The second week of the Spring Waterbird Count saw the arrivals and peaks of many waterbirds, with many first-of-season sightings!

Apr 22 was a quieter day, without much waterbird movement over the course of the day. I did have a few Green-winged Teal which are always a treat to see, and a decent crane count with 318 counted for the day.

Female Green-winged Teal by Martina Nordstrand

Apr 23 was a bit more diverse with favorable SE winds most of the day. Red-necked Grebes began to pick up in number, and I had a nice flock of 19 Northern Pintail.

The next day, Apr 24, was the most diverse count during this period, but was very front-loaded. The lake was beautiful and clear, and the birds were moving. I achieved the season single-day high counts (currently) of Mallard (39), American Black Duck (6), Common Goldeneye (123), and Red-breasted Merganser (76). Additionally, there was a great songbird and raptor flight- I counted 591 Sharp-shinned Hawks in the stretch of about 3 hours. Unfortunately, the weather changed quickly and by around 9:30-10:00am, I was surrounded by dense fog which shut down the flight and made it difficult to detect birds. Nevertheless, I was able to pick out the count’s first Caspian Tern of the season in the afternoon!

Northern Pintails by Martina Nordstrand

Apr 25 was a cold, foggy, drizzly day that I didn’t have many expectations for. Fortunately, waterbirds don’t mind the rain much and remained active enough to keep me on my toes. Dabbling ducks were the main movers of the day. This count can be very hit or miss with dabblers, so I am always happy to see some flying by! I got three first-of-season species this day; Great Black-backed Gull (although one was spotted over the hawkwatch on Apr 16), Red-throated Loon (6), and Lesser Scaup (3). I also had a total of 9 Wood Ducks, 4 American Wigeon, and 83 Northern Pintail- the migrants of the day! The cooler spring appears to have helped bolster duck numbers this year, as the 2024 count had 85 Northern Pintail counted for the entire season. This day also saw the first significant Red-necked Grebe numbers, with 118 counted.

Red-necked Grebe flock by Martina Nordstrand

April 26 was a welcome sunny day, and while it was a slower day, I was more than happy to warm up in the sun. This was one of the first days I was able to comfortably shed some layers, so no complaints here! Aside from a nice count of 608 Sandhill Cranes, there was a noticeable uptick in gull activity this day. American Herring Gulls are one of the most difficult birds to accurately count migrating, but there was perhaps double the amount of gulls usually on the breakwall of the harbor. I picked out the second Great and Lesser Black-backed Gulls of the count in the morning, and to my delight, a second-year Iceland Gull fed just off the point with a flock of other gulls, the first for the season.

Iceland Gull by Martina Nordstrand

April 27 had perhaps my favorite morning conditions of the week. After almost two weeks of dealing with wind, the lake was perfectly calm this morning and glassy. I could see farther than I could before, which allowed me to count the season’s current high count of Red-necked Grebes on the bay- 370! It was incredible to see rafts of grebes sitting on the water to practically the horizon.

There was another exciting arrival that morning- Piping Plovers have returned to Whitefish Point! The question I have probably received the most is when the plovers would arrive, and I was delighted to finally have an answer.

Piping Plover by Martina Nordstrand

Aside from grebes and plovers, I also had the first Trumpeter Swans (4) of the count!

April 28 was another promising morning with ideal southwest winds. While we had hoped more from a loon flight, the 92 that were counted is the highest day total yet this season. Two new species were tallied for the season, the first Solitary Sandpiper and a distant Glaucous Gull! In non-waterbird highlights, there was an exceptional Sharp-shinned Hawk flight that day as well. Two Great Blue Herons were also counted, an uncommon species on the count.

Great Blue Heron by Martina Nordstrand

We are approaching the historical peaks for many species in the coming week! It looks to be rather chilly still, but there are several days of predicted south winds. Hope to see you at the shack!

 

-Martina Nordstrand, Spring 2025 Waterbird Counter