Broad-winged Hawks

2025 Fall Raptor Watch

Events

By Tony Moline
[from winter 2025 newsletter]

On September 21st, Audubon members participated in the annual fall raptor watch at Mines of Spain in Dubuque. Viewing was centered around the prairie overlook on the Cedar Ridge/Prairie Ridge trail. Late September is prime time for large kettles of Broad-Winged Hawks to form as they move south, and they did not disappoint, with over 230 individuals passing through the area over a two-hour period.

Other species observed moving through the area included Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks, a Cooper’s Hawk, and a group of 9 Common Nighthawks!

Photo © Joyce Pape Hartig
Fall 2025 Raptor Watch

Related Posts

Events

By Tony Moline
[from summer 2026 newsletter]

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Events

By Bob Walton
[from summer 2026 newsletter]

March 7th found Sandy and me at the Green Island Channel 4 parking lot around 5:20 a.m. to participate in the Dubuque Audubon’s 47th annual spring waterfowl watch. I have always enjoyed the pre-dawn sounds of the marsh and try to be there as much as an hour before the main group arrives at sunrise.

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Events

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Below are highlights from recent outings:

Big Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area
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Events

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On Saturday, May 10th, 28 Dubuque Audubon members and guests participated in the Annual Spring Bird Count. This year’s count coincided with World Migratory Bird day and the Global Big Day.

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Events

Thanks to everyone who came out to the raptor watch at the Mines of Spain! We counted 53 Broad-winged Hawks. When they seemed to drop down on us from above, we speculated that there may have been many more that we couldn't see due to the cloud coverage.

Events

We had a nice-sized group for our pop-up field trip yesterday at the Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area. The warblers did not cooperate by showing up at the overlook, but we had an enjoyable morning!

Events

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Events

Our annual spring species count, held on Saturday, May 11, 2024, was a great success! Despite virtually no shorebirds and only one owl species, we were able to locate 145 individual species!

Articles, Events

Spring in the Mississippi Wetlands
By Bob Walton
[from March 2024 newsletter]

Dubuque Audubon’s annual Duck Waddle at the Green Island Marsh will be on March 9, 2024... Audubon’s first Duck Waddle was on March 17, 1979... The biggest thrill was seeing... every trip to Green Island is unique and special, but one of the most memorable was...

Christmas Bird Count

On 12/30/23, we had a total of 23 participants who counted 71 species and 23,779 total birds! We added an additional 5 species seen during count week, for a total of 76 species. (Count week includes the 3 days before and 3 days after the count day, for a total of 7 days.)