Spring Waterbird Count 4/29-5/5- Diver Days

It’s hard to believe, but we are already halfway through the Spring Waterbird Count! The third week of the count was very eventful and full of highlights!

Red-necked Grebes by Martina Nordstrand

April 29th featured an exciting weather switch, with southwest winds overnight and into the first few hours of the count. This meant that we started with some fantastic waterbird movement- I had excellent flocks of Greater Scaup moving, as well as Red-necked Grebes, White-winged Scoters, and Common Goldeneyes. There was also a solid Sharp-shinned Hawk movement and we also picked up a Short-eared Owl heading from the hawkwatch to Canada. As the morning progressed, extremely thick fog rolled in, limiting my ability to detect birds. At one point, I could barely make out the treeline behind the shack! Around 10am, I finally felt the first gentle breeze from the northwest, which lifted the fog in seconds. The predicted cold front arrived quietly but quickly became an intense gale of about 30mph winds with 50mph gusts. While this weather switch meant poorer migration conditions for many, the waterbirds still moved through the wind. The result was a count of 95 Horned Grebes, all in lovely breeding dress. The average count for Horned Grebes in the spring is 39- for the entire season! So far, it appears to be a banner year for both grebe species at the count. There was one new species for the season this day, two Lesser Yellowlegs flying with two Greaters.

Red-necked and Horned Grebes by Martina Nordstrand

April 30th was beautifully calm with variable winds that switched basically hourly. It was certainly a welcome relief from the day before! There was some decent duck diversity, featuring 6 Ring-necked Ducks, a few Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, and another decent push of Greater Scaup and unidentified scaup species. There was only one new species for the season, 7 long-awaited Bonaparte’s Gulls flying distantly over the lake.

I started the first day of May with a pair of Surf Scoters, the first for the season and a species I was especially delighted to see! I also picked up the first Blue-winged Teal for the count, a sure sign of spring. Unfortunately, the southerly winds didn’t bring as many birds as I would’ve liked, but it was still a pleasant day to be counting.

May 2nd was a chilly, overcast day with a few bouts of rain and drizzle throughout the day. The lake was rather quiet, but I had a nice total of 11 Red-throated Loons, 6 of which flew by in the last 20 minutes of the count.

Red-throated Loon flock by Martina Nordstrand

Common Loon at morning by Martina Nordstrand

May 3rd had light north winds, which may not seem great for bird movement on paper, but it was the first day of triple-digit Common Loons with 303 counted! Besides loons, not much else was moving, but in the evening, there was a Snowy Owl on the beach south of the shack.

Immature Snowy Owl by Martina Nordstrand

Loons continued to increase on May 4, with 419 tallied. The highlight, however, was a lone Willet migrating silently north in the mid-morning. This species has been missed in the last two years of the spring count, so I was happy to end that streak. There was also an incredible raptor flight this day, and a few times, I almost missed Common Loons that were migrating through the big kettles of Broad-winged Hawks!

Willet by Martina Nordstrand

Another 366 Common Loons were counted on May 5. More Bonaparte’s Gulls and Lesser Yellowlegs were tallied, too, the former of which should be increasing this next week.

Common Loon by Martina Nordstrand

The upcoming week appears to be great weather for both birds and birders, and as we approach the historic peaks for many species, it’s looking like an exciting week ahead!

Martina Nordstrand, Spring 2025 Waterbird Counter

Featured photo: Horned Grebes in flight by Martina Nordstrand