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Phenology Update – Bird Migration

April 14, 2023

By Jessica Vance

Wolf Ridge Naturalist, Charlie Pavlisich, recently appeared on WTIP radio, Cook Countie’s North Shore Morning Show.  This week Charlie shared some insights into birds that we are seeing return to the North Shore.

  • Waterfowl have started migrating
  • The Robin & Woodcock have arrived
  • Redwing Blackbirds have been seen in Two Harbors
  • Be on the lookout for the Peregrine Falcon arriving between April 3-16
    • There are now over 300 nesting pairs across the Midwest
    • The North Shore is a great habitat for the Peregrine – bring binoculars if you are at Palisade Head!
  • Ravens have nested and the chicks are already hatching, even with 30 inches of snow still on the ground at Wolf Ridge

BirdCast is a great resource if you are interested in watching the feathered friends migration happening in your area.

Follow the Migration

 

Ornithology Partnerships

Midwest Peregrine Society

Since 1987, Wolf Ridge has partnered with the Midwest Peregrine Society (MPS) to reintroduce and monitor the population of Peregrine Falcons along the North Shore.

The Peregrine Falcon population, which used to reside naturally in the Wolf Ridge area, was decimated by DDT use in the 50s and 60s. Since the late 80s, Wolf Ridge Naturalists have partnered in the banding and monitoring of the recovered population, and Wolf Ridge has been a site used to release young chicks into the wild.

Institute for Bird Populations

For nearly 30 years, Wolf Ridge has been monitoring the health of its bird populations as part of the nationwide Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) project run by the Institute for Bird Populations.

The connection of habitat and bird biodiversity at Wolf Ridge is built into teaching tools used for the bird class and other classes such as forest ecology. Each spring we invite the public to help us with bird banding. If you plan to be in the area, make sure to watch our events calendar.

UMD Natural Resources Research Institute

Wolf Ridge works collaboratively with UMD’s Natural Resources Institute (NRRI) in breeding bird research in the North Shore Highlands region with our one-mile transect survey plot on Wolf Ridge property. This diverse piece of land provides data on changing bird populations and locations of species, all of which are used in our bird class – the most highly requested ecology class at Wolf Ridge.

Tune in to hear Charlie’s Phenology report the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 8:30 am on WTIP Radio, North Shore Morning Show