Sightings Update 10/31/2022

Lark Sparrow. Photo by Chris Neri

Highlights: Lark Sparrow & Boreal Chickadees

A Lark Sparrow was present around the parking lot on October 30, but it was not seen the next day. There seems to be a small influx of Boreal Chickadees occurring in the Upper Peninsula, and there were two brief sightings at the Point this past week. Hopefully, more will be seen this season, and they will become a bit more cooperative.

The weather in recent days has been unseasonably warm. It is common for the field staff to be in full winter gear and deal with periods of snow as October ends. This season I encountered more mosquitoes than snowflakes during the last few days of October. Despite the mid-season weather, the late-season migrants have taken over. The finches have been the dominant birds at the Point this week. After being the dominant species early in the week, Purple Finch numbers have dropped off recently, and American Goldfinch are now the most numerous birds on a daily basis. Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Grosbeaks have become more regular, being seen daily in low numbers. Red Crossbill numbers have picked up, although mostly as flyovers. White-winged Crossbills have been sporadic lately but are still occasionally being seen. Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls have been seen most days but in somewhat surprisingly low numbers. Most visitors will not be particularly excited to see a Northern Cardinal at the Point, but they are actually a fairly uncommon bird here. We have had an influx of cardinals here the last few days, with five being present on October 31. Other recent sightings included Northern Goshawk, Bohemian Waxwing, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and Northern Shrike.

Northern Goshawk. Photo by Chris Neri

Tonight was the last time we would have a full field crew get-together this season. Nova Mackentley and I love having the crew over during the fall season. Owl banders Tori Steely and Dana Reid wrapped up their banding season last night. It was Tori’s fifth season of owl banding at WPBO, including two as my banding partner in the summer. It was a pleasure to have her back this season, as it was to have Dana here for her first season at WPBO. We thank them both for their hard work and friendship this season. It was nice to see them struggling to stay awake during dinner tonight, as opposed to me being woken up for passing out and starting to snore as we tried to get through a couple of episodes of a show during some of their weather nights.

~ Chris Neri
2022 Fall Field Ornithologist

Featured photo: Horned Lark. Photo by Chris Neri