Fall Field Ornithologist Update: Week 14 (Nov 11th – Nov 15th)

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.

 

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.