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 powerful bursts off Lake Superior that made it difficult to even stand on the beach at times. Precipitation was also common, with light-to-moderate showers of rain and snow falling on four of the last five days of the season. The constant shifts between snow, rain, wind, and calmer moments over the last week created an unmistakably late-fall atmosphere is characteristic of the often unpredictable November weather at the Point.

The small lake that formed on the beach during strong winds and rain on the last day of the season. Photo by Clay Bliznick.

Pine Grosbeak in flight. Photo by Clay Bliznick.

Songbird numbers continued their expected decline during the final week, although not dramatically more than what we had seen earlier in November. We did receive one more pulse of finches that lingered through the season’s end. On the 13th, a total of forty-eight Evening Grosbeaks were tallied on the waterbird count. On the 14th, at least twenty-seven Pine Grosbeaks were tallied on the morning flight count, and lastly, several cooperative Redpoll flocks were present throughout the final few days. After being scarce for most of the fall, White-winged Crossbills also became more regular during the final stretch. Other late-season birds included a couple Ruffed Grouse that stayed through the 14th, while the last Snowy Owls of the season appeared on the 12th and 13th. As expected for mid-November, most other songbirds were either very low in abundance or absent entirely.

The final weekend brought one last bird walk on November 15th, with four participants braving the blasts of wind and threat of rain. Despite the difficult weather, the walk turned out to be a memorable one. A flock of Redpolls fed on Evening Primrose seeds just feet away from the group near the parking lot restoration area, providing close and satisfying views. While looping out toward the beach, we stopped to scan the gulls in the harbor and picked out a much larger bird among them in binoculars. I mentioned it could be a Great Black-backed Gull, and after the walk, two participants, Karen and Malissa, headed down for a closer look and confirmed the identification. This first-cycle individual stayed throughout the afternoon/evening and became our 211th bird species of the fall and the final addition to this season’s WPBO species list.

Great Black-backed Gull landing on water just before dark at the harbor. Photo by Clay Bliznick.

Our marker board with the season total of species observed by Frank & I. The board shows a grand total of 210, but Great Black-backed Gull after the fact makes #211. Photo by Clay Bliznick.

On afternoon of November 15th, a group of eleven helpers made up of WPBO staff and local volunteers met at the Point to move the waterbird counting station off the beach to a more sheltered location where it will hopefully be safe from the gales of November and the powerful waves that have claimed previous structures. Thanks to the teamwork and a fortunate break in the weather, the move went smoothly. The station will return to the beach in April for the start of the 2026 spring waterbird count, which begins on April 15th and runs through May 31st. Spring at Whitefish Point brings an entirely different kind of migration magic, and we hope many of you can join us again when the migration season begins anew.

Getting the waterbird count station placed in its winter home. Photo by Susan Kielb.

Featured Image Redpoll by Clay Bliznick.

Track the morning flight counts on Trektellen.

Keep up with the 2025 Fall Field Ornithologist’s weekly blog posts and follow WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X).

Join Clay for one of his WPBO Migratory Bird Walks offered every weekend through November 15.
Learn more at wpbo.org/events.

Clay Bliznick, MS: 2025 Fall Field Ornithologist

Clay worked as the WPBO fall field ornithologist in 2024 and is excited to return for the fall of 2025. He first took an interest in birds during a high school trip to Alaska, where he was struck by the flamboyance of magpies, the sleek, penguin-like appearance of alcids, and the sheer number of waterbirds residing along the coast. He dove headfirst into the world of birding while an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky, spending every free second exploring his home state for exciting new birds and places. Afterwards, he attended graduate school at Murray State University and wrote a master’s thesis examining the response of bird communities to environmental factors in Western KY bottomland hardwood forest restorations. For the last several years, Clay has traveled throughout the US working with birds in varying capacities, including nest monitoring of Florida Grasshopper Sparrows and Crested Caracaras, conducting surveys of Swallow-tailed Kite post-breeding roosts, and collecting breeding bird data in North and South Dakota for the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.