A Rocha’s Pembina Valley raptor migration count made the front page of “The Winkler Morden Voice.” The article chronicles the amazing number of migrating raptors recorded during the 2011 Hawk Watch.

This year’s count was truly astounding. We exceeded the 13,000 mark for total raptors and came near 11,000 for Red-tailed Hawks!  Never before in the history of the count have we had this many raptors counted in the Pembina Valley. Hundreds of Manitobans have enjoyed the spectacle over the years, both young and old. You can follow the count at www.hawkcount.org.

The Pembina Valley is truly Manitoba’s premier raptor highway and North America’s hottest spot for spring migrating Red-tailed Hawks. We at A Rocha hope that, thanks to the contribution of data collected over the past seven years of the Hawk Watch monitoring, the Pembina Valley will be recognized as an Important Bird Area – a status designation with international recognition.

Paul Goossen
Volunteer Co-ordinator, A Rocha’s Pembina Valley Raptor Migration Project