I am sure you have heard the expression "a picture is worth a thousand words" but, have you ever asked yourself how much a picture costs? These days, I am just as likely to see a person carrying a camera up to the hawk deck as I am likely to see a person carrying [...]
This past week started with some productive nights, but then strong north winds and periods of snow shut down the owl migration for a few nights. That said, along with more saw-whets and long-eareds, we banded the first Barred Owls and American Woodcock of the spring this week. Although the owls are our favorites, [...]
It never ceases to amaze me how dependent a day, or even a week, can be on the weather. Only by spending every entire day outside can one even begin to appreciate how sheltered and comfortable our human lives are. With the exception of an unfortunate segment of our population, spending time outdoors is [...]
Although the pace has slowed since we had an 88 owl night on April 6, the owls have been surprisingly consistent this past week. We say surprisingly because we've experienced varying weather conditions recently, including some that are typically not productive for us. We banded another 143 owls and caught 12 more previously banded [...]
Last week was a stellar week for raptor migration here at Whitefish Point — a week that predicted nothing but rain turned into a week of nothing but birds, birds, and more birds! Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks came in the hundreds, peaking on Saturday with over 500 Red-tailed Hawks in the sky at one [...]
April has started with a bit of a bang. In the last week, we have captured 248 owls. This brings the season's banding totals to 332 Northern Saw-whet Owls, 80 Long-eared Owls, and seven Boreal Owls. We have also recaptured 25 previously banded saw-whets. The first Boreal Owl (BOOW) of the season arrived on [...]
After a string of several days where strong north winds stalled migration and kept yours truly huddling in the hawk shack trying to stay warm, the past four days have had a sweet south breeze, and along with warmer temperatures, it has brought birds! My first clue to this change in avian traffic was [...]
After experiencing a nice stretch of productive weather conditions prior to our last post, the recent weather patterns have regularly slowed down migration, if not shut us down altogether. That said, we did have a few windows when Northern Saw-whet Owls were on the move between periods of high winds and snow. Most notably, [...]
Let there be no illusion that hawk watching is full of frame-filling, jaw-dropping images of raptors swooping past you in all their glory. Let there also be no illusion that time spent early-season hawk watching is filled with flights that never allow for one dull moment. March skies cover Whitefish Point like a steel [...]
When you're working with migratory birds at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in mid-March, your efforts are naturally going to produce results that vary significantly from year to year. We experienced a relatively mild winter this year, and our early season efforts are paying off. Northern Saw-whet Owls have continued to come through in steady [...]
