Bird Migration Nears Peak at Hawk Ridge

Some days, counters see thousands of flying overhead

DULUTH, Minn. – Bird migration is at its peak for many species flying over the Northland.

At Hawk Ridge Observatory in Duluth, counters are keeping track of exactly how many birds and dragonflies pass overhead.

They have counted birds for the last forty-seven years, submitting the data they gather for wildlife information and studies.

Though Wednesday was slow, on some days thousands of birds fly by.

“These birds are all, they’re looking for the thermals that are coming off the ridge here and they’re getting height and then once they start streaming out of that thermal, and then we have these fancy little clickers and that’s how we count them,” said count director John Richardson.

“Two days ago we had northwest winds which is really what we get excited for is that blows all the birds down to the north shore and we had probably over twenty thousand birds that day, ten thousand of just one species, of the broadwing hawk,” he added.

The counters will be out every day through the end of November.

You can track live updates of their fall count online.