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 a good push of migrants, and we even had a few rarities that spiced up our time out there.
Loons made an impressive late season push for the end of May, over 200 Common Loons and 69 Red-throated Loons passed by in the final days of the count. 35 Red-throats on May 27th actually tied for the season’s high count, a bit of a surprise considering the species normally peaks a couple weeks earlier. Thrilling to see were two different breeding plumaged Pacific Loons that migrated right up the shoreline; the recently reformed tip certainly is a boon to waterbird watching with many close birds rounding the point as they head out of the bay into the open waters of Lake Superior.
Pacific Loon on May 30, 2025. Photo by Skye Haas.
A hallmark of late spring migration are the huge molt migrant flocks of subadult Canada Geese. Non breeders, they linger on their wintering grounds till late May when they fly up to Hudson Bay to molt their flight feathers where the expansive coastal tundra plain gives them the protection from predators they need during a period of flightlessness. Many of the birds that pass by already have begun the molt process and look quite raggedy as they fly by! We tallied in 2,300 on the 27th of May only to record another 3,200 the following day! Among the hordes of geese a few late Cackling Geese were buried in with one flock, while another flock held a trio of Trumpeter Swans! We recorded another single Trumpeter as well as a late season Tundra Swan on the 27th, the latter likely lingering due to some weird neck injury.
A late Tundra Swan with a neck injury flew by the Point on May 27. Photo by Skye Haas.
The rest of the waterfowl clan certainly was quickly drying up, but on the 26th and 27th, the White-winged Scoters gave one last push, with around 300 birds being recorded during those two days.
End of May is a good time for shorebirds, and Max certainly hit the jackpot with 17 Red Knots on the 25th! Louie Dombroski recorded the season’s only White-rumped Sandpiper on the 29th, and while only a modest flight was recorded this year, Whimbrel were observed on most days of the last week of the count. There were a couple sightings of Lesser Black-backed Gulls in this period, and a Great Black-backed on the 27th. Also on the 27th, observed on an evening watch of the lake was a Franklin’s Gull! And on the 25th, Max recorded the only Parasitic Jaeger of the season, an adult bird headed north.
Whimbrel flying by the Point. Photo by Skye Haas.
One of the delightful parts of standing on the point at Whitefish, is all the other kinds of birds that will migrate by; raptors kept us entertained during the slower afternoons, we even got a few late migrating Rough-legged Hawks heading over the lake to their tundra haunts!
a late-season Rough-legged Hawk from the waterbird shack. Photo by Max Henschell.
Songbirds certainly had a few standout moments, there was a substantial morning flight of warblers, vireos and finches on a few mornings. There were many Cape May Warblers, Bay-breasted Warblers, Magnolia Warblers constantly launching into the air trying to continue their path northward. We even had a Connecticut Warbler launch overhead one day. The 28th of May saw a big push of Red-eyed Vireos, with at least 38 birds tallied flying over the waterbird shack! A few other goodies recorded going over included Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Philadelphia Vireo, Black-backed Woodpecker, Olive-sided Flycatcher and numerous Scarlet Tanagers. We even had a few migratory bats come off the water- an exhausted Silver-haired Bat that spent the day resting in the closest jack pine to the beach, and a Hoary Bat that only barely avoided the talons of a Merlin!
Cape May Warbler in flight. Photo by Skye Haas.
In all, it was great to have a few days back in the saddle counting at the waterbird shack at Whitefish. Watching birds here has been and always will be my favorite things to do! Louie and I had a blast being back at our old “alma mater”, and as always, the birds delivered the magic that makes Whitefish Point such a special place. I also really want to thank this year’s counters Martina and Sean for all their hard work in what are some tough conditions, the both of you really helped make sure the 2025 spring season was a big success!
~Skye Haas, former WPBO Waterbird Counter
Featured Photo: White-winged Scoters
You can now see the waterbird count data on Trektellen! Check it out at trektellen.nl/count/view/4209.
You can review the 2025 Spring Waterbird Count by reading Martina’s weekly blog posts and following WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X). The spring waterbird count runs April 15 through May 31.
