Raptors of Hawk Ridge: Early Birds

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.

Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Merlin; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Merlin; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

American Kestrel; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Red-tailed Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Turkey Vulture; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

American Crow; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

American Crow; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013

Duluth's Common Nighthawk Migration

By Cory Ritter

Let's get real, Common Nighthawks are pretty awesome. They have striking plumage, make sweet peent calls, eat insects that may otherwise annoy us, fly erratically, and their apparently small bills open up to reveal a mouth resembling that of a muppet. Plus, they're the ABA 2013 Bird of the Year. What's not to like?

Duluth is a great place to watch Common Nighthawks during migration, and this year didn't disappoint. Last Wednesday, the 21st, Karl Bardon counted over thirty thousand Common Nighthawks—with the help of Dave Carman and others. However, that was just the peak, and the nighthawk migration continues.

Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 22 August 2013

Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 22 August 2013

Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 27 August 2013

Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 27 August 2013

What A Gaggle

By Cory Ritter

We have had a bit of weather over the past few days here in Duluth, and we even had a weather day on Tuesday the 23rd due to fog and drizzle all day. So, after holding out at the overlook for a little while in the morning to check for any potential clearing, Karl alerted me of a group of geese at the Bayfront Park in Duluth.

This wasn't any regular group of geese, however. From what I heard, this group was found by Don Kienholz. It was apparently reported to him as a family group that consisted of a mother, father, one young, and one albino. Take a look for yourself.

juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

juvenile Greater White-fronted Geese, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose with Cackling Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose with Cackling Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose with Cackling Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

Cackling Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

Cackling Goose, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

Likely Ross's x Snow Goose, juvenile, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

Likely Ross's x Snow Goose, juvenile, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

Likely Ross's x Snow Goose, juvenile, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

Likely Ross's x Snow Goose, juvenile, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

The entire group, Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN, 10/23/2012

Gray Ghost

By Cory Ritter

With their clean white underparts and gray upper side, the adult male Northern Harrier makes for a stunning raptor. These birds are certainly crowd pleasers.

Take a look at this adult male Northern Harrier that was caught by Frank Nicoletti at Hawk Ridge's main banding station in late September. Hawk Ridge naturalist, Margie, is displaying this bird for the public.

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN 

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN

Here are some photos of an adult male Northern Harrier in flight that I took while counting hawks at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory this spring.

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

This is what I like to call the 'directing traffic' pose of the adult male Northern Harrier

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

Early Season Raptors

By Cory Ritter

Early to mid-September can produce some decent flights--and not just big broadwing days. Take a look at a short collection of some birds that came by Hawk Ridge in the middle of September.

Immature Sharp-shinned Hawk, 9/11/2012, Duluth, MN

Immature Northern Harrier, 9/11/2012, Duluth, MN

Immature Northern Harrier, 9/11/2012, Duluth, MN (same individual as above)

Immature Sharp-shinned Hawk, 9/13/2012, Duluth, MN

Male American Kestrel, 9/11/2012, Duluth, MN

Male American Kestrel, 9/11/2012, Duluth, MN (same individual as above) 

Adult Bald Eagle, 9/15/2012, Duluth, MN

Quite the Catch

By Cory Ritter

Early to mid-September is a great time for hawkwatching. Big kettles of Broad-winged Hawks are probably what first come to mind when thinking about September raptor migration. Here at Hawk Ridge, however, it is the chance to see an out of the way Mississippi Kite or Swainson's Hawk that is most exciting to me.

Last year, we tallied one Mississippi Kite. This particular bird was high overhead among a kettle of broadwings, and I was too busy counting other distant kettles to look for it. Therefore, it was quite a treat to get to see some MIKIs this season.

I posted some photos of one Mississippi Kite the other day. As I mentioned in the post, that was the second of the season. What I didn't mention was that Nova Mackentley and I spotted one from her banding station the previous evening, which won't go on the official count. Then, we saw one last Mississippi Kite on the 16th of September, and now have three MIKIs on the official count for 2012!

As for Swainson's Hawks, we had another great year. Our count of 18 this season was a considerable increase over the 10 seen last year. In fact, we had 7 fly by on the 9th of September alone. However, the best day of the season for Swainson's Hawks had to be on the 15th of September. We only counted two that day. What really made the day, though, was that Nova caught one of them! From the counting platform, we were able to watch the Swainson's Hawk, call it in to the banding stations, and watch as it stooped into Nova's station.

Only two Swainson's Hawks had previously been trapped at Hawk Ridge, so it was quite the experience for all of us!

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012 (Caught by Nova Mackentley at Hawk Ridge)

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012 (Caught by Nova Mackentley at Hawk Ridge)

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012 (Caught by Nova Mackentley at Hawk Ridge)

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012, (Caught by Nova Mackentley at Hawk Ridge)

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012, Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, release photo

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012, Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, release photo

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012, Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, release photo

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012,  Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, release photo

Hatch Year, intermediate/dark  Swainson's Hawk, 9/15/2012, Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, release photo