The great thing about the end of the season here is that things haven't completely slowed down, and there are still plenty of birds to see. Early mornings can reveal a beach teeming with shorebirds, along with several species of waterfowl still moving through. The morning of May 27 brought light winds, fairly clear [...]
And just like that, it's the end of another spring season on the eastern end of Lake Superior. The raptor count this year has been a smashing success, with a total of 19,594 raptors counted. An additional 34,297 migrants were counted across 175 species! The final week of the count was highlighted by several [...]
The end of the count may be right around the corner, yet some of the best action was only beginning during this observation period. Starting on May 20, we were met with moderate northwest winds which overall led to reduced numbers for this time of the year. However, with this high pressure overhead, it [...]
The end of May can be one of the best times to birdwatch at Whitefish Point. Diversity reaches it's zenith, warblers abound, and raptors chug onward. We have definitely reached the tail end of hawk migration along the south shore of Lake Superior, and flights are now dominated by young Sharp-shinned Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks [...]
We have reached the heart of May, bringing warmer temperatures and even more new birds! May 13 started slow though as steady winds out of the northwest essentially halted most bird movement. However, I was still treated to the striking white wings of both of our white-winged gulls! A very clean looking adult Iceland [...]
It has been a busy week at Whitefish Point! Mid May is a very exciting time of year, as raptor flights can boil up into large kettles, passerine flights are large and diverse, and the chance for rare birds increases. We'll start with the raptors. "Peregrine Week" lived up to its name, with 19 [...]
This observation period continued to bring new arrivals both over the water and back over land, as well as some exciting counts. This post kicks off on the overcast morning of May 6, where upon arriving at the station, I was greeted by a first-cycle Glaucous Gull amongst a few other gulls sitting along [...]
There have been no Caracara sightings since last week, making for a much less exciting blog post this week. Spring marches ever on, but with a slightly different tone than before. Now, warbler song has begun to pepper in between bursts of Sharp-shinned Hawks, and Blue Jay flocks provide a dazzling backdrop against sunny [...]
April turned into May during this observation period, with the birds continuing to tell the tale of seasons changing, despite the weather not. April 29 is the first day this post will cover, another day dominated by westerly winds. Moderate numbers of waterfowl were detected, and this was the first day of noticeable loon [...]
April has come and gone, and May is here! While temps have barely reached a sweltering 50F, a few small patches of snow remain tucked in the shadows of the dunes. Overhead, migration rolls right along! The last few days of April only held a couple of meager Sharp-shinned Hawk and Broad-winged Hawk flights. [...]
