The final stretch of the fall counting season brought a mix of November weather to Whitefish Point. Temperatures ranged from the mid-to-upper 20s on the 11th before slowly warming into the upper 30s and low 40s for the remainder of the week. Wind conditions over the last few days alternated between light breezes and [...]
The 2025 fall waterbird count at Whitefish Point has officially ended. The last few days of counting were a reminder of why the season ends when it does. With just a few waterbirds moving, it’s encouraging to think that we have successfully documented the bulk of waterbird migration moving past the point this fall. Even [...]
The gradual changing of the seasons at Whitefish Point is reaching its finale. The dunes and beach grasses are now covered in snow, with the sand beneath only visible where footprints leave tracks. There was an influx of visitors on Monday for the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Parked cars lined the road [...]
This past week brought a distinctly wintery feel to Whitefish Point. From November 5th-7th, temperatures lingered in the mid-30s to low-40s with light to moderate west winds, offering chilly but manageable conditions. Things shifted starting on the morning of the 8th as temperatures fell into the upper-20s and low-30s and north winds took hold [...]
This week on the count, we closed out October and ushered in November just in time for a stiff northerly breeze to set in. The first two days of the count were fairly calm and slow for waterbirds, with the highlight being a Parasitic Jaeger that we got to watch harassing the gulls for [...]
This past week brought unmistakable signs that November has arrived at Whitefish Point. Morning temperatures now regularly begin in the 30s, and several days with overcast skies have kept the afternoons feeling brisk. Since the last blog, we experienced some south and east winds midweek before shifting to the north over the weekend, then [...]
A three-day cold front set in at the beginning of the week, producing three fun days of late-season waterbird movement. Each day was a little bit different, but as the winds switched southward towards the end of the week, we were left enjoying large flocks of winter finches and Snow Buntings with fewer waterbirds [...]
This past week brought another stretch of turbulent fall weather to Whitefish Point. Tuesday the 21st opened with heavy rain and strong south winds that made birding a challenge, but conditions changed dramatically as a cold front swept through midweek. From Wednesday through Friday, temperatures hovered in the low-mid 40s, though the wind chill [...]
The weather this week continued to be pretty mild with warm conditions and frequent south winds. Things got mixed up a bit on the 19th with a rush of 20-30mph NW winds, but even these conditions didn’t quite bring the scoters and Long-tailed Ducks we’ve been waiting for. White-winged Scoter with Red-breasted Mergansers. [...]
This past week brought a stretch of unsettled and often windy conditions to Whitefish Point. Wind direction seemed to come from every corner of the compass, with sustained winds over 20 mph from both the northwest and southeast on multiple days and lighter westerly and southwesterly winds in between. There was even a gale [...]
