The West Skyline Spring Count Team

Raptorthon Date: April 23, 2023

We invite you to please sponsor the West Skyline Spring Count Team in the 2022 Raptorthon to support Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA)! Finally, finally, spring has arrived, and we’re happy to be back, counting all the migrating birds at the West Skyline Spring Count here in Duluth, MN! One of the ongoing events to mark this welcome spring migration is the annual Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) Raptorthon. The goal of the Raptorthon is to count the maximum number of raptor species within 24 hours. The proceeds raised are split between the participant’s hawk watch site of choice and HMANA.

Hawk Ridge has been monitoring the fall bird migration since the 1950s, but did you know that the West Skyline Hawk Count Site ranks as one of the tops in the US for the numbers and diversity of raptors during the spring migration? An average of 26,000 raptors of 16 species is counted each spring. This includes a record-breaking season total of 7,727 Bald Eagles counted and a world record 1-day high count of 1,206 Bald Eagles on March 17, 2022!

April is perhaps the best time to see the wide variety and ages of raptors traveling on their way north. We invite you to join the West Skyline Spring Count Team on the Raptorthon count day (Sunday, April 23) and learn from one of America’s well-known birding experts!

Team Leader: Sean McLaughlin

Team Members: Frank Nicoletti, Margie Menzies, Sara DePew

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