Whitefish Point In a few short days tiny Piping Plover chicks will be emerging from their protective shells to venture the shore of Whitefish Point. Vie and Little Bill Bob have kept true to their duty, making my job easy as I watch them peacefully incubate. The chicks are due to hatch June 22. [...]
Greetings! Former counter Skye Haas here, with a wrap-up post about the end of the WPBO spring 2025 Waterbird Count. With Martina needing to start her summer gig, I, along with Louie Dombroski and Max Henschell (also both former WPBO waterbird counters), filled in for the last week of the season. The late spring favored [...]
Whitefish Point I hope you weren’t waiting with bated breath, because the only news I have to report is that everything is normal at Whitefish Point. But normal is great, it’s what we hope for. Little Bill Bob and Vie have been faithfully incubating their clutch of four each day, ensuring that their young [...]
Whitefish Point I’m glad to report that nesting progress at Whitefish Point is running smoothly. Each day Little Bill Bob and his mate Vie take turns incubating their nest of four, switching shifts about every hour. When one does leave the nest to forage, it’s not unlikely to run into Hot Shot on the [...]
Whitefish Point Vie has laid her fourth egg, meaning incubation has begun! In around 26 days tiny Piping Plover chicks will be running around at the Point. In the meantime Vie and Little Bill Bob will be taking turns sitting on the eggs while the embryos develop inside. Hot Shot is still moseying around [...]
Osprey by Sean McLaughlin In the penultimate week of hawkwatching at Whitefish Point this spring, we have finally begun to see migration slip back into low gear. Seasonal totals are nearing their zenith, but daily totals are dropping by the day. It is sad to see the final days of migration arrive, [...]
Whitefish Point PIPL X,B:-,O Male from Vermilion Point. Photo by Stephanie Owens PIPL Little Bill Bob performing a broken-wing display. Photo by Stephanie Owens Little Bill Bob and Vie had been taking the past week slow, and I don’t blame them. It must be hard work growing eggs and deciding [...]
Hi everyone! The 5th week of the waterbird count has flown by! I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but like other weeks, it was a mixed bag of exciting days and quiet moments. This is, unfortunately, my last full week as your waterbird counter. My last day of counting will [...]
The past week at the hawk watch was pleasant. Mid-May means warmer temperatures, diverse flights, and the arrival of breeding boreal songbirds. Spring-like conditions delivered consistent Sharp-shinned Hawk and Bald Eagle flights alongside dwindling numbers of buteos and falcons. It is rewarding and heartwarming to make it to the back end of a season, [...]
Things are shaping up to be another successful Piping Plover breeding season at Whitefish Point. The plovers have been arriving at the Point since April 27, and our pair from last year have found each other again. Just a refresher, that pair is Of,bL:X,B/O/B (Male, aka Little Bill Bob) and X,V:Of,YY (Female, aka Violet [...]
