Date: 9/19/26 1:24 pm From: Daniel Getman <000003a484abda6a-dmarc-request...> Subject: Hawk Ridge and Park Point, Duluth, MN Trip
I spent 3 days at Hawk Ridge and 4 mornings at Park Point in Duluth, MN on Sept 15-18. Despite heavy rain driving up and back, the weather over those 4 days was very nice - you just never know!
HAWK RIDGE:
Hawk Ridge is known for large numbers of Sharp-shinned Hawks and a large, concentrated movement of Broad-winged Hawks, usually in mid-Sept, depending on the weather and wind direction. NW winds are usually favorable. They used to be the largest hawk watch site for Northern Goshawks, but those numbers have dropped dramatically with only an occasional Goshawk passing through, generally later in the season.
There are often 50-100 people watching, as well as 2-3 official counters and 3-5 volunteers answering questions and showing an occasional hawk that’s been trapped and banded before releasing it. They also band owls at night.
If it's very warm and not very windy, strong thermals develop and the hawks will ride them up high, making photos impossible.
However, some hawks usually fly through low, but very quickly, providing some photo opportunities, if you can react quickly enough. On windy, cloudy days, the hawks generally fly at lower heights, but can be moving very quickly.
On Sept 17 there was a large Broad-wing Hawk movement with 19,768 Broad-winged Hawks passing high overhead. There were large “streams" of hawks throughout the day. They would stream towards a thermal, then circle and rise up in that thermal with hundreds of other hawks, called a “kettle", then exit the thermal in another stream of hawks searching for another thermal to ride up.
I’ve visited Hawk Ridge 4-5 times and this is the 1st time I’ve been there for a large movement of Broad-winged Hawks. It was truly a unique and amazing experience. Even the veteran watchers were uttering “oh wows” throughout the day. For those of you who watch for the migrating Broad-winged Hawks at Eagle Bluffs, they should be on their way!
I’ve posted a small section of one kettle, which shows approximately 125 hawks in the photo.. I’ve also posted the hawk counts for the 4 days I was there and for the month of September. You can also visit the website: https://hawkcount.org/month_summary.php?rsite=288
Hawks I got reasonable photos of:
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
American Kestrel
Red-tailed Hawk
PARK POINT:
Park Point in Duluth, MN turns out to be a great place for warblers and other migrants, as well as some hawks that gather there as they migrate past the world-famous Hawk Ridge Watch site.
Warblers and Vireos I saw and photographed:
American Redstart-some real beauties, both male and female
Northern Parula-some real beauties
Nashville Warbler, with a small butterfly or moth
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler-lots, but in fall plumage
Black and White Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Philadelphia Vireo-lots
Tennessee Warbler, with a small butterfly or moth
Yellow-rumped Warbler-lots
Other migrants:
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Cedar Waxwing
a small Flycatcher
Northern Flickers-lots
Some Special Finds:
Merlin - two different ones, turns out this is a good site for merlins, they breed there. I got a beautiful photo of an adult, with its Blue-gray colored back
Sharp-shinned Hawk - two different ones
American Kestrel - someone reported lots one evening after a big day of Kestrels at Hawk Ridge, but I only saw one female
4) Pileated Woodpecker, always unique
