Our last full week at Whitefish Point is in the books, and we have just a couple of days left to count waterbirds and watch the last waves of fall migration. We are still having some good days for waterbird movement, albeit fewer than a couple of weeks ago. Most of our songbirds have departed for the season as well. Besides the trees and shrubs near the bird feeders, exploring the woods and paths around the Point turns up precious few birds.
The one exception to this is the winter finches. We’ve had a couple of our best winter finch days in the past week, and most days, there have been large flocks of American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins flying overhead. Additionally, we’ve continued to see impressive numbers of White-winged Crossbills with some Red Crossbills sprinkled in, plus some Evening Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls every now and then. The one species that has been notably absent thus far is Bohemian Waxwing, and with few berries here at the Point to entice them, we may not get more than a quick flyover by the end of the season.
While things have been relatively quiet over the past week, we’ve had a couple of notable birds. An evening check of the harbor on 11/6 turned up our first Lesser Black-backed Gull of the season, which stuck around for the next day so we could spot it on the waterbird count. The last addition to our Sunday morning bird hike on 11/10 was a late Barn Swallow flying over the boardwalk and trailing a flock of Evening Grosbeaks.
We have a few days left with plenty of potential for oddball vagrants and other scarce wintering species, so there’s still a chance to add some new birds to our list this fall. As it stands, Fall Waterbird Counter Hannah Leabhart and I have seen 204 species at the Point this season, including some incredible birds such as Burrowing Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and more! It’s been such a fun and fantastic season here at Whitefish Point, and we’re looking forward to finishing up strong with some more exciting birds.
~ Clay Bliznick
2024 Fall Field Ornithologist
Featured photo: A sharp-looking male Evening Grosbeak hanging out near the feeders. Photo by Clay Bliznick
Two American Goldfinch getting into a squabble at the bird bath. Photo by Clay Bliznick
A male Brown-headed Cowbird is one of our stragglers hanging around the feeders. Photo by Clay Bliznick
Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull in amongst the Herring Gulls at the harbor. Photo by Clay Bliznick
Male White-winged Crossbill feeding nice and low in a jack pine. Photo by Clay Bliznick
Our list of bird species and the dates we first observed them this fall. Photo by Clay Bliznick
You can keep up with the 2024 Fall Field Ornithologist by reading Clay’s weekly blog posts and following WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X).
Would you like to go birding with Clay? Join him for one of his WPBO Migratory Bird Walks this season. Learn more at wpbo.org/events.
Clay Bliznick, MS: 2024 Fall Field Ornithologist
Clay first took an interest in birds during a high school trip to Alaska, where he was struck by the flamboyance of magpies, the sleek, penguin-like appearance of alcids, and the sheer number of waterbirds residing along the coast. He dived headfirst into the birding world while an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky, spending every free second exploring his home state for exciting new birds and places. Afterward, he attended graduate school at Murray State University and wrote a master’s thesis examining the response of bird communities to environmental factors in Western Kentucky bottomland hardwood forest restorations. Most recently, Clay has been living in South Florida, where he’s worked closely with many charismatic birds, such as the Crested Caracara, Swallow-tailed Kite, and Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Clay is excited to join the Michigan Audubon team at WPBO as a fall field ornithologist and is eager to observe the spectacle of bird migration in the Upper Peninsula firsthand.
