At WPBO, we measure things less by day or date than we do by seasonal happenings. See, for example: “The day the snow slid off the roof;” “The night the spring peepers began to sing;” “The day the sky was full of cranes and their voices.” Instead of observing Daylight Savings Time, the owl [...]
This week was unexpectedly productive after experiencing a particularly disappointing stretch of owl migration prior to our last blog post. As we looked at the extended weather forecast as we wrote last week’s blog, it looked like we would be lucky to get even one night of banding in this past week. Not only [...]
After weeks of staring at largely lackluster skies, the last few days have, without a doubt, proved that migration is fully underway here at Whitefish Point. Not only is your friendly neighborhood raptor counter seeing more raptors, but I also see more bare ground after rains, and warmer temperatures have melted much of the [...]
This is my third spring conducting WPBO’s spring waterbird count. I am delighted to be back, for I love Whitefish Point, and in particular, I love observing spring migration here. The season is short, the flights intense, the hours of migration run around the clock. With the whole season ahead of me, there is [...]
Well, there's no real reason to sugarcoat our disappointment over this past week's results. The weather is really starting to get the better of us. I don't remember a season in my previous 20 years of spring owl banding here when we had so many nights of unfavorable weather conditions at this point in [...]
The snow falls sideways here at Whitefish Point. Two miles down the road, I can look out my bedroom window and see a light snowfall drifting out of the sky, and it's the kind of snowfall that makes me think I am living inside the idyllic world of a snow globe. However, when I [...]
We feel like we're in repeat mode every time we sit down to write a blog this spring. The weather continues to be particularly unsettled, frequently limiting our ability to open the nets. The first thunderstorm of the year is currently passing over the Point as we write this. The first decent push of [...]
The gales buffeted the hawk shack for hours, and out on the deck, they rendered my spotting scope useless as it vibrated whatever I was seeing through it beyond recognition. However, it turned out that the scene unfolding before my eyes was best viewed through my own eyes. Optics of any kind only diminished [...]
The unsettled weather continues to be of significant negative impact on the season, but we have again seen little signs of hope since our last post. This past week we banded another 29 Northern Saw-whet Owls and caught another that was previously banded. On Sunday night, we heard the first two Long-eared Owls of [...]
This morning is different. Somehow my senses seem sharper, the world around me is magnified, and I am able to take in everything at once. Yes, the snow has stopped. Yes, it is warmer; the mercury in the thermometer has risen to 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Fog filters through the spruce forest, shrouding the snow-covered [...]
