Hawk Ridge News - March/April Events 2022

 

 

Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,

 

We are looking forward to the spring migration and hope you can join us for our upcoming March & April birding events! You can read more about the fun events below. We are also happy to announce exciting news to introduce initial plans we've been working on to improve and enhance our education facilities at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve! 

These plans are intended to help address road safety issues, accessibility improvements, increased education program space, and enhanced visitor viewing. We will be holding a public open house for comments on Wednesday, March 2nd from 6-8pm at the Portman Community Center 601 McCulloch St, Duluth, MN. You can also submit your comments online HERE or contact me directly at jlong@hawkridge.org. We appreciate your input and can't wait to share more about this with you this spring! 

P.S. If you missed our last e-newsletter, you can view that and older versions by clicking HERE. 

Upcoming Events

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER (registration closes Mon. 2/28)! Owls to Eagles: Hawk Ridge and Northern MN in Winter March 10-15, 2022

Join Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and the Hawk Migration Association of North America for an immersive late winter/early spring birding tour based out of Duluth, MN! Birders and nature photographers will engage with the boreal forest and Lake Superior region, as expert guides, Frank Nicoletti and Josh Haas, provide excellent views of Northern specialty bird species and the techniques and tips for capturing images of these hard-to-find birds. Proceeds from this trip helps support the raptor research and education of both HRBO and HMANA! 

The expansive bog lands, boreal forests, and Lake Superior shorelines of Duluth, MN, and environs, offer a uniquely accessible opportunity to see specialty birds of the northern climes in winter. We hope to see Great Gray, Snowy, & Northern Hawk Owls. We will also target Black-backed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, and all three common grouse species, Sharp-tailed, Ruffed, and Spruce. If conditions line up, it also could be an excellent trip for irruptive winter finches (crossbills, redpolls), gulls (Glaucous, Iceland), waterfowl (Long-tailed & Harlequin Duck) and more! Hannah Toutonghi will also present on her exciting Northern Hawk Owl Project graduate research on one of the evenings! 

The tour will also occur when spring migrants return, so both Bald & Golden Eagle and other migrants will be on the move at the Hawk Ridge spring site, the West Skyline Hawk Watch. An average of 25,000 raptors migrate through each March-May, and a record 1,076 Bald Eagles were counted there in ONE day in March of 2019! The days will be filled with exciting birding adventures with an itinerary for each day dependent on birds and the weather conditions. For more details on itinerary and registration, please click HERE. We hope you can join us for this amazing tour! 

West Skyline Spring Count

March 1 - May 31, 2022

2022 marks the 5^th 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/day)
• 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)

CLICK HERE to find out more info on visiting this spring! We will have a live count feature on our home page at hawkridge.org, so you can follow along. You will also be able to view our raptor count numbers via HawkCount HERE. 

P.S. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory (HRBO) in Duluth, Minnesota is seeking one Spring Naturalist/Count Interpreter to help educate visitors and students about the amazing spring bird migration at the West Skyline Spring Count. This is a seasonal full-time position April 1 – May 31, 2022. CLICK HERE for info on how to apply.

Spring Migration Weekend Workshop

April 22-24th, 2022

SAVE THE DATE!

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. Registration will open the first week of March! 

Hawk Ridge 50th Anniversary Celebration!

Sept. 22-25th, 2022

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!  

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. 

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!

 

Be sure to purchase one of our unique artist-designed Hawk Ridge shirts or tote bags online! Our featured artist this year is Emma Regnier, who returned as one of our Bird Banding Research Trainees this fall and was one of our Bird Migration Count Trainees in 2020. 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.

Thank you again for your wonderful gift of support! Hope to connect with you again soon!  

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

Hawk Ridge News - February 2022

 

 

Dear Hawk Ridge Friends,

 

We hope you're having a great start to 2022! With all the recent chilly weather, it's hard to believe the West Skyline Spring Count is right around the corner starting March 1! Many locals and visitors have already been enjoying the local and visiting feathered friends throughout this winter, including Great Gray Owls, Snowy Owls, Bohemian Waxwings, winter finches and more!. We'd love to share in these beautiful bird sightings with you, as part of our Owls to Eagles Winter Tour this March 10-15, in partnership with the Hawk Migration Association of North America. Hawk Ridge Banding Director, Frank Nicoletti, is one of the guides, which will make the trip even more memorable! Find out more on how to sign up by clicking HERE and reading below! P.S. If you missed our last e-newsletter, you can view that and older versions by clicking HERE. 

Owls to Eagles: Hawk Ridge and Northern MN in Winter

March 10-15, 2022

Join Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and the Hawk Migration Association of North America for an immersive late winter/early spring birding tour based out of Duluth, MN! Birders and nature photographers will engage with the boreal forest and Lake Superior region, as expert guides, Frank Nicoletti and Josh Haas, provide excellent views of Northern specialty bird species and the techniques and tips for capturing images of these hard-to-find birds. Proceeds from this trip helps support the raptor research and education of both HRBO and HMANA! 

The expansive bog lands, boreal forests, and Lake Superior shorelines of Duluth, MN, and environs, offer a uniquely accessible opportunity to see specialty birds of the northern climes in winter. We hope to see Great Gray, Snowy, & Northern Hawk Owls. We will also target Black-backed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, and all three common grouse species, Sharp-tailed, Ruffed, and Spruce. If conditions line up, it also could be an excellent trip for irruptive winter finches (crossbills, redpolls), gulls (Glaucous, Iceland), waterfowl (Long-tailed & Harlequin Duck) and more! Hannah Toutonghi will also present on her exciting Northern Hawk Owl Project graduate research on one of the evenings! 

The tour will also occur when spring migrants return, so both Bald & Golden Eagle and other migrants will be on the move at the Hawk Ridge spring site, the West Skyline Hawk Watch. An average of 25,000 raptors migrate through each March-May, and a record 1,076 Bald Eagles were counted there in ONE day in March of 2019! The days will be filled with exciting birding adventures with an itinerary for each day dependent on birds and the weather conditions. For more details on itinerary and registration, please click HERE. We hope you can join us for this amazing tour! 

Upcoming Events

West Skyline Spring Count

March 1 - May 31, 2022

2022 marks the 5^th 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/day)
• 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)

CLICK HERE to find out more info on visiting this spring! We will have a live count feature on our home page at hawkridge.org, so you can follow along. You will also be able to view our raptor count numbers via HawkCount HERE. 

P.S. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory (HRBO) in Duluth, Minnesota is seeking one experienced Bird Migration Counter to document and showcase the amazing spring bird migration at the West Skyline Spring Count. This is a seasonal full-time position February 28 – May 31, 2022. CLICK HERE for info on how to apply.

Hawk Ridge 50th Anniversary Celebration!

Sept. 22-25th, 2022

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!  

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!

 

Be sure to purchase one of our unique artist-designed Hawk Ridge shirts or tote bags online! Our featured artist this year is Emma Regnier, who returned as one of our Bird Banding Research Trainees this fall and was one of our Bird Migration Count Trainees in 2020. 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.

Thank you again for your wonderful gift of support! Hope to connect with you again soon!  

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

Hawk Ridge News - 2021 Highlights and Year-end Giving

 Dear Friends of Hawk Ridge,

We truly thank you for being a supporter of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. Thanks to you and the entire Hawk Ridge community, this year was filled with wonderful connections with gracious visitors, generous donors, amazing staff, and most importantly— beautiful birds! As we look to the new year, we are thrilled to celebrate our 50th Anniversary— protecting birds of prey and other migratory birds in the Western Lake Superior region through research, education, and stewardship. In honor of this anniversary and milestone, we invite you to consider a year-end gift to kick off this special year. 

With your generosity and support, we will soar into our 50th year with many exciting initiatives and events, including our spring and fall bird migration counts, bird banding research, more than 100 educational programs for people of all ages, and crucial volunteer-led land stewardship across our beloved Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. Your investment in our mission this season directly impacts everything we do, and we can’t thank you enough! 

As you consider your gift, we invite you to celebrate the 2021 highlights below leading us to our 50th year. This incredible work happens each year, thanks to our amazing staff and the generosity of members and donors of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. Your year-end, tax deductible donation can be made online simply by clicking HERE or by mail at Hawk Ridge, P.O. Box 3006, Duluth, MN 55812. If you’d like to make a gift of stock or fund transfer, please contact Janelle Long, Executive Director at (218) 428-6209 or jlong@hawkridge.org. 

From all of us at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, we send our warmest wishes and sincere gratitude for you this Holiday Season. Thanks to you for making our mission a reality and empowering our community to continue to soar on Hawk Ridge! 

2021 HAWK RIDGE HIGHLIGHTS 

RESEARCH AND PROGRAMS

BIRD MIGRATION COUNT RESEARCH 

During our 2021 Spring and Fall season, we counted over 90,000 raptors of 16 different species, as well as 270,000+ other migrating birds of 185+ species. Above average numbers were counted this fall for both Bald & Golden Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin, and Peregrine Falcon. In total, over 3.1 million raptors have been counted at Hawk Ridge since the standardized count started in fall 1972.

BIRD BANDING RESEARCH 

We continue to run the largest raptor banding operation in the country with Frank Nicoletti as the Hawk Ridge Banding Director. Frank and his team banded over 3200 raptors (including 950+ owls) in fall 2021. Volunteers also continued passerine banding at Hawk Ridge, including summer MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) research, with the leadership of David Alexander and Margie Menzies. Highlights included a Golden Eagle Banded by trainees and multiple collaborative research projects 

TRAINEESHIP PROGRAM & GRADUATE RESEARCH 

Six trainees received exceptional professional field experience within our bird migration count, banding, and environmental education programs. We collaborated with four graduate students from University of MN Duluth (including 3 former trainees) on their research projects. 

EDUCATION 

Hawk Ridge Education All-Stars, led by Margie Menzies, Education Director, shared more than 100 educational programs, reaching nearly 2000 participants of all ages! We shared the wonder of the migration with thousands of visitors at Hawk Ridge with live bird education demos, kid’s cart, school field trips and public programs. We provided workshops, outreach events, and virtual programs. New in 2021 was a birding tour led by Margie Menzies to Panama. Join us for international tour dates in 2022 with Costa Rica in March & Panama again in the fall! 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & GIVING BACK 

ANNUAL HAWK WEEKEND Visitors and supporters enjoyed our annual Hawk Weekend festival in September. Dr. Gerald Niemi gave a wonderful presentation on boreal birds at the Great Lakes Aquarium. UMD graduate students: Emily Pavlovic, Hannah Toutonghi, & Allie Pesano impressed us all with their presentation on Raptor Banding Research at Hawk Ridge. 100 attendees enjoyed field trips and workshops. We had the privilege to honor Dr. David Alexander with the Hawk Ridge Lifetime Achievement award for 30 years of service. 

LAND STEWARDSHIP 

Volunteers led crucial projects and efforts throughout the year at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, including invasive species management, as well as managing site maintenance and improvements. More than 70 volunteers contributed 3000 hours to Hawk Ridge this year! One exciting new stewardship effort was an Eagle Scout Project with the installation of directional trail signage at Hawk Ridge. From watching eagles at Hawk Ridge at the young age of 9 to giving back with his Eagle Scout project - thank you Kyle! This project will help visitors and our entire community help better navigate the beautiful trails throughout the nature reserve! 

We hope our 2022 highlights will be just as memorable as this year! We are counting on your support TODAY to help make that happen!  Your tax-deductible contribution will have an enormous impact in not only helping ensure we can continue our fall migration count, bird banding, and environmental education programs, but also help Hawk Ridge reach it's full potential. 

Please consider making a year-end gift to make it possible to carry out our important bird research and education programs in 2022. Thank you! http://www.hawkridge.org/support/donate/

We truly appreciate your support! 

P.S. Be sure to SAVE THE DATE for our 50th Anniversary Event on 9/22/22! 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! Our annual Hawk Weekend Festival will follow that weekend (Fri. 9/23 - Mon. 9/26) with a great line up of speakers, field trips, and special events. We hope you can join us!    

Happy Holidays and wishing you all the best in 2022! THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

Janelle Long

Executive Director

Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory