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!

One Month To Go!

In the past month, we’ve seen a lot of changes at the fall waterbird count. While getting snowed on, it’s hard to imagine that, just a month prior, there was a suite of shorebirds working the shoreline, that we had a tropical visitor in the form of a frigatebird, and that the dabblers outnumbered the [...]

2020-10-23T12:56:18-04:00October 23rd, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on One Month To Go!
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October Big Day Is Saturday!

This coming Saturday, Oct. 17, is October Big Day! This is an annual project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to celebrate birds and birding. Participation is simple: see birds and record them in eBird. A goal of October Big Day is to have 25,000 participants. With interest in birds and birding quickly growing worldwide, this seems like [...]

2020-10-16T12:40:02-04:00October 16th, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on October Big Day Is Saturday!
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Lake-Watching 101

A surprise for many visitors to the waterbird count is how distant the birds are. While the handful of loons that pass overhead and chickadees that venture inside the waterbird shack defy this statement, they are few compared to the thousands of birds flying a quarter mile or more from the shoreline. How we identify [...]

2020-10-09T12:06:52-04:00October 9th, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Lake-Watching 101
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The Commotion Around Rare Birds

The term “rare bird” transcends the birding community. Defined as “An unusual or exceptional person or thing,” we refer to a wide array of the unexpected with this wordage. As far as we’re concerned here at the fall waterbird count, the rare birds we’re looking for are those birds who we don’t regularly expect to [...]

2020-10-02T09:51:49-04:00October 2nd, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on The Commotion Around Rare Birds
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Why Whitefish Point?

It’s abundantly clear that Whitefish Point is a great spot for birds. While the geography is the central factor which steers the diversity we experience at the fall waterbird count, the habitats offered by the point play a significant role. Many birds are specialists. With roughly 10,000 known species on the planet, it’s of obvious [...]

2020-09-25T21:29:33-04:00September 26th, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Why Whitefish Point?
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One Month In!

September 15 marked one month since we started the waterbird count this fall. If you look at the data we’ve collected thus far, you might see some trends emerge. Some species have largely departed, some are beginning to show up in numbers. While a few of these changes happened quickly, like the gigantic flight days [...]

2020-09-19T10:12:58-04:00September 19th, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on One Month In!
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On Jaegers

Pomarine Jaeger by cotinis on Flickr There are few words that can bring immediate focus to a group of avid birders. Typically we’re occupied with scanning the horizon, looking in every direction, actively listening for chips and chirps and in general trying to take in everything from every angle. The more eyes and [...]

2020-09-15T11:08:57-04:00September 11th, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on On Jaegers
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“Red Sky at Morning….

...sailors take warning.” This saying tells us that under a red morning sky you can expect weather coming your way. Today couldn’t have been a better affirmation of this thousands of years old saying. A beautiful morning sky foretold the gale that came in the afternoon, shaking the waterbird shack and observers(read here for an [...]

2020-09-04T11:24:46-04:00September 4th, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on “Red Sky at Morning….
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Why We Like to Talk About the Weather

Today was an astounding day at Whitefish Point. We had a nice variety of species, some high counts, and a few surprises. 1,413 Red-necked Grebe, 569 Blue-winged Teal, a Black Scoter, two jaegers, and a Whimbrel were some notable sightings. Looking at the forecast, today looked like it was going to be a day with [...]

2020-08-31T13:24:05-04:00August 29th, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Why We Like to Talk About the Weather
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The Fall Waterbird Count Begins!

The first week of the Fall Waterbird Count is approaching its end, and let me say it has been an exciting one. Before we delve into the details, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Steve and I’ll be the counter for this fall. I’m very excited to be in such a beautiful place [...]

2020-08-22T12:00:50-04:00August 21st, 2020|Migration Counts|Comments Off on The Fall Waterbird Count Begins!
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