The National Audubon Society recognized Duluth's Hawk Ridge as a national Important Bird Area with a dedication ceremony on Friday.
The honor is of such magnitude, employees and volunteers at Hawk Ridge are glowing with pride.
"It's Minnesota's first national Important Bird Area so designated by the National Audubon Society, so that's cool," said David Carman, chairperson of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. "We are proud and happy and glad that we got this recognition. It's a phenomenal bird area."
Friday's ceremony featured a number of speakers, including Mayor Herb Bergson, State Representative Tom Huntley and several DNR representatives.
An Important Bird Area recognizes places of natural significance to bird populations due to habitat, breeding areas and migratory pathways.
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Hawk Ridge easily met the requirements to be nominated as an Important Bird Area and has a detailed history to go along with the title.
Jan Green, one of the founding members of Hawk Ridge, said the history of the area stretches back to the 1940s, when the Duluth Bird Club organized a campaign to put a halt to the shooting of hawks and migrating birds. It was with the counting methods of retired University of Minnesota professor Jack Hofslund that people began to realize the mass numbers of raptors traveling through the area.
"All through the '50s and '60s there was quite a bit of activity up there that showed what a fabulous fly away for hawks it was," Green said.
In the 1970s, groups began trying to protect the area and worked to get the city of Duluth to acquire the land. Once it became city-owned land, Hawk Ridge was formally dedicated in 1972.
Green is excited about the new recognition Hawk Ridge is receiving.
"It brings more visibility from the community in Duluth, and the Duluth area, but most people don't put it in the context that it is important on a continental scale," Green said. "That is one of the things the Important Bird Area will do, because Important Bird Areas are a part of the National Audubon Society for all states."
Green helped with the nomination, which began in 2003, and as a member of the Audubon Technical Committee voted in favor of designating Hawk Ridge as an Important Bird Area. Hawk Ridge was designated in early 2004.
Important Bird Area programs are not available in every state, and Minnesota's program is only a few years old. Already, however, a peregrine falcon nesting site along the North Shore is likely to become the second Important Bird Site in Minnesota.
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This season, Hawk Ridge employees and volunteers are working hard to accommodate and educate the hundreds of visitors from all around the country. Hawk Ridge has more than 50 volunteers helping with programs.
Debbie Waters has been a Naturalist at Hawk Ridge since 2001. She, too, is excited about the new designation of Hawk Ridge because, she said, people might think twice about the natural wonder that they are seeing when they visit Hawk Ridge.
"People were very excited about it, but we kind of had the reaction of, 'Of course, of course, it's an Important Bird Area,'" said Waters.
On a rather slow Tuesday, Waters was able to amaze a handful of Hawk Ridge birders with an up-close encounter with a female sharp-shinned hawk.
"We want people to come up here and have a fun and enjoyable experience," Waters said. "We have very important green space and a lot of opportunity to do research on a broad spectrum of birds."
Saturday, Sept. 11, happened to be a record number day, with more than 11,000 broad-winged hawks flying over.
Two signs will be posted at Hawk Ridge informing visitors about the new recognition.
