Our eBird October Big Day was a success with 66 species within a 24-hour birding period, and this total was decent with these less than ideal migration conditions. We were hard-pressed for waterfowl diversity/abundance, but we were able to pull out some decent waterbirds like an adult Parasitic Jaeger. Other non-waterbird highlights during the [...]
The night of the sixth featured the second-largest flight of the season with 12 Northern Saw-whet Owls banded! Since then (likely due to wet weather conditions), we have banded only nine more Northern Saw-whet Owls. The local amphibians have been enjoying the wet woods. ~ Tim Baerwald and Byron de-Yampert You can [...]
Highlights: Townsend’s Solitaire, Willet, and Red-headed Woodpecker We continue to experience unseasonably warm weather and southerly winds. Despite the unfavorable conditions for southward migration, there have been some good sightings this past week. The Ash-throated Flycatcher first found on Oct. 2 remained through Oct. 6. A Willet was present Oct. 4–6. On Oct. 7, Townsend’s Solitaire and a Red-headed Woodpecker made brief appearances. [...]
As for waterbirds, the most notable species this week were Willet, Forster’s Tern, and Parasitic Jaeger! The Willet stayed in the Point’s pond for a few days while the tern and the jaeger passed through the area. Willet Forster's Tern Parasitic Jaeger One of the highlight non-waterbird finds this week [...]
Northern Saw-whet Owl This week was a bit of a rollercoaster with a night where we banded zero owls followed by a night where we banded 15 Northern Saw-whet Owls! Other notes of interest include having recaptures of two Northern Saw-whet Owls previously banded here in 2019! The first was banded during [...]
Highlights: Ash-throated Flycatcher (pictured above), LeConte’s Sparrow, and Black-backed Woodpecker This past week has been a little bit of déjà vu, but we’re not complaining. The season’s second Ash-throated Flycatcher was found on the evening of Oct. 2 and continued all day on the third. Previous to this fall, there were only two ash-throated records, one from [...]
Waterbird Highlights: This week (Sept. 24–30) marks the halfway point for the 2021 fall waterbird count! The waterbird species and composition have changed significantly since the start of the count; fewer shorebirds and higher numbers of diving ducks. This visual from Dunkadoo provides a general overview of what we have seen over the past seven weeks. [...]
Long-eared Owl The week started off slow as a weather system brought wind and rain to Whitefish Point, causing us to shut down early and start late on multiple nights. Our luck turned a corner on Sunday — the breeze lightened, and the weather cleared, allowing us to capture six Northern Saw-whet Owls, [...]
LeConte's Sparrow (left) & Harris's Sparrow (right) Highlights: Sedge Wren, Harris’s Sparrow, LeConte’s Sparrow, & Black-backed Woodpecker Songbird activity in the woods has been particularly good the last few days. Warbler migration may be winding down, but we've continued to see good numbers, along with decent diversity this week. The sparrow migration has [...]
Waterbird Highlights: Here are some notable sightings during the sixth week of the waterbird count (Sept. 17–23). We spotted 47 species of waterbirds, of which 19 (+1 taxa) were waterfowl (Anseriformes). The level of abundance per day is sporadic, but there have been some exciting mixed flocks of dabbler ducks and diving ducks during [...]
