On the morning of May 4, I spotted large flocks of birds high in the air on the way to the observation deck — they were Blue Jays migrating over the Point in the hundreds. I don’t believe I have ever seen that many Blue Jays at once!
Immature Sharp-shinned Hawk. Photo by Michael Patrikeev
The raptor count on May 4 at Whitefish Point was exceptional! Waves of Sharp-shinned Hawks passed overhead almost nonstop. At times, there were as many as 20 or 30 of them in the air followed by even more. The spectacle lasted all day long, although the higher numbers migrated during the morning hours. At the end of the count, I logged 1,995 Sharp-shinned Hawks! I’ll check records from previous years, but this is certainly one of the highest daily counts of Sharp-shinned Hawks at this site in the last decade.
Sharp-shinned Hawks are leading the hawk race by a wide margin so far (5,664), with Broad-winged Hawks lagging behind (3,248). Although thousands of Broad-winged Hawks are often recorded daily at Mackinac Straits, fewer reach Whitefish Point. Daily counts are generally in the hundreds here, but May 2 saw a spectacular flight of 1,256.
~ Michael Patrikeev
2024 Raptor Counter
Featured photo: Hundreds of Blue Jays flew over Whitefish Point on May 4. Photo by Michael Patrikeev
You can see updates for the 2024 Raptor Count on hawkcount.org, read Michael’s weekly blog post, and follow WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X) for raptor count highlights this season. The raptor count runs March 15 through May 31.
Michael Patrikeev, M.S., is a graduate of St. Petersburg State University (Russia) and studied diurnal birds of prey for his M.S. In later years, he worked at the Lower-Svir Nature Reserve in Russia, and then headed the wildlife inventory section at the Ecological Centre of Azerbaijan. He conducted avifaunal surveys and inventories in the latter country and published “The Birds of Azerbaijan” in 2004. Michael arrived in Canada in 1992 and has since worked for the Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Parks Canada, The Nature Conservancy, and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Michael is semi-retired and works in Canada and the United States for wildlife-related contracts. His private interests include the conservation of tropical birds and amphibians.
