Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Thursday, December 25, 2014

Hawk Ridge - Minnesota’s Birds of Prey




One of the premier raptor migrations spots in North American is Hawk Ridge overlooking Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota. Here in the fall thousands of humans migrate to a hillside to watch tens of thousands of eagles, hawks and falcon funnel overhead avoiding crossing Lake Superior on their journey south. Each of the twenty some species is described by author, radio personality and one of Minnesota’s top birding experts Laura Erickson.  Her book Hawk Ridge - Minnesota’s Birds of Prey includes wonderfully evocative woodcuttings and sketches by Betsy Bowen.  The book is neither a field guide nor one of those giant and expensive table top tomes.  Factual, fascinating and funny at points it’s the perfect book for planning a trip to see the wonders of raptor migration at Hawk Ridge.  I found it most enjoyable. Incidentally, I briefly met the author this year at the Quarry Hill Nature Center in Rochester Minnesota.  She gave a most interesting talk on her Big Year of birding in the United States.  All on a limited time and budget….:)
Some years over a hundred thousand broad winged hawks fly over the ridge.  Far rarer numbering annually in the hundreds is the beautiful red shouldered hawk much more common in the East. Actually photographed by Mrs. T. in Florida where they're easier to get close to....:)
 
And so on this Christmas Day 2014 another reason to be joyful..... my ability to download pictures to eblog has mysteriously reappeared. Merry Christmas!

20 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas back to you! That's a lovely picture of a hawk. Have a great day. :-)

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  2. Merry Christmas Ray, this sounds like what I need to get

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  3. I would love to be able to witness the migration of "the raptors"... and have my camera handy, too!

    Hope you are enjoying a beautiful Christmas Day!

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  4. I never knew about this migration. (I don't know everything! LOL.) Thanks for sharing. And the book sounds like a good read. How long does the migration last over Hawk Ridge, so if someone from out of town wanted to plan a trip to see it they could try to be there when it's happening. Thanks. And glad your ability to download pictures to your eblog reappeared! Happy Holidays.

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    1. The migrations last all fall varying by month for each species. The book gives the average peak weeks...:)

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  5. Merry Christmas!!
    Sounds like another must-see!

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  6. Wonderful, Trout. Merry Christmas. :)

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  7. beautiful hawk. happy christmas!

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  8. WE have a ridge sticking out of the Rockies and eagles fly by in the thousands. It's a sight I've never seen but would like to.

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  9. Merry Christmas to you and mrs T. You have been in my thoughts, as I have been filling gaps in my knowledge of early USA history. Enjoy Florida!

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  10. I have visited there twice...once when it was busy...I could spend all day there if it is a warmer day. They have a web site..peak is usually the first part of October and then it depends on the wind currants...they have a wonderful group of volunteers...something I would love to do if I lived in Duluth!
    Merry Christmas to you and Mrs T and Lily:):)

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  11. TB, so glad you now can upload pics. Hope your Christmas was a good one. Talk about the complexities of tech, I got a Garmen eTrex GPS for Christmas. I've now spent at least 3 hours figuring it out. I was especially stumped with the microSD card that contained my TOPO map which I finally realized was inside an adapter card (whew!).

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  12. Interesting book and very nice photo. I like your variety of topics. Also, in your profile ... Industry = Non Profit. One teacher to another ... Know what you mean there! Happy New Year troutbirder and family.

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  13. Hi,
    I just ordered this book from the library, thank you for posting.
    We have always wanted to visit. This year (2015) we will!!
    How about in the Spring, any tips on a visit during the Spring, the best week to go or is it more of an Autumn bird watch?

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    1. It's autumn. The book identifies the best week for each species. Most are sometime in Oct. and Nov...

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  14. There was a hawk ridge (or hawk something) on Lake Erie that we drove to many years ago. The hawks had disappeared by the time that we got there. :(

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  15. This is a magnificent creature. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. Oh we can't have your computer act up -- we need you to give us your wonderful posts. -- barbara

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  17. I've been wanting to visit Hawk Ridge for a while now, so I'm glad to learn of this book! Happy bird-watching to you.

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  18. Best wishes to you and Ms. T for the coming year full of laughter and love.

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