Hawk Ridge

One of the best birding experiences in Minnesota is going to Hawk Ridge in Duluth during the fall migration.  Much of the flight of raptors is derived from using the updrafts coming off of the land to stay aloft.  Therefore, these birds migrate down the shore of Lake Superior, rather than over 3 quadrillion gallons of cold water.

Hawk Ridge is located on the Skyline Parkway in Duluth, a long way above the big lake.  You can find it on a detailed map of Duluth, or look up Hawk Ridge online.  Their website also has the detailed day by day raptor counts.

When I arrived at Hawk Ridge, there were cars lined up a long way back.  People stood along the road with binoculars looking skyward.  Skilled volunteers would point out groups of raptors to those of us who were not as experienced as they were.  The official counting crew was up on an elevated platform with spotting scopes and binoculars.  From time to time, they would send someone down to update the official count board.

Official Count Board

It was not uncommon to see 5 or 6 bald eagles fly over at the same time, often times accompanied by other raptors.  One of the most interesting things I saw was a young peregrine falcon chasing a bald eagle.  The falcon was a lot smaller than the eagle, but the bigger bird did have to make a quick maneuver to avoid the fastest bird in the world.

Bald Eagle Over Hawk Ridge

Migration starts over Hawk Ridge in mid-August, and goes through November.  In the autumn migration of 2017, there were officially 80, 130 raptors of various types that migrated over Hawk Ridge.  For the day to day, and individual bird species counts, see the link above.

In my 2 hours at Hawk Ridge, I saw 40 bald eagles, 1 peregrine falcon, 3 red-tailed hawks, and 5 broad winged hawks.  I was there on the Sunday after Labor Day, and hope to return about the same time next year.  This was a wonderful birding experience, and I would recommend it to birders of all ability levels.