raptor watch

Time to watch for, and count raptors: The next 3 months are the time to watch the skies for migrating raptors. Depending on where you live, there's probably a good raptor watch location not far away. There are a number of well-known locations in Wisconsin where raptors have been known to concentrate during migration, with long-term data still being collected at most of them. See the map reproduced here at left, for approximate locations in eastern, western, and northern Wisconsin.

September and October are peak months for Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, Merlin, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, and Broad-winged Hawks. Bald Eagles, American Kestrels, and Turkey Vultures are also fairly numerous, with Peregrine Falcons, Northern Goshawks less so. On the Lake Michigan shoreline sites, the best days are those with west and northwest winds.