After weeks of staring at largely lackluster skies, the last few days have, without a doubt, proved that migration is fully underway here at Whitefish Point. Not only is your friendly neighborhood raptor counter seeing more raptors, but I also see more bare ground after rains, and warmer temperatures have melted much of the [...]
The snow falls sideways here at Whitefish Point. Two miles down the road, I can look out my bedroom window and see a light snowfall drifting out of the sky, and it's the kind of snowfall that makes me think I am living inside the idyllic world of a snow globe. However, when I [...]
The gales buffeted the hawk shack for hours, and out on the deck, they rendered my spotting scope useless as it vibrated whatever I was seeing through it beyond recognition. However, it turned out that the scene unfolding before my eyes was best viewed through my own eyes. Optics of any kind only diminished [...]
This morning is different. Somehow my senses seem sharper, the world around me is magnified, and I am able to take in everything at once. Yes, the snow has stopped. Yes, it is warmer; the mercury in the thermometer has risen to 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Fog filters through the spruce forest, shrouding the snow-covered [...]
Many people visiting the hawk deck ask, "How do you keep count of the raptors flying by?" These days, my answer is, "On one hand." Alright, I may have had one day where I needed two hands and another day on which I needed more than two, but otherwise, one hand has been more [...]
In my blog last week, you may recall that I wished for one final push of Broad-winged Hawks. I am happy to report that my wish came true. On the very next day, I counted 780 broad-wings, and by the last day of the count (yesterday), I added another 400 to the season total. [...]
Rough-legged Hawk! Yes, indeed, this beautiful buteo will be taking home the Copper Kettle, our illustrious and in every way, non-existent, totally made-up, Raptor of the Season award. While not an actual award, an old, unusable kettle at the field house could easily be repurposed for just such an honor. With raptor migration winding [...]
This past weekend, raptors seemingly forfeited the migratory flyaways in response to high Blue Jay traffic. Fred, a Broad-winged Hawk, who has been traveling this route for many years, had this to say: “What in tarnation!?! You know, I’ve been traveling this route for many years, and I have plum had it with the [...]
To some people, bird identification can seem like a mystical art. Those who master it have gleaned their knowledge from studying the arcane lore of bird ID, leafing through dusty tomes called field guides far into the wee hours of the morning. These masters have journeyed to distant lands, sought the unseekable, and made [...]
Well, folks, it finally happened. Sharp-shinned Hawks dominated the skies, with nearly 3,000 birds zipping past the hawk deck this past weekend. Days like these are what hawk counters live for, and as each hawk passes, it takes with it a bit of the memory of hours upon hours of staring at the empty [...]
