This weekend saw an increase in the numbers of both Common and Red-throated Loons at Whitefish Point. On Saturday, April 23, a few lucky visitors witnessed a flock of three Red-throated Loons fly right over the waterbird shack! That day’s loon totals were four Red-throated and six Common.
Numbers of both greatly increased on Sunday, April 24, with 50 Common Loons and 11 Red-throated Loons counted in a little over ten hours of effort. the daily total for another signature bird of Whitefish Point, the Red-necked Grebe, reached 49. This was the first date this spring for any of these species to number more than 10.
Greater Scaup by Skye Haas
There was also the beginnings of a good duck flight on Sunday, with Greater Scaup (63), Common Goldeneye (38), and Long-tailed Ducks (20) being the most numerous.
Unusual gull sightings included 4 Great Black-backed Gulls, and one each of Glaucous and Iceland Gulls. A flock of 12 Greater Yellowlegs spend some time in the pond that has developed near the tip of the point. This pond may help Whitefish Point hold on to some shorebirds that normally would fly on past, and I expect that it will still hold water during the upcoming Spring Fling weekend, especially if tomorrow’s forecast of more than half an inch of rain proves accurate.
Louie Dombroski
Waterbird Counter
