This past week has been highlighted by an early fall heat wave that stretched across much of the Midwest, bringing balmy temperatures reaching almost 80 degrees on at least four days. On multiple days, the strong southerly breeze accompanying this heat wave had thwarted southbound migration, with waterbirds reluctant to spend excess energy fighting [...]
Over the past week, the waterbird count has experienced a couple slower days of migration but has also been highlighted by the arrival of several new species and a few interesting sightings. Red-necked Grebes continue moving in good numbers and have been the most prevalent species on flight days. August 25 showcased a large [...]
This past week was bookended by two strong weather fronts, each bringing an interesting array of waterbirds to the area. A powerful cold front passed across the region on the morning of Aug. 17. Down-pouring rain and a strong southerly breeze met me upon arrival at the waterbird shack. After three hours of pelting [...]
The fall 2023 waterbird count got off to a strong start with some excellent weather and pleasantly warm temperatures for the first two days of the season. Many visitors to the Point this week (including myself) could be seen in short-sleeved shirts and shorts, enjoying the pleasant conditions. Waterbird migration so far has been [...]
As November rolls in, that means we have almost reached the end of the fall waterbird count. Even though there has yet to be snow that has stayed on the ground, the water and woods at the Point are dominated by winter species, including Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and Common Merganser. Winter finch [...]
Greater Scaup. Photo by Alec Olivier The recent week has continued to prove that October is the month for migrating waterbirds. Long-tailed Ducks continue to migrate in notable numbers, with several days over 1,000 recently. Slow days comprise around 200–300 Long-tailed Ducks, which for any other species is a great day. Common [...]
This week was much slower than the previous week, but there have still been some decent flights of waterbirds. As of the writing of this blog, the season total for Long-tailed Ducks is 36,438! This is the highest season total for the fall waterbird count, and this is likely due to the major windstorm [...]
Two species have dominated the past week. The first is possibly the rarest waterbird to be recorded on a waterbird count at Whitefish Point. On Sunday, October 16, a Bar-tailed Godwit briefly circled the pond at the Point and eventually headed west down Lake Superior. This is a mainly old-world species with a small [...]
October continues to produce great flights in the last week. Aythya numbers continue to dominate the flights, but there have also been good numbers of scoters and dabblers as well. A large flight on Oct. 8 produced over 1,000 Aythya, with 900 of those being scaup. There were also 270 American Wigeons on Oct. [...]
Waterbird migration continues to get better during the first week of October. On Oct. 6, the season's biggest day occurred, with a highlight being the major goose flight — 1,308 Canada Geese were counted, with the majority being counted in the last hour. A single Cackling Goose and two snow/ross's geese were mixed in [...]
