Michigan Audubon Office: (517) 580-7364|birds@michiganaudubon.org

Migration Counts

Seasonal staff at WPBO conduct waterbird counts in the spring and fall and a spring raptor count. During the seasons, counts are conducted daily. Raptor counts run March 15-May 31 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Waterbird counts run April 15-May 31 and August 15-November 15, 8 hours starting at dawn daily during each season. The Hawk Deck and Waterbird Shack are accessible to the public, and you can follow this blog to get regular updates during the counting seasons!

Spring Raptor Count 3/31-4/6–April Showers

The first week of April has been one of the most dismal I have ever seen. With just two days of weather resembling optimal migration weather, we did the most with what we had. There is still deep snow across most of the Upper Peninsula, and drifts at the point are as deep as [...]

2026-04-07T09:26:46-04:00April 7th, 2026|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Spring Raptor Count 3/31-4/6–April Showers
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Spring Raptor Count 3/24-30–March Recap

March has just about drawn to a close, and the first month of the raptor count is wrapping up. It has been a tumultuous month, and the old phrase "in like a lion, out like a lamb" has held true at Whitefish Point. Despite several days of snow and unfavorable winds, the last week [...]

2026-03-31T09:25:05-04:00March 31st, 2026|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Spring Raptor Count 3/24-30–March Recap
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Spring Raptor Count 3/17-23–White Water, Blue Ice

The first full week of the spring raptor count began as an exhausted winter storm departed the Point, leaving the dunes cloaked in a snowy shawl. In my first true view of the Jack Pine horizon and beyond, I was thrilled to watch a Golden Eagle emerge on March 17th, the first raptor of [...]

2026-03-24T09:50:13-04:00March 24th, 2026|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Spring Raptor Count 3/17-23–White Water, Blue Ice
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Spring Raptor Count (3/15-3/16)–“I’d Rather Be a Lunatic…”

Welcome back to another season of raptor counting at Whitefish Point! My name is Sean McLaughlin, and I am thrilled to return as the Raptor Counter for my second season at the point. This spring is my 10th season counting birds professionally, and this career has carried me from the ridges of central Pennsylvania [...]

2026-03-17T09:59:32-04:00March 17th, 2026|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Spring Raptor Count (3/15-3/16)–“I’d Rather Be a Lunatic…”
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Fall Waterbird Count- The Final Days (11/12-11/15)

The 2025 fall waterbird count at Whitefish Point has officially ended. The last few days of counting were a reminder of why the season ends when it does. With just a few waterbirds moving, it’s encouraging to think that we have successfully documented the bulk of waterbird migration moving past the point this fall. Even [...]

2026-03-17T09:35:02-04:00November 19th, 2025|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count- The Final Days (11/12-11/15)
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Fall Waterbird Count- The Onset of Winter (11/5-11/11)

The gradual changing of the seasons at Whitefish Point is reaching its finale. The dunes and beach grasses are now covered in snow, with the sand beneath only visible where footprints leave tracks. There was an influx of visitors on Monday for the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Parked cars lined the road [...]

2025-11-12T16:01:16-05:00November 12th, 2025|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count- The Onset of Winter (11/5-11/11)
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Fall Waterbird Count- Gales of November (10/29-11/4)

This week on the count, we closed out October and ushered in November just in time for a stiff northerly breeze to set in. The first two days of the count were fairly calm and slow for waterbirds, with the highlight being a Parasitic Jaeger that we got to watch harassing the gulls for [...]

2025-11-05T09:52:15-05:00November 5th, 2025|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count- Gales of November (10/29-11/4)
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Fall Waterbird Count- The Week of the Long-tailed Ducks (10/22-10/28)

A three-day cold front set in at the beginning of the week, producing three fun days of late-season waterbird movement. Each day was a little bit different, but as the winds switched southward towards the end of the week, we were left enjoying large flocks of winter finches and Snow Buntings with fewer waterbirds [...]

2025-10-29T17:31:22-04:00October 29th, 2025|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count- The Week of the Long-tailed Ducks (10/22-10/28)
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Fall Waterbird Count- Waiting on the Scoters (10/15-10/21)

The weather this week continued to be pretty mild with warm conditions and frequent south winds. Things got mixed up a bit on the 19th with a rush of 20-30mph NW winds, but even these conditions didn’t quite bring the scoters and Long-tailed Ducks we’ve been waiting for. White-winged Scoter with Red-breasted Mergansers. [...]

2025-10-28T14:32:07-04:00October 22nd, 2025|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count- Waiting on the Scoters (10/15-10/21)
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Fall Waterbird Count- The Yellow-billed Surprise (10/8-10/14)

This week on the waterbird count, we had it all. There were big flights of diving ducks, a trickle of scoters and Long-tailed Ducks, three different Sabine's Gulls, Harlequin Ducks, and a thrilling Whitefish Point rarity! The first of two great Aythya flights this week was on the morning of 10/8. It was our [...]

2025-10-17T12:48:12-04:00October 15th, 2025|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count- The Yellow-billed Surprise (10/8-10/14)
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