By Cory Ritter
The fall count season at Hawk Ridge officially began on August 15th, but, as the assistant hawk counter, I didn't start until the 31st. While the days are still quite hot and slow, we are most grateful for two things: rare raptors, and Bald Eagles.
Early in the count-season is the best time to see both Mississippi Kites and Swainson's Hawks here at Hawk Ridge, and both are a welcomed reward for standing out in the heat all day—not to mention a lister's nightmare to time correctly. We've already racked up a few rewards this season, as we have two Mississippi Kites (August 27th and September 4th) and one Swainson's Hawk (September 2nd) on the official count—all of which were out of range for photographs, as luck would have it.
Bald Eagles, on the other hand, are far from rare. Instead, they are one of the most consistent migrants from the first to the last day of the count at Hawk Ridge, and we average more than 4,400 per season over the past five years. We are very thankful for Bald Eagles because they help keep the sanity on the count platform when there would otherwise be no raptors flying. Yesterday, for example, we counted 67 raptors among four species, of which 42 were Bald Eagles.
Now, a collection of photos from my first day on the job last Saturday. Sorry, there are no photos of Mississippi Kites, Swainson's Hawks, or even Bald Eagles—yes, even after all of that blathering.
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Merlin; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Merlin; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| American Kestrel; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Red-tailed Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| Turkey Vulture; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| American Crow; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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| American Crow; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013 |
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