ridge on September 21
The follow day (September 22) saw decent raptor movement in the hours immediately following sunrise; however, dense fog moved in off of the lake with assistance from east winds and enveloped the entire Ridge. With less than 200 meters of visibility in all directions for several hours, attempting to conduct the count proved challenging; however, SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS continued to dart out of the low cloud bank and pass overhead for a glimpse before disappearing down the Ridge into the ethereal wall of grey fog, like apparitions of the sky. (A total of 593 Sharp-shinned Hawks would pass throughout the day with practically no visibility to count with!). Other highlights on the day included (1) a late migrant BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO which flushed out from the vegetation to the north of the platform, passing low through the bushes before disappearing to the south and (2) continued steady BLUE JAY momentum with another 1002 moving down the shore before visibility was disrupted.
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER passing along the Ridge on September 22 
A group of SANDHILL CRANES migrating along the lake shore in the foggy mist on September 22
September 23 was mostly rained out, but a brief pocket of dry sky allowed for a couple hours of counting, including a single migrant OSPREY pushing itself soggily through the light, cold drizzle as well as a few more SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS. While precipitation can make observing and documenting bird migration challenging-to-nearly impossible from a human perspective, it is days like this that stand testament to the perseverance of migrant birds willing and capable of enduring any and all conditions to continue their journeys. The next day (September 24) was continued rain out until the afternoon hours, which cleared up briefly but still retained blustery, raw east winds off of the lake. This did not stop a handful of migrant raptors from being tallied from the Ridge: Eight raptor species total! A mix of PEREGRINE FALCONS, OSPREY, SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTRELS, among other species all seemed to take immediate advantage of the passage of the rain in order to cover more ground south before the day's end.
September 25 continued the trend of east winds off the lake, yet managed to a sizeable number of OSPREY (12), SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS (174), NORTHERN HARRIERS (22), AMERICAN KESTRELS (12) and some other raptor species made passage south throughout the day. Despite east winds persisting into September 26, there was a good SHARP-SHINNED HAWK flight (677) as well as a single AMERICAN GOSHAWK and a few hundred BROAD-WINGED HAWKS (158).
Sub-adult BALD EAGLE passes over the Ridge on September 26 
Adult PEREGRINE FALCON migrates over Ridge on September 26
September 27 continued the slower migration pace as result of the east winds. The following day (September 28) began with the excitement of an AMERICAN WOODCOCK whizzing around the platform throughout the quiet darkness of morning in the minutes before sunrise! BLUE JAY momentum has waned somewhat, yet continued throughout the day with an addition 625 - Each triple- and four-digit day count further contributing to a new season HRBO site record for this species!
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