It’s been a busy week for waterbirds! Despite the rainy weather, we have seen several big pushes over the last week. April 27 saw what will probably be the biggest push of scaup this season, with 656 birds (mostly Greater Scaup) passing the Point. This week also saw increasing numbers of White-winged Scoters as well as the season’s first Surf Scoter. Peak loon migration is also around the corner; May 1 saw our first triple-digit day for Common Loons with 329 birds.
More and more, shorebirds are also starting to arrive this far north. April 27 brought a very early group of 18 Willet. Several Wilson’s Snipe, a pair of Sanderlings, and more Greater Yellowlegs have also shown up this past week. Perhaps most excitingly, Piping Plovers are back! A pair have been hanging around the beach, with the first bird arriving on April 28 and the second on May 1. We hope they will soon start nesting!
Several more species of songbirds have started to show up. American Pipits and Tree Swallows have become fairly frequent flybys at the beach. Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets also seem to be increasing in abundance at the Point. Hopefully, this upcoming week will bring some new songbirds!
~ Troy Herrel
2024 Spring Waterbird Counter
Featured photo: Common Loon. Photo by Troy Herrel
Troy is a recent graduate from The Ohio State University where he obtained a degree in zoology. He has experience banding passerines and raptors, conducting point counts, and doing migration surveys. He spent last fall at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, where he assisted the biologists with various research and educational outreach. He hopes to one day get a master’s degree and continue working with wildlife.
