Raptor Count

Raptor counts at Hawk Ridge first began in the 1950's.  In 1972 the first standardized count began, and has been continued each fall.   A spring count in West Duluth has been conducted since 1997 to track raptor migration during the spring.

FALL COUNT NUMBERS  ׀  SPRING COUNT NUMBERS

Hawk Ridge Fall Count

From 1951 through 1971 the hawk count was a part time effort mostly in September. Coverage varied from 4 to 42 days. Complete and consistent coverage at Hawk Ridge began in 1972, the first year of operation of the banding station and of a full time hawk count.

A standardized count of migrating hawks is conducted annually from mid-August through November (and later, if possible). The results of the count, one of the two or three highest in the continent, are published by the Hawk Migration Association of North America, in the Hawk Ridge Annual Report, and are filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

West Skyline Spring Count

A spring hawk count was started in 1997 and continues every spring, March through May.  The count site was originally located only at Enger Tower, just west of downtown Duluth, but in the spring of 2000, the count site was modified to include Thompson Hill in West Duluth, a site located further west than Enger Tower.   It was discovered that many birds were pushed west on an east wind. The addition of the Thompson Hill count site is one factor in the significantly higher numbers of birds seen beginning in the spring of 2000.