The mid-May migration of Bonaparte’s Gulls and scoters past Whitefish Point has finally begun! White-winged Scoters were especially late in arriving at the point in this late spring, with none recorded until May 7, when five were seen. They’ve been seen daily since, with 78 on May 9; in most years a few are spotted in late April. I’m hoping this means a compacted migration with strong flights in the coming two weeks. May 9 was also the arrival date for Surf Scoter, with ten counted.
Similarly, Bonaparte’s Gulls didn’t show up until May this year, but by May 9, flocks totaling 149 individuals were observed. On May 12, there were only 19 seen during the standard eight hour count starting at sunrise, but I still thought it might be worth checking in the evening to see if any were flying. I arrived at the point just in time to see a flock of 110 fly past the tip at about 8:45 p.m. In the next half hour another ten flew by. No scoters though.
As I write this at 6:30 p.m. on May 13, I’m getting ready to head out to the point again to see if any evening flight materializes. I’ll posts the results soon.
