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!

Diamonds on a Sapphire Sea

For countless hours I stand vigil on the windswept beach of Whitefish Point; my only shelter, the weather-beaten Shack. This season has often looked like this picture, a high sun casting a sparkling glare across the water in front of me. Scan after scan, my eyes set to maximum power, searching the horizon for [...]

2021-06-01T10:55:33-04:00May 20th, 2021|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Diamonds on a Sapphire Sea
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Blue Jays Take Whitefish Point by Storm!

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 [...]

2021-05-27T09:53:06-04:00May 18th, 2021|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Blue Jays Take Whitefish Point by Storm!
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Beautiful Noise

Happy migration, folks! Now you may be wondering, "What's with the title of this blog, 'Beautiful Noise?'" Isn't this supposed to be about waterbirds and waterbird migration? Isn't what I do, counting birds, all visual? Well, not exactly. Migration and bird ID is much more than just what an observer can pick up visually. [...]

2022-01-12T13:57:27-05:00May 13th, 2021|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Beautiful Noise
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What Bird is That?

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 [...]

2021-05-27T09:53:43-04:00May 11th, 2021|Migration Counts|Comments Off on What Bird is That?
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Migration…Oh the Places We’ll Go!

Migration is really an awe-inspiring thing when you get down to it. Myriad and multitudes of birds, all different shapes and sizes, migrate from their wintering grounds to their summer breeding grounds. Many birds undertake migrations of many hundreds or thousands of miles, and we can only wonder how the birds do it? Some [...]

2021-06-01T10:57:06-04:00May 6th, 2021|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Migration…Oh the Places We’ll Go!
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Flight of the Sharpies

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 [...]

2021-05-27T09:54:09-04:00May 4th, 2021|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Flight of the Sharpies
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A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

I am sure you have heard the expression "a picture is worth a thousand words" but, have you ever asked yourself how much a picture costs? These days, I am just as likely to see a person carrying a camera up to the hawk deck as I am likely to see a person carrying [...]

2021-04-28T12:59:51-04:00April 27th, 2021|Migration Counts|Comments Off on A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
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