Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,
Summer always feels short and packed between our spring and fall migration seasons with avian field research, summer camp programs, community service group projects, outreach events, and prep for the fall. Added to this busy summer was the exciting construction of the the new accessible trail loop at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve! We enjoyed the weekly trail meetings to see the progress through all weather conditions from rain and mud to heat and smoke. It is a great kick-off to the rest of of our facilities improvements yet to come for accessibility, safety, and education. We can't wait for you to experience it! 
If you haven't started yet, now is the time to start making plans for your visit this fall! Early bird registration ends Monday August 17th for our annual Hawk Weekend Festival (Sept 18-20) Discounted registration is also open through September 30th for the international Raptor Research Foundation 60th Anniversary Conference we are hosting (Oct 26-31). We also invite you to join us for our summer naturalist offerings and find out more of what we've been up to in the reports below. P.S. If you missed our last e-newsletter, you can view that and older versions by clicking HERE. Keep up with recent news by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SUMMER NATURALIST SERIES
Join us for our Summer Naturalist Series! We had some fun exploration hikes in June, songbird banding in July, and new events in August below!
Weekend Songbird Banding Programs at Hawk Ridge
Various July/Aug Weekends (FINAL Sat. Aug. 1st)
Step into the exciting world of songbird banding research and join the Hawk Ridge banding team to explore MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship)! Get an up-close look at wild birds, learn why we band birds, what we learn from studying birds in hand, and so much more! Whether you're a seasoned birder or curious about the natural world, this unforgettable adventure offers an amazing opportunity to work alongside Hawk Ridge researchers, explore the nature reserve, and witness conservation science in action! Help us uncover the stories of migration, survival, and life on the wing!
Dates: Saturdays July 4th (5th), 11th (12th), 25th (26th), & Aug 1st (2nd) (NOTE: backup weather dates in parentheses)
Time: 8-10am
Location: Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (meeting location will be confirmed in email)
Cost: $10 members/students, $20 general
Register by 4pm day prior: send email to naturalist@hawkridge.org with name, number of participants, and phone contact to call/text with changes (payment link & meeting location will be sent)
What to Bring: dress in layers, water, sunscreen, insect deterrent, hiking shoes/gear
Special Notes: If you are interested in checking the bird nets with our banders, be prepared to hike over muddy (muck boots often needed!) and uneven ground. Trails are natural-surface and may be rugged with some rocky steps. *Note that bird banding can be cancelled or rescheduled at any time due to rain or high winds. Make sure to include an email and cell/text contact so that we can inform you of any changes in plans for the program.
Saturday Hawk Ridge Bird Bingo Hikes
August 1st, 8th, & 15th
Get outside and explore Hawk Ridge in a whole new way with a guided Bird Bingo adventure along our new accessible trail! As we stroll along, you’ll search for all things bird while learning about why Hawk Ridge is such a unique place! Whether you love spending time outdoors, enjoy learning something new, or are looking for a fun activity to do with friends or family, Bird Bingo is a fun way to experience the new trail while learning from a Hawk Ridge naturalist! See how many squares you can fill in and discover something new with every step!
Dates: Saturday, August 1st, 8th & 15th
Time: 1-2pm
Location: Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (Meet at the Main Overlook - click HERE for directions)
Cost: $5 suggested donation
What to Bring: dress in layers, water, sun protection, hiking shoes, binoculars (we have free loaner pairs!), insect deterrent (optional)
Nighthawk Nights!
August 21st & 25th
I have a large, flat head, big eyes, a small bill and a huge mouth, and long, slender wings! You guessed it, the Common Nighthawk! Did you know that for a few weeks, Duluth is the best place to watch Common Nighthawk migration? Each summer from mid-August to early September, these mystifying birds fly right over our heads and through Duluth neighborhoods, traveling several thousand miles on their journey to South America.
Bring along the whole family and join Hawk Ridge for two evenings of Nighthawk-filled fun, discovery, and learning as we celebrate the migration of the Common Nighthawk. Fill out your Nighthawk Nights Passport for a chance to win! Attend both evenings and get a stamp at each station to be entered into a prize drawing to win Hawk Ridge merchandise!
Dates: Fri. Aug. 21st and Tues. Aug. 25th
Time: 5:30-7:30pm (5:30-5:45 Welcome & Check-in; 5:45-7:30 Nighthawk Activities & Nighthawk Migration Viewing)
Location: 6008 London Road, Duluth, MN 55804 (UMD Limnology Building)
Cost: $5 suggested donation per person
What to Bring: dress in layers, water, snacks, lawn chair, insect deterrent, binoculars (we have free loaner pairs!)
September 18-20, 2026
REGISTRATION IS OPEN!! (early bird rates by Aug 17)
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!
Registration is OPEN and more details can be found HERE! Early bird rates through Mon. August 17th and all registration closes on Mon. September 14th. Be sure to register early, as many events have limited space. Kick-off the festival with us on Friday, September 18th at the Great Lakes Aquarium 6-9pm. Registration opens (6-6:30pm), social hour (6:30-7:30pm) will include a cash bar and light refreshments and the full aquarium will be open to tour, including the Raptor Ridge Exhibit. The Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Annual Meeting will begin at 7:30pm (approx. 15 minutes) followed by keynote: Dr. Kristen Ruegg, Associate Professor of Biology at Colorado State University. Her research involves using genomic tools to track migratory birds across space and time and to understand how these animals may fare with environmental change, including the Bird Genoscape Project (birdgenoscape.org).
Everyone Can Bird: Accessible Birding Series
Sat. October 17th (NOTE: Date change to 17th vs 10th)
Raptor Research Foundation Conference
October 26-30, 2026
REGISTER TODAY! (discounted rates by Sept 30)
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is excited to announce we are hosting the international Raptor Research Foundation 60th Anniversary Conference this fall! The conference will be held October 26-30, 2026 at the Holiday Inn Downtown Duluth with pre/post field trips & workshops on Oct 27 & Oct 31. There is also a post-conference technical tree climbing workshop for raptor research Nov 2-4. Registration is open with discounted rates available until Sept 30th. Find out more about the Raptor Research Foundation go to: https://raptorresearchfoundation.org/2026-conference/.
P.S. Conference logo designed by artist Emma Regnier (@falcofous). We love seeing those beautiful Rough-legged Hawks with the fall Hawk Ridge Lake Superior landscape and hope you can enjoy them with us too!
International Birding Tour
Birding the Highlands of Guatemala
March 7-16, 2027 (with optional post trip March 16-20)
Join Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory for an amazing birding adventure! Guatemala is a richly diverse cultural center and a lush and vibrant paradise for birders. Set in the heart of Central America, it sits within one of the Western Hemisphere’s prime migratory corridors and is overwinter grounds for a wide array of North American breeding birds. Join Margie Menzies, Hawk Ridge Education Director, and local guides to look for more than 20 regional endemic highland species. There will also be an optional extension March 16-20 to visit the Tikal region and spend a day at a working tropical banding station at Las Guacamayas and learn about their efforts with both resident native species as well as tracking the wintering grounds of North American Species. More information and registration info HERE with Holbrook Travel.
RESEARCH UPDATES
Central Flyway Broad-winged Hawk Project
Update: Banded Adults and Fledging Young!
This month we had an awesome visit from Laurie and Becca of Hawk Mountain to learn their techniques for capturing, color banding, and deploying transmitters on adult Broad-winged Hawks at the nest. While they were here we successfully banded adults from three nesting pairs and deployed two transmitters–one on a male and one on a female. Since then, we have also been able to band one other individual and deploy a third transmitter. The movements of the birds with transmitters will be shared later this fall once they are on their migration.
At this point, many of the young have either started branching (moving out of the nest to surrounding branches) or fledged and left the nest. We will finish out our season by assessing habitat characteristics (tree species, nest height, etc.) at each of the nest sites. We are thrilled with how this first season of the project has gone and are excited for the coming years! A huge thank you to Taylor Peltier for her dedicated nest searching, Tim Baerwald for constructing a mechanical owl for trapping, Laurie Goodrich and Becca McCabe for their guidance and support, Frank Nicoletti for help with trapping, Marie Hosch and Lydia Ihde for tagging along on a nest check, David Alexander for help with mist nets, and all the landowners and supporters who made this possible.
To learn more about the goals of the project click HERE.
Support Broad-winged Hawk Research!
Community observations play an important role in the success of this project — thank you to everyone who shared sightings for this project whether it was through our survey, eBird, or iNaturalist. Thank you also to the landowners who allowed us to access their properties to search for and observe nests. Many hours of work go into this sort of project and we hope to continue into the coming years.
To support the project through donating any amount or sponsoring a transmitter click HERE. You can also support the project by buying a Broad-winged Hawk shirt featuring artwork by local avian researcher and UMD graduate student, Abby Odegard. Short-sleeve shirts, long-sleeve shirts, and sweatshirts are available, with proceeds supporting Broad-winged Hawk research and conservation. Click HERE to order yours today.
Thank you to the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union and all of our generous donors for making this work possible!
American Kestrel Nestbox Monitoring Project
Update: Nestling Banding and Box Cleaning!
That’s a wrap on the American Kestrel nestling banding for the season. In total, we banded 227 nestlings between Douglas County, WI and St. Louis County, MN. Because American Kestrels are sexually dimorphic (have different plumage between males and females) we are able to sex the nestlings after they are about 14 days old. Males are smaller with slate-blue wings (top photo), while females are slightly larger and have black and brown barring (lower photo).
Hawk Ridge 2026 Summer Songbird Banding (MAPS)
This summer is our 12th season of MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) passerine banding. June 6, 2026 was the start of the first of 7 banding sessions. So far, we banded 356 new birds and 171 recaptures, of 32 species, with one session remaining. One exciting highlight was a Golden-winged Warbler that was originally banded at Hawk Ridge in 2020 and aged as an after second year at the time. That means that this bird is at least 8 years old! This is one example of the amazing information we can gain from birds by participating in the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program.
Every bird has a story to tell of course, but many of these small colorful neotropical migrants routinely make journeys that defy human imagination! Stay tuned for the final report from our 2026 MAPS season at Hawk Ridge. Thank you to all our dedicated volunteers for those incredibly early morning starts!
OTHER NEWS
NEW Accessible Trail Loop at Hawk Ridge!
We are excited to announce construction is complete and trail will be open in advance of the start of the 2026 fall bird migration soon! This is part of the first phase of the Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve’s Facilities Improvements Mini-Master Plan for Accessibility, Safety, & Education. The new accessible trail loop includes improved access to current education program area, visitor observation area below the count platform, boardwalk upgrade, and will connect to future accessible education facilities. Future improvements include additional education program areas, accessible restroom, interpretive signage, roadway safety & parking improvements, observation viewing decks, picnic shelter, amphitheater, & nature playscape.
Please follow all trail user notices. This is a pedestrian-accessible only trail - no bikes, horses, motorized vehicles, e-scooters. Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is appreciative of the partners working with us in collaboration with the City of Duluth, SAS+ Associates, and Zenith Trail Contracting. Stay tuned for more info on official opening and ribbon cutting ceremony soon!
Education Scholarship Funding Needed!
Contribute to the Hawk Ridge Education Scholarship Fund today! Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory offers environmental education program opportunities for schools Pre-K through college from all across the region. We have continued to keep our program costs low and affordable for schools to have the amazing opportunity to experience and learn about both spring and fall migration through educational programming.
Each year the need for assistance with programming fees continues to grow with an average of 65% of schools visiting requesting scholarship assistance. The Hawk Ridge Education Scholarship Fund allows us to provide these types of scholarships to schools. In the past 5 years, Hawk Ridge has awarded nearly $8,000 dollars in scholarship funds! Help us help students and schools come to experience Hawk Ridge! We are hoping to raise at least $2,000 in 2026 to award scholarships. To make a donation to the Education Scholarship Fund, please click HERE. We truly appreciate your support!
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!
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!
P.S. The West Skyline Hawk Count is one of the long-term monitoring efforts by Hawk Ridge - you can find the 2026 report HERE!
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
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