The first week of the fall count at Whitefish Point has officially wrapped up, and the waterbirds are starting to move. We had 29 species of waterbird pass by the Point during our counts this week, with the most numerous being Red-necked Grebes. Our peak day for them was 8/18, when the winds started [...]
Lazuli Bunting - Birdathon Birds - Black-backed Woodpecker - Northern Cardinal The biggest news out of Whitefish Point this season is the first Point and third state record for a Lazuli Bunting observed on May 28, 2019, found by Point regular Dan Elliot. Lazuli Bunting are a western species that are strongly related to Indigo [...]
Highlights: Warblers - Chimney Swift - Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Blue Jay A Yellow-rumped Warbler hawking (catching flying insects on the wing). Photo by Charlotte R. Catalano Warbler migration has finally begun in earnest! Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Yellow, Wilson’s, and Canada Warbler have all shown in the [...]
On May 5, 2019, WPBO hawk counter Krista Botting and visitors to the hawk platform were greeted with a view of a rare visitor: a Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). The wild cat wandered out of the tree line to the northwest of the platform, sat under a large white pine for a moment, then carried [...]
Highlights: Yellow-headed Blackbird - Hudsonian Godwit - Field Sparrow - Blue Jay Migration - Increasing Warbler Diversity - Sparrow Migration - Indigo Bunting There has been a steady influx of birds and a few new species at the Point. Particular species of note include Yellow-headed-Blackbird (May 9), Field Sparrow (May 14), and Hudsonian Godwit [...]
Between May 5 and May 7, 24 new bird species for the season were documented at the Point, with the majority appearing on May 5 following a night and half day of southeast winds. The first Field Sparrow of the season. The sparrows are not common at the Point, so this one was [...]
On April 29 and 30, a Loggerhead Shrike (LOSH) was seen at Whitefish Point. The sighting, once accepted, will be the fourth record of a LOSH at WPBO. A Loggerhead Shrike seen on April 29, 2019 from the waterbird shack. Photo by Alison Vilag Loggerhead Shrike are state endangered in Michigan. The [...]
Highlights: American Woodcock Display - Pine Siskin Flock - Eastern Towhee - Vesper Sparrow - Kinglets Galore - White-Winged Scoter - Flocks of Common Loon Peent… Peent… Peent... I cannot begin to tell you just how much I love the American Woodcock call. Thanks to the patience and courtesy of longtime neighbors of Whitefish [...]
Highlights: Too many to name! Or: Leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk – Spruce Grouse – Increasing Sparrow Diversity – Pine Warbler – Kinglets – Brown Creeper – Pine Siskin - Broad-Winged Hawk – Snowy Owl – Greater Yellowlegs Just when it seemed like migration might not ever happen, birds started happening in a big way with [...]
Highlights: Firsts of the season: American Black Duck, Rock Pigeon, Eastern Phoebe, Rusty Blackbird, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow Passerines put on their first real show of the season on April 10. While covering for Krista Botting, the hawk counter, I observed 24 American Robin, 39 Red-winged Blackbird, 45 Common Grackle, and a Bohemian Waxwing [...]
