Migration Counts

Waterbird Highlights: This week (Oct. 22–28), we had 26 species of waterbirds, with our highlight being gulls; BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and an Iceland Gull (kumlieni). The kittiwake made a flyby appearance while the other two species of gulls hung out at the harbor and the Point. Lesser Black-backed Gull (Fall 2021) [...]

After an extended period of southerly winds and warm temperatures, the winds finally shifted, and at long last, it feels like late fall. American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos continue in good numbers. Joining them in increasing numbers this past week have been Pine Siskins and Purple Finches. Common Redpolls have arrived, and we had the first push of over 400 on Oct. [...]

Waterbird Highlights: This week (October 15–21), we had 36 species of waterbirds, of which half of the diversity were waterfowl. Of the 30,000+ individuals counted, 13% were dabbling ducks such as Mallard, Northern Pintail, and American Wigeon, and 78% were diving ducks such as Aythaya species, scoters, and mergansers. Long-tailed Ducks made 33% of the count [...]

A Peregrine Falcon preens its foot. Photo by Chris Neri Highlights: Brewer’s Blackbird and Forster’s Tern Four Forster’s Terns spent some time around the Point on Oct. 11, and a Brewer’s Blackbird was present on Oct. 14. A late Bay-breasted Warbler was present on Oct. 16 and 17. After a week and a half of unseasonably warm weather and [...]

Our eBird October Big Day was a success with 66 species within a 24-hour birding period, and this total was decent with these less than ideal migration conditions. We were hard-pressed for waterfowl diversity/abundance, but we were able to pull out some decent waterbirds like an adult Parasitic Jaeger. Other non-waterbird highlights during the [...]

As for waterbirds, the most notable species this week were Willet, Forster’s Tern, and Parasitic Jaeger! The Willet stayed in the Point’s pond for a few days while the tern and the jaeger passed through the area.  Willet Forster's Tern Parasitic Jaeger One of the highlight non-waterbird finds this week [...]

Highlights: Ash-throated Flycatcher (pictured above), LeConte’s Sparrow, and Black-backed Woodpecker This past week has been a little bit of déjà vu, but we’re not complaining. The season’s second Ash-throated Flycatcher was found on the evening of Oct. 2 and continued all day on the third. Previous to this fall, there were only two ash-throated records, one from [...]

Waterbird Highlights: This week (Sept. 24–30) marks the halfway point for the 2021 fall waterbird count! The waterbird species and composition have changed significantly since the start of the count; fewer shorebirds and higher numbers of diving ducks. This visual from Dunkadoo provides a general overview of what we have seen over the past seven weeks. [...]

LeConte's Sparrow (left) & Harris's Sparrow (right) Highlights: Sedge Wren, Harris’s Sparrow, LeConte’s Sparrow, & Black-backed Woodpecker Songbird activity in the woods has been particularly good the last few days. Warbler migration may be winding down, but we've continued to see good numbers, along with decent diversity this week. The sparrow migration has [...]