Home >  Do It Now >  Fall >  Eyes on the skies

Other stories in "Fall"

• This weekend
  See elves, artists and Irish dancers.
• Next weekend
  Elves, artists and Irish dancers are hard at work during holidays.
• Remember the wrecks
  On Lake Superior, gales of November bring haunting memories.
• Welcome, Southwest
  Finally, low-cost air fares to Chicago have returned.
• All quiet up north
  Like the leaves, room rates have dropped.
• Big birds
  Eagles are flocking to a stretch of river best known for tundra swans.
• Join the fun
  With an outdoors club, make friends, see new places and save money.
• Homes for the holidays
  On tours, see where the rich and famous celebrated Christmas.
• Culture in the bluffs
  Follow musicians to four unusual venues near the Mississippi.
• Ghouls ahoy
  On Great Lakes, two haunted ships are spoiling for a fright.
• Bash on a bike trail
  Kick up your wheels at small-town fall festivals.
• Scenery in the studios
  On autumn art tours, treasure hunters strike gold (and orange and red).
• Closing the deal
  Believe it or not, it's time to reserve hot dates for 2009.
• Ely's blue over hues
  Act now to keep town's future bright.
• Price check/A northwoods weekend
  Two Minnesota B&Bs offer a Boundary Waters adventure — is it a deal?
• On the ropes in Lanesboro
  Try walking a high wire on Halloween.
• In Iowa, a singular inn reopens
  Through December, snag a $99 room at the Hotel Pattee.
• Hunters on the North Shore
  A special deer season this weekend may put guns close to hikers.
• Geocaching for beginners
  Try a fall treasure hunt.
• Hot tip/A different North Shore
  Didn't reserve for fall-color season? Thunder Bay has rooms.
• On the road/A fall drive along the St. Croix
  A stretch of river valley is packed with attractions.
• 10 great trails to ride in fall
  Here's where to get your fill of flora, fauna and fall colors.
• Go on a trail-clearing trip
  If you enjoy a hike, help make it possible for others.
• In river towns, favorites debut anew
  On the Red Cedar and in Red Wing, three inns and restaurants finally reopen.
• Home of horsepower
  In Wisconsin, see where race cars, snowmobiles, outboards and motorcycles were born.
• Go swan watching
  

Eyes on the skies

On bluffs and ridges, it's time to watch the hawk migration.

In September and October, hawks fill the skies, swooping down from northern forests and prairies by the thousands.

Experienced birders wait for them on the shores of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, counting raptors overhead and banding those they can catch. That's a great opportunity for amateur birders to see a raptor up close (pictured, a red-tailed hawk), and unlike eagles and most other birds, they're best viewed in the middle of the day.

In Duluth, raptors are funneled over Hawk Ridge by the vast expanses of Lake Superior, and birders can follow the hawks for several minutes as they pass overhead. Naturalists are on hand every day through October, explaining the migration and offering free weekend programs. People who "adopt'' raptors get tours of the banding station, where starlings, doves and pigeons in harnesses serve as decoys.

For more on hawk-watching in Duluth, see Hawk heaven.

From the Great Lakes, raptors use the Mississippi River as a freeway to the south. All of the bluff tops are good places to watch, but one of the best is Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa, high on the bluffs above Marquette. On Oct. 4-5, its Hawk Watch includes a bird hike, releases of banded hawks, dissection of owl pellets and many children's activities.

For more on Effigy Mounds and fall in northeast Iowa, see One fall swoop. To find more good hawk-watching sites, check with the Hawk Migration Association of North America.

Last updated on October 16, 2008