Black coffee and bright wind maps: that’s how I start days, up here in Paradise. As I trace back towards the source of the colorful lines that flow past the Point, I imagine — and anticipate — the birds they might be ferrying. When this morning ritual is complete, I throw on my heavy layers [...]
The varying weather conditions have naturally been affecting the owl migration, but we've had a few good nights since our last post. We continue to be surprised by the low numbers of Northern Saw-whet Owls recently. During the first five nights of the season, nightly numbers of saw-whets hit double digits three times. Despite some [...]
It's Easter Monday, and as I stand here on the hawk deck at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory — in below-freezing temperatures, with frigid north winds whipping off of Lake Superior, and snow (yes SNOW) falling from the sky — I have to ask myself, "Has the time moved at all?" There may be less snow [...]
The recent nights have regularly been filled with hoots, honks, howls, wing-claps, wing-twitterings, and peents as spring continues to return to the Point a bit early this year. The owl migration has produced a bit of a mixed bag since our last post. Species diversity has been good, but the Northern Saw-whet Owl numbers have [...]
What exactly is it about a sunny day that seems to bring out the best in everything? From people to plants, and of course, to birds, the entire world rejoices in the splendor of bright daylight. With the exception of plants (who take that wonderful sunlight and turn into vital life energy), perhaps no other [...]
Although the recent weather patterns have not been particularly good for banding, the owls have remained fairly steady. The weather has also cooperated by giving us a few nights off this season, which our legs appreciate given how rough the conditions have been for snowshoeing recently. In our last post, we mentioned having seen the [...]
They say that March "Comes in like an Eagle, goes out like a Dove"… that is what they say, right? Well, regardless of what they say, that's what I, your friendly neighborhood hawk counter likes to say. The second half of March has seen no shortage of blustery winds, heavy clouds, and damp conditions, all [...]
The March nights have continued to be productive since our first post, and we've seen the first signs of the diversity that makes Whitefish Point such an amazing owl migration site. A couple of hours after publishing the last owl blog, the first Boreal Owl of the season arrived. We love Boreal Owls. On the [...]
There is nothing like a gray day to set one's mind on a contemplative path and the first week of the hawk count certainly provided me with a string of them. Luckily for me, a watcher of the skies, my only limits were the clouds. Even so, my imagination takes me far beyond and if [...]
The start of the season is always an exciting time, but we have to admit that when mid-March still feels like the dead of winter our enthusiasm is affected. Thankfully, conditions are not too bad this year and by mid-February we were already looking forward to the season. As per usual, there is still several [...]
