Hey birders, Raptor migration has been bottled up with the south winds we’ve been having. Today the dam burst and we had our best day ever at the Bethany Hawkwatch. Our Land of Memories City Park site had 237 raptors which is a good day in the Minnesota River Valley, but counters at Bethany Lutheran College were overwhelmed with 2,021 birds, including 1,199 Broad-wings between 11am and noon. Totals for today from the Bethany Hawkwatch appear below: Turkey Vulture: 101 Osprey: 3 Bald Eagle: 10 Northern Harrier: 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk: 106 Cooper’s Hawk: 13 Broad-winged Hawk: 1,993 Red-tailed Hawk: 17 American Kestrel: 9 Merlin: 4 Total birds: 2,258 raptors Season Total: 4,576 raptors Happy birding! Chad Heins Mankato, MN *Chad Heins* Assistant Professor of Biology Bethany Lutheran College 700 Luther Drive Mankato, MN 56001 Office: 507.344.7327 | Toll Free: 800.944.3066 [log in to unmask] www.blc.edu