Migration Counts

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 [...]

Waterbird Highlights: Here are some notable sightings during the sixth week of the waterbird count (Sept. 17–23). We spotted 47 species of waterbirds, of which 19 (+1 taxa) were waterfowl (Anseriformes). The level of abundance per day is sporadic, but there have been some exciting mixed flocks of dabbler ducks and diving ducks during [...]

WPBO's third Ash-throated Flycatcher I'm just going to start by acknowledging that flipping my schedule from night to day, plus some technical issues on my part has me playing catch up on blogging. There's nothing for it at this point but to just jump in.  There have already been some exciting vagrants this [...]

Waterbird Highlights: During this week’s count (Sept. 10–16), the count had 50 species of waterbirds, and 19 of these species were shorebirds! A Buff-breasted Sandpiper still managed to make an appearance throughout the count while intermixed between other Calidris shorebirds. One of the final birds for the count this week was a fantastic stopover of a Stilt Sandpiper in the [...]

Waterbird Highlights: During this week’s count (Sept. 3–9), the count had 42 species of waterbirds! Aug. 5 was an exciting day where we had 32 of the 42 species of waterbirds seen during the count. There were quite a few highlights that day, such as large numbers of Pluvialis plovers (Black-bellied/golden-plover sp.), several Black [...]

The last day of May signals the last day of the spring waterbird migration count. It's a bit of a bittersweet time; as the season goes, it seems like it has flown by here at Whitefish Point. On the other hand, it can feel like my six weeks here have lasted a lifetime, the [...]