Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,
We had another wonderful fall bird migration season this past September and October. Thank you to all of the Hawk Ridge staff, volunteers, members, supporters, & visitors for making Hawk Ridge the special place it is. We truly enjoy meeting new visitors and reconnecting with those that return each year. If we didn't see you this year, we certainly hope to connect with you next year!
Our bird migration count and raptor banding research continues through November 30th. Over 250,000 birds have been counted so far, including 41,000 raptors of 16 species. You can also check out the live bird migration count on Trektellen HERE, as well as our raptor banding totals HERE. Daily and seasonal raptor counts/reports via HawkCount can also be found HERE. Find out more in our October research & education summary reports below and thank you in advance for Giving to the Max this Thursday, November 20th for Hawk Ridge!
P.S. If you missed our last e-newsletter, you can view that and older versions by clicking HERE. Part 2 of November e-news coming soon!
Give to the Max for Hawk Ridge!
November 20th (with early giving NOW!)
The annual MN Nonprofit Giving Day kicked off on November 1st with early giving! As we're enjoying the beauty of Golden Eagles at Hawk Ridge, you can also help us win a $500 Early Giving Golden Ticket (one gift each day Nov 1-19th) or Golden Tickets ranging from $500-$10,000 on Give to the Max Day on November 20th! Any gift is eligible and much appreciated, as we work towards our goal of $20,000 during this special giving opportunity! This funding is so important to help continue our bird migration count, bird banding research, and education programs for all ages and abilities. Thank you for your support!
You can make your gift online 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! We truly appreciate your support and invite you to enjoy the Golden Eagles and other raptors at Hawk Ridge now through November 30th!
October 2025 Bird Migration Count Summary
The Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory began its third month of the fall count on October 1, and tallied 11,587 migrant raptors and 57,890 migrant non-raptors! The count was conducted every day from the 1st until the end of the month, totaling 283.08 observation hours. The first week of the month was hot, with a scorching October 4th reaching 84F! We received very little precipitation, with rain only impacting the count on October 31st.
October Raptor Highlights:
Turkey Vulture (1,226): Above Average– 962 of the month's vultures were counted in three days! The big days were made up primarily of adults, and the hatch year birds followed throughout the second half of October.
Osprey (15): Above Average– The final Osprey of the year was counted on October 9.
Bald Eagle (1,365): Above Average– A somewhat low count of Bald Eagles compared to the last few years. The peak flight of 120 was on October 6.
Northern Harrier (99): Below Average– The Marsh Hawks of the north country were consistent in low numbers. We counted 40 adult and 31 hatch year harriers.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (4,453): Average– Adult Sharp-shinned Hawks peak in October, and we identified 1,095 adults!
Cooper’s Hawk (18): Below Average– The medium accipitrine was seen in modest numbers, with a high day of 6 on October 7.
American Goshawk (29): Below Average– One of the lowest months of American Goshawks ever. Hopefully the adults mount a more sizable movement in November.
Broad-winged Hawk (25): Below Average– Dismal Broad-winged Hawk fall continues.
Red-tailed Hawk (3,719): Below Average– Red-tailed Hawks peaked October 23-24, when we counted over 1,500 ‘tails! 29 dark morph and 3 leucistic Red-taileds were special treats.
Rough-legged Hawk (232): Average– We enjoyed an excellent flight of adult Rough-legged Hawks. After an impressive irruption of young birds in 2024, we are noticing lots of second-year birds this year!
Swainson’s Hawk (1): Above Average– One late western Swainson’s was spotted along the ridge on October 15th! This bird was an intermediate juvenile.
Golden Eagle (54): Above Average– While above the long term average, this count actually sits well below the 10-year average of 93. Goldens are a late season specialty that will increase in November.
American Kestrel (202): Above Average– The Kestrel flight continued earnestly through early October, with a particularly good flight of 77 on October 6.
Merlin (83): Above Average– We have officially broken the season high count for Merlin at Hawk Ridge! This is also the first time that over 400 Merlin have been counted here.
Peregrine Falcon (65): Above Average– The Peregrine flight was remarkable this season! October 5th and 6th were unforgettable days, 24 and 16 Peregrines each day!
Unknown (1)
Non-raptor Highlights:
57,890 migrant non-raptors of 94 species were counted on their way past the overlook! Insects reach their end this month, and we counted a sparse 20 Mourning Cloaks, 5 Monarchs, 68 Common Green Darner and 98 Autumn Meadowhawks. American Robins (27,363) were counted this month, streaming in large flocks every day. Rusty Blackbirds (7,472) peaked on October 10: 2,056! Corvids were abundant, with many days of migrant American Crows (5,254), Common Raven (543) and Blue Jays (1,182).
Warblers were sparse, and we lacked any major flights of Yellow-rumped Warblers (3,629) in the early days of the month. Finches were also down this year: Purple Finch (2,999) and Pine Siskin (1,481) were the only species to break 1,000. There was a modest uptick in Pine Grosbeaks (62) and Bohemian Waxwing (36) that we will keep a keen eye on in November! Boreal Chickadees also invaded the North Shore, and we spotted 10 flying by the platform! An unusual sighting at the ridge, several flocks of Bonaparte’s Gulls (111) all headed straight out over the big lake.
Counts at Hawk Ridge continue every day until the end of November; see you at the watch soon!
Sean McLaughlin
Lead Counter
October 2025 Banding Reports
October Raptor Banding Summary:
October was slow for raptor banding. While the flight overall was good we had had far too many days spent watching hawks flying by without giving us a second look. A total of 149 raptors were banded in the month of October between the three stations. The Hawk Ridge station was covered all 31 days of the month, with 112 birds banded. The Moose Valley station was covered 31 days, with 27 birds banded. Paine Farm was covered 6 days, with 10 birds banded.
Northern Harrier numbers were well below the average and the total of 25 at the end of October is a new low (but only one shy of the totals from 2018, 2020, and 2021). This season is on track to be the worst on record for Sharp-shinned Hawk captures, about 1,000 shy of the 14-year average and with no big sharpie days yet to come. The four Peregrine Falcons banded in October ties the low from 2022. Red-tailed Hawk captures have also been low, but we shall see what November has to offer.
In happier news, Merlin have been better than average for the second year in a row. While American Goshawk numbers are equal to last fall with time for more to arrive in November! Due to the irruptive nature of Rough-legged Hawks and how warm the fall had been our expectations were low for encountering this northern buteo. Thus we were very happy to catch three Rough-legged Hawks this month. In general the lack of banding success in September and October can be attributed to mild weather and a lack of multi-day cold fronts which result in poor flight lines and raptors that are uninterested in our attempts to capture them. In October the main station alone we had 11 days with no birds banded, and only two days of the month broke into the double digits.
A massive thank you to this year’s seasonal banding crew: trapper Sarah Needles, banding apprentices June Yost and Kaia Hilgendorf-Roost, and trainees Soren Zappia, Loreen Lee, and Gabby Dowd. Despite catching fewer birds than we hoped, everyone did a great job, learned a lot, and kept up morale. Many, many thanks to the indispensable David Alexander for countless volunteer hours, Miranda Durbin for both assistance trapping and supplying candy (over 7.5lbs of nerds gummy clusters were consumed in the main blind this fall), as well as Senior Researcher Frank Nicoletti and Research Director Emily Pavlovic. This could not have happened without you all!
Total raptors banded in October were as follows:
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 109
Cooper’s Hawk – 1
American Goshawk - 8
Northern Harrier – 2
Bald Eagle - 1
Red-tailed Hawk – 16
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
American Kestrel – 1
Merlin – 1
Peregrine Falcon – 4
Northern Shrike – 1
Total: 149
Tim Baerwald
Lead Bander
October Owl Banding Report:
The second half of HRBO's fall owl banding effort ran from October 1st through November 7th. Weather remained unusually warm, with temperatures averaging in the 40s - 50s. We were unable to open for 4 nights during this period of time due to rain and wind. Despite the warm weather and occasionally poor weather nights, this season we caught the highest volume of owls at Hawk Ridge since 2020 – 1405 owls total.
Interestingly, several stations this year, especially out West, reported less than average numbers of Northern saw-whet owls migrating through their stations. At Hawk Ridge, Northern saw-whet owls came pouring into the station during October, with two nights where we caught over 100 owls. Our highest volume night was October 13th, where we caught 112 Northern saw-whet owls. We caught our first two Long-eared owls on October 13th as well. Our first Barred owl was caught on October 15th.
Non-owl visitors to our nets in October and November included 1 American Woodcock, 1 White-throated sparrow, 2 Eastern red bats, and 2 flying squirrels. The flying squirrels managed to bite through several of the trammel lines of our nets, but we quickly forgave them because they were absolutely adorable. This season we also had several wildlife friends visit our net lanes (thankfully not our nets!), including 2 porcupines, a blue-spotted salamander, and a black bear.
Of the Northern saw-whet owls we banded this year, 71.3% were female, 11.6% were male, and 17.1% were unable to be sexed. This sex ratio matches our expectations, and is likely partly because we use the call of a male saw-whet owl as our audio lure, which females are likely more interested in investigating. Of the Long-eared owls we banded this year, 70.3% were female, 3.7% were male, and 25.9% were unknown. It is likely that at least some of the Long-eared owls we sexed as unknown were males. The Barred owls we captured were unable to be sexed.
Age distribution of owls from migration banding can tell us about breeding success for the year, as well as the survival rate of the previous years’ owls. This year, 38.8% of the Northern saw-whet owls we banded were hatch-year birds, 34.1% were second-year birds, 23.9% were after second-year birds, and 3.2% were after hatch-year birds. This appears to be a low percentage of HY birds when compared to other seasons, which could indicate poor breeding success of Northern saw-whet owls this summer. Of the Long-eared owls we banded this year 3.7% were aged as hatch-year, 25.9% were aged as after second-year, 63% were aged as after hatch-year, and 7.4% were unable to be aged. This could indicate low breeding success of Long-eared owls this summer as well. Of the 5 Barred owls we banded this year, 4 were hatch-year owls. This makes sense, as Barred owls are not migratory, and the ones that move through our banding station tend to be dispersing young of the year who are trying to find a territory.
This year, we captured 41 Northern saw-whet owls that were banded previously at a different station. 11 of these owls were banded elsewhere in Minnesota, 7 in Wisconsin, 5 in Michigan, 1 in Iowa, and 1 in Ontario. Some of the owls we banded at Hawk Ridge this year have already been recaptured at banding stations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Excitingly, this year we captured a Long-eared owl that had been banded in May of 2025 at Whitefish Point! This recapture data is very valuable for learning more about owl migration routes.
Our 2025 season totals are as follows:
Northern saw-whet owl:
New: 1251
Foreign recaptures (banded at a different station): 41
Local recaptures (banded a previous year at Hawk Ridge): 15
Season repeats (owls we banded this year, but recaptured a following night): 38
Long-eared owl:
New: 54
Foreign recaptures: 1
Barred owl:
New: 5
Thank you so much to all the wonderful apprentices, trainees, and volunteers for making the 2025 owl season run smoothly! And of course, thank you to the incredible owls who contributed their time to our migration banding effort. What a privilege it is to work with you!
Maya Vernick
Owl Bander
October Passerine Banding Summary:
October is the month when the frantic pace of fall migration for songbirds slows down a bit, and this October held true to that with 307 birds banded from October 1-October 25 at the Main passerine banding station. The usual late season passerine migrants were present with 43 White-throated Sparrows, 41 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 39 Black-capped Chickadees, 36 Hermit Thrushes, 35 Golden-crowned Kinglets, and 20 Dark-eyed Juncos (Slate-colored Juncos in this area).
Black-capped Chickadees appear to be having an especially busy year with a definite increase in the number captured through the fall season with 39 caught in October alone. There appears to be a Chickadee irruption happening this year; there are increased numbers of Chickadees moving through, captured at banding stations, and seen at local feeders. Irruptions can happen for a variety of reasons- it could be a food shortage of normal food sources to the north, an exceptionally successful breeding year, disruption of habitat, or extreme weather issues. Look for our final Chickadee numbers for the season in the full fall passerine report.
Another highlight for October included the capture of a Pileated Woodpecker. In cooperation with a NRRI Pileated study, the bird was fitted with a transmitter, so hopefully we will come to know much more about this Pileated Woodpecker in the months ahead.
An unusual capture came on the 7th of October in the form of the first Lapland Longspur captured since 2012 at the main station. In addition, we were lucky to have a visiting bander from Spain (Nico Sommers who sees more of these types of birds in the hand than we do here. He was able to help connect us with other experts and we determined that it was an after hatch-year( adult) male predominately by the amount of black on the feathers of the head. Many thanks Nico for his help!
Other highlights from October included a Wood Thrush, the first Common Redpoll of the season, as well as an exceptional year for catching Blue-headed Vireos, with 16 captured this year which is well above our usual number. It was a year with fewer than normal Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers, and Golden-winged Warblers. Stay tuned for the full season report in December.
David Alexander & Margie Menzies
Passerine Banders
Research Highlights
We are collaborating with Hawk Mountain Association in Pennsylvania to study Broad-winged Hawks in the Central Flyway. To learn more about the goals of the project click HERE. To support the project through donating any amount or sponsoring a transmitter click HERE.
Thank you for your support!
Emily Pavlovic
Research Director
October 2025 Education Summary
We had a fantastic October with great weather and camaraderie with staff, volunteers, and visitors to enjoy the fall migration! As I looked back at the October Education Program Calendar, all sorts of interesting programs popped up as I perused through. Variety is the spice starting on Oct. 1 with the Science Museum of Minnesota. Both the Science Museum and the Bell Museum in Minnesota accept wildlife fatalities found for scientific research. We were able to contribute some bird specimens, unfortunately many were owls from the past winter irruption, such as Great Gray and Boreal Owls. These specimens will be used to further our information on these birds, make museum specimens, and even potentially be used to help area schools learn through study skins and mounts.
Iowa day was celebrated at Hawk Ridge on Oct. 4th, as the University of Iowa hosted an alumni event and enjoyed a presentation given by one of their graduates and current Hawk Ridge Naturalist Jamie Tigges! We also hosted the returning Iowa State Wildlife and Bird Club at the passerine banding station to learn about our research. We hope both continue to stay involved at Hawk Ridge in the fall and perhaps set up a competition for other surrounding state colleges to host their events - get ready to step up Wisconsin!! Other colleges were also well represented in October with University of Minnesota Duluth, College of St. Scholastica, Lake Superior College and University of Minnesota Twin Cities all taking part in programming at Hawk Ridge.
We also had a number of school groups including: Walker High School, Stowe Elementary Key Zone, Moose Lake High School, North Shore Elementary, South Ridge Elementary, Great Expectations Charter School, 2nd graders and Preschoolers from Laura Mac Arthur Elementary, North Start Elementary from Virginia, Harbor City International School, and Denfeld High School. Other groups that visited during the month include Girl Scout Troop 27604 from Henderson, Minnesota, the Wolf Ridge Naturalists, the Duluth Sister City Group from Sweden.
And WHOOO would have guessed that October Owl Programs would just about max out?! 22 different programs slots were filled in October including 15 Small Group Owl Programs, 2 Evening Owl Programs, 3 Owl programs for our incredible Volunteers, and another 2 Owl Programs for the UMD Bird Club! An understandably popular choice that was helped by a better than average number of Northern Saw-whet Owls at the owl banding station.
We also held the last Everyone Can Bird Event for 2025 at Hawk Ridge again this year on October 11 coinciding with International Migratory Bird day this year and we welcomed 117 participants to the recurring series designed to make birding accessible to everyone! We usually do 3 events per year- but may add a 4th for late winter in 2026- so keep your eyes for our next event!
Lastly, we enjoyed connecting with the general public with our informal education programs at the Ridge, including 24 regularly scheduled weekend public programs, additional programming on Thursday and Friday of Education Minnesota "MEA" weekend, and about 200 live bird education demos. Always plenty of opportunities at Hawk Ridge in the fall for amazing learning experiences from these incredible migrating birds!
Many thanks to our great education & visitor services staff this year! Naturalists: Alder Nichols (Lead), Lydia Ihde (Part-time Lead), Alder Haus, Ivy Houts, Anna Johnson, Peter Mundale, Angus Pitulla, Jamie Tigges, Caroline Urban, & Logan Woods. Visitor Services: Kree Ladd (Lead) and Lisa Oakland. Special thanks to Erik Bruhnke who helped out as often as he could this season with Count Interpretation and the wonderful crew of trainees: Gabby Dowd, Loreen Lee, & Soren Zappia. Another amazing season for fall education programming at Hawk Ridge has been completed. Hope to see you at our West Skyline Spring Count March-May and at other upcoming events!
Margie Menzies
Education Director
Thank You for Your Support!
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory thanks all of our supporters. We appreciate you!
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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!
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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.
Thank you again for your appreciated gift of support! Hope to connect with you soon - feel free to reach out by email at jlong@hawkridge.org with any questions.
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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