Swainson's Hawks - the Minnesota Connection

Since Swainson's hawks are birds of the open prairie, their range in Minnesota closely follows the boundaries of the prairie grassland areas found within the state. There have been little study of Minnesota's Swainson hawk population. In the late 1990s, The Raptor Center and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Nongame Wildlife Program conducted a study of their habits, migratory patterns, and the reason for declines in their population numbers.

Swainson's hawks are a regular migrant and summer resident of Minnesota. They are most commonly found in the southern area of the state, primarily south of the Minnesota River in Mower, Dodge, Olmsted, Goodhue, Steele, and Rice counties. A few are found in the west central and northwestern regions along the Red River Valley in Clay, Norman, Polk, Marshall, and Kittson Counties. They are occasionally observed in various other locations around the state during the summer breeding season. During the migration, Swainson's are also reported in Stearns, Pine, and Lake of the Woods Counties. It is a rare regular in St. Louis County, where at least one is usually spotted every year at Hawk Ridge near Duluth.

The southbound migration of Minnesota's Swainson's hawks begins in late August and continues through early October, with a peak in mid to late September. After spending the winter on the pampas of Argentina and perhaps nearby Bolivia, they return to Minnesota from late March through mid-May, with the majority arriving in late April. See Conservation Issues for some somber news about mass poisonings of Swainson's hawks on their South American wintering grounds.

Southern and western Minnesota have some tremendously fertile prairie soils. However, many of these prairie grasslands have been plowed under for the production of crops, and much of the Swainson's hawks' nesting and breeding habitat has been lost. One-third of Minnesota (more than 18 million acres) was once covered by the grasslands of the Great Plains. The prairie was virtually treeless and was covered with native prairie vegetation such as little bluestem, needle grass, Indian grass, and prairie cordgrass. Occasional wildfires prevented major intrusions of trees and brush, thus maintaining the dominance of the native prairie vegetation. Today, less than 150,000 acres of these prairies remain and few of these are in their natural, undisturbed state. Unfortunately, as the acres of prairie decline, so do the habitats that prairie grasslands naturally provide. A great diversity of birds, wildlife, insects, and plant life thrive in a prairie environment. Bison used to roam the western Minnesota region, elk and deer were common, waterfowl filled the marshes, and a multitude of other species, including the Swainson's hawk, made the prairies their home. However, as the availability of suitable habitats for these species dwindles, so do their variety and population numbers.

Minnesota today still claims some of the most diverse prairies on the North American continent, and fortunately, there is growing concern to preserve and maintain this unique biome and the species that live there.

Where to See Swainson's Hawks in Minnesota

A few of the better places to view Swainson's kawks in Minnesota include Felton Prairie in Clay County, Rothsay Wildlife Management Area in Wilkin County, Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in Big Stone and Lac Qui Parle Counties, and Blue Mounds State Park in Rock County. The Minnesota Ornithological Society is an excellent organization to contact for more birding hotspots as well as further information on Minnesota birding in general.