Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,
We hope you're gearing up for a wonderful holiday season ahead and we truly appreciate your support! It was heartwarming to see the donations coming in during the special "Give to the Max" giving event Nov. 1st-20th! Thank you! Our bird migration count and raptor banding research continues through Sunday, November 30th. It's been a great month to enjoy the end of the fall bird migration. Just last week on Nov. 17th, Lead Counter, Sean shared this daily highlight about the November count "From 12-2, there was a really exciting flight of Balds, Goldens and buteos that blossomed over the left side of Moose and drifted downwind right overhead! Highlight of the day was a duo of Golden Eagles that cruised right down the ridgeline". You can 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.
P.S. If you missed our last e-newsletter, you can view that and older versions by clicking HERE.
Thank YOU for Giving to the Max for Hawk Ridge!
We truly appreciate all those that support Hawk Ridge! Thank you to those that gave during the special Minnesota Give to the Max event November 1st-20th. Nearly $13,700 was raised helping us get even closer to our year-end goal of $20,000! 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 still make a gift online via givemn.org/hawkridge or our main donation page HERE or by mail at P.O. Box 3006, Duluth, MN 55803. We truly appreciate your support and invite you to enjoy the Golden Eagles and other raptors at Hawk Ridge now through November 30th or come out next year to our West Skyline Spring Count March 1st - May 31st! Thank you!
Thank YOU Hawk Ridge Volunteers!
This was another astonishing year in terms of volunteers at Hawk Ridge! We gained 23 new volunteers this year, including one from Colombia. Over 50 active volunteers from donated an incredible 2,191.45 hours this fall helping with Hawk Ridge research, education, visitor services, traffic safety, stewardship of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, and behind-the-scenes with events, office duties, and more! That is over 42 hours average for our active volunteers!
We held our annual volunteer appreciation dinner on October 29th, as well as a few fun volunteer appreciation evening owl program events to commemorate the season. We always enjoy celebrating and reflecting on the fall bird migration with all the wonderful volunteers that help make it extra special! Several volunteers were recognized for their efforts and time above and beyond this fall season at our Hawk Ridge Appreciation Dinner, including David Alexander, Gail Marsman, Tim Berdahl, Erik Bruhnke, Jim Sims, and Lisa Oakland.
Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers for your gift of time and making Hawk Ridge the special place it is! We truly appreciate you and hope to see you again soon! P.S. If you're interested in becoming a Hawk Ridge Volunteer, you can find out more info HERE.
Summer Passerine Banding MAPS Project Final Report
The 2025 MAPS Season Report Summer is the season where we learn much more about the resident birds breeding at Hawk Ridge. 2025 was our 11th year of doing the MAPS program (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship). a North American wide breeding bird study. We sample at least once every ten days for 6 hours for at least 7 sampling sessions from May 31 through August 8th every year. Hawk Ridge is one of more than 300 MAPS sampling stations in North America; there are 5 stations in Northeastern Minnesota.
During this past summer we captured 294 new birds of 33 species and had 100 returns of birds that had been banded previously, some of which are from the 2025 season, otherwise known as frequent flyers, because we often capture them several times during the season. Other recaptures are birds from previous seasons returning to Hawk Ridge after long distance migrations. Some have been returning to the same breeding location for multiple years. Some of most likely returning species are Veery and American Redstart- both of which migrate long distances to Central and South America; we have recaptured many birds, and and some of them have made this return journey for 6-8 years!
Our top ten species for this year were: 41 American Redstarts, 31 Cedar Waxwings, 26 White-throated Sparrows, 22 Veerys, 17 Common Yellowthroats, 17 Nashville Warblers, 17 Song Sparrows, 15 Ovenbirds, 14 Chestnut-sided Warblers, and 13 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
This was an exceptional year for Cedar Waxwings, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and we also some had some other surprises in the form of 2 House Finches- first ever caught during breeding season at Hawk Ridge. We also captured a male Brown-headed Cowbird during MAPS as well, so some of our warbler and sparrow residents may have found they were raising a young Cowbird in their nests this year, most often to the detriment of their own young.
Many thanks to all our dedicated Passerine banding volunteers many of whom donate many, many hours of their time to our efforts both during the summer MAPS season as well as the fall banding season. There is not way to do this without you all, and we learn tons from all of you!
David Alexander & Margie Menzies
Passerine Banders
Ulvang Memorial Fund for Count and Banding Research
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is happy to announce the Ulvang Memorial Fund to help support count and banding research at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. The Ulvang Memorial Fund is named for two boys who were inspired by the original Duluth hawk count. Bill and Bob were affected by the kindness, encouragement and enthusiasm of teachers and mentors who taught them about birds in general and hawks in particular. The story begins about 75 years ago in the very early years of the hawk count at what would later be formed as Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, which you can read more about by clicking HERE.
Please consider donating to the Ulvang Memorial Fund. Your gift will help continue the important long-term monitoring efforts at Hawk Ridge that contribute to bird conservation research and continue to inspire others about birds for generations now and in the future! DONATE HERE TODAY!
Central Flyway Broad-winged Hawk Project
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!
Upcoming Events
Panama Raptor Migration Tour 2026
October 29th-November 7th (with optional "Harpy Eagle at Canopy Camp" pre-trip extension Oct. 24th-29th)
Join Hawk Ridge Senior Research Associate, Frank Nicoletti, for the birding adventure of a lifetime to experience the excitement of tropical birding in Panama and witness one of the world’s greatest raptor migrations. Your participation will benefit Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory!
In late autumn, hundreds of thousands of raptors funnel through the narrow isthmus of Panama toward their wintering grounds in South America. This amazing hawk migration spectacle will be the centerpiece of our tour with the Observation Deck of the World-famous Canopy Tower -- the perfect vantage point to witness this raptor bonanza! This tour begins with four nights at the world-famous Canopy Tower, located atop Semaphore Hill in the rainforests of Soberanía National Park near Panama City. From this base, you can witness the raptor migration over the tower from “Semaphore Hill Hawkwatch” an official count site for the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA), as well as Metropolitan Nature Park and Ancon Hill, where millions of migrating raptors pass over every fall.
Our itinerary includes Panama’s premier birding sites including Pipeline Road, Summit Ponds and Old Gamboa Road, the marshy Ammo Ponds, Old Gamboa Road and the Chagras River. We then move west to explore the foothills and cloud forests of El Valle de Anton — the home of motmots, tanagers, hummingbirds, antpittas and the mythical Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo. Our stay here is at the award-winning Canopy Lodge for five luxurious nights. Each day will feature exciting bird-filled trips to the best birding sites all designed to find as many of the area’s specialties as possible!
For full tour itinerary, info on the “Harpy Eagle at Canopy Camp” pre-extension trip, and registration, please click HERE. Contact Gina Nichol at gina@sunrisebirding.com to confirm availability and hold your place.
SAVE THE DATES!
Hawk Weekend Festival
September 18-20, 2026
We invite you to join us to celebrate the amazing fall bird migration with us! Hawk Weekend is the annual festival held by Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, MN. Bird migration research and education programs have been shared with visitors throughout the world each fall at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve for over 50 years! Join us for a fun weekend with a variety of birding field trips, nature hikes, programs, and activities for all ages! More info and registration details will be coming out in late spring/early summer!
Raptor Research Foundation Conference
October 26-30, 2026
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is excited to announce we are hosting the international Raptor Research Foundation 60th Anniversary Conference next year! The conference will be held October 26-30, 2026 at the Holiday Inn Downtown Duluth. We look forward to sharing more information with you later this winter! Find out more about the Raptor Research Foundation go to: raptorresearchfoundation.org.
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 help us keep sharing the magic of the bird migration!
Fall Raffle at the Ridge 2025
We held our annual fall Raptors Raffle at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve 9/1-10/31 with the drawing on Oct. 31st. Thank you to the prize donors and to all that purchased tickets in support of our bird research and education programs at Hawk Ridge! Congratulations to the following raffle winners:
1) Vortex Diamondback 8x42 Binoculars (winner: Jane Thimke, MN)
2) Guided Birding Trip for 2 with Erik Bruhnke (winner: Betsy Sippel, WI) 3) $100 Hawk Ridge Merch Gift Certificate (winner: Lyndon Suckow, MN).
Support Hawk Ridge by Shopping!
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!
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.
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
