Hawk Weekend Festival September 19-21, 2025

We are happy to announce our keynote speaker, Dr. Neil Paprocki! Neil is an ornithologist studying differential migration in Rough-legged Hawks and other avian species with the Idaho Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit with the University of Idaho. You can find out more on the amazing Rough-legged Hawk Project HERE. Several of the tracked Rough-legged Hawks have been documented migrating past Hawk Ridge, including 4 that flew past Nov-6-11, 2024! Neil also served as a Conservation Biologist for HawkWatch International.

Registration Information and General Schedule of Events

Online registration is now closed for the Hawk Weekend Festival. All of the field trips, workshops, and programs that required pre-registration are FULL and CLOSED. The Friday kick-off event 6-9pm at the Great Lakes Aquarium is also at capacity for attendance. Please contact Janelle Long at jlong@hawkridge.org to be placed on a waitlist or for limited availability for the Sunday 9/21 1pm Advanced Hawkwatching Workshop.

Festival wristbands ($5 daily) will be available for sale Fri-Sun 9am-3pm at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve for the hourly scheduled naturalist-led programs. If you are just interested in viewing the bird migration with us at Hawk Ridge, there is no cost or registration needed for that. For general questions, please go to hawkridge.org or call (218) 428-6209 between 9am-4pm. Thank you!

You can click HERE for detailed information on all field trips, workshops, and evening events.

General Schedule of Events: A tentative schedule of events is below. For details on all field trips, workshops, and evening events, please click HERE. For daily schedule of festival programs at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (Fri-Sun), please click HERE. Please note schedule is subject to change and registrants will be notified of any applicable changes to their pre-registered field trip/workshop/event.

Friday, September 19^th

• Full day trip: Sax-Zim Bog Birding and Natural History Tour (pre-registration required)
• 9am-4pm: Bird Migration & Programs at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (festival wristband required for hourly programs)
• 6-9pm: Kick-off Event & at the Great Lakes Aquarium (pre-registration discount, members FREE). Registration opens (6-6:30pm), social hour (6:30-7:30pm) will include a cash bar and light refreshments and the full aquarium will be open to tour, including the Raptor Ridge Exhibit. The Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Annual Meeting will begin at 7:30pm (approx. 15 minutes) followed by keynote:

Dr. Neil Paprocki, Raptor Movement Ecology: Strengthening Our Understanding of Migration Count Data

Raptor migration count sites, like Hawk Ridge, collect valuable long-term data used to generate population trends for migratory raptor species. Learn how the direct tracking of raptor movements via GPS technology can be an extremely valuable complement to migration count data because movement data can (1) identify the location of count site source populations, (2) document variation in routes traveled around count sites (including Hawk Ridge itself!), and (3) provide important context for interpreting the trends derived from long-term count data.

• 9:30pm Evening Owl Program at Hawk Ridge (pre-registration required)

NOTE: We are holding just one evening event at the festival to allow for additional evening owl programs. 

Saturday, September 20th

• Early morning: Birding Field Trips (click HERE for field trip schedule & details)
• 7am: Songbird Banding Workshop (pre-registration required)
• 9am-4pm: Bird Migration Viewing & Programs at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (festival wristband required for programs, click HERE for program schedule)
• 11am: Live Raptors Program (pre-registration required)
• 1pm: Advanced Hawk Watching/Raptor ID Workshop (pre-registration required)
• 7:30pm & 9pm: Evening Owl Programs (pre-registration required)

Sunday, September 21st

• Early morning: Birding Field Trips (click HERE for field trip schedule & details)
• 7am: Songbird Banding Workshop (pre-registration required)
• 9am-4pm: Bird Migration Viewing & Programs at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve (festival wristband required for programs, click HERE for program schedule)
• 1pm: Advanced Hawk Watching/Raptor ID Workshop (pre-registration required)
• 1pm: Birds Rock! Geology and Birding Trip (pre-registration required)
• 7:30pm & 9pm: Evening Owl Programs (pre-registration required)

Monday, September 22^nd (Post-Festival)

• 9am-4pm: Bird Migration Viewing at Hawk Ridge
• 7:30pm: Evening Owl Program (pre-registration required)

OTHER HELPFUL INFORMATION

Hawk Weekend Festival Frequently Asked Questions – click HERE

Plan Your Visit: If you have not visited Hawk Ridge, we recommend you reading our Visitor’s Guide.

Directions: Directions on how to get to Hawk Ridge and other helpful information can be found in our Visitor’s Guide under the Plan Your Visit tab from our home page. Please note Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve is an outdoor facility without a building. Portable toilets are available. Accessible parking/drop-off is available near the main overlook for those in need and other parking is along the road-side. Water, soda, and light snacks are available for purchase in our merchandise trailer. There are many restaurants within a 5-10-minute drive of Hawk Ridge or feel free to bring a cooler with food/snacks/drink (please note no alcohol is permitted in park). To view the migration comfortably, you may want to bring a chair, binoculars, and dress in layers (cold, heat, rain, sunglasses/sunscreen, hat, etc.).

Refunds/Cancellations – HRBO understands unexpected circumstances may arise. Please contact us as soon as possible with any changes, so we can plan accordingly. Some field trips/workshops may not be fully refundable after 9/15, if we cannot fill the slot from waiting list.