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!

2000 Bonaparte’s Gulls

There wasn’t much of an evening flight on May 13, though a close pass by two Red-throated Loons was very enjoyable. There were no Bonaparte’s Gulls seen that evening though. It turns out that they were all waiting for today, May 14. During the eight hour count beginning at sunrise, 1920 were tallied. In an [...]

2018-05-14T22:57:30-04:00May 14th, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on 2000 Bonaparte’s Gulls
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Swainson’s Hawks at Whitefish Point!

Swainson’s Hawk is in many ways one of the most interesting members of the genus Buteo, and is a highly desired treat for hawk watchers in eastern North America. They travel up to 14,000 miles each spring and again each fall, making them the longest-distance migrant among western hemisphere raptors. Virtually the entire world’s population [...]

2018-05-14T21:29:04-04:00May 14th, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Swainson’s Hawks at Whitefish Point!
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Scoters and Bonaparte’s Gulls

The mid-May migration of Bonaparte’s Gulls and scoters past Whitefish Point has finally begun! White-winged Scoters were especially late in arriving at the point in this late spring, with none recorded until May 7, when five were seen. They’ve been seen daily since, with 78 on May 9; in most years a few are spotted [...]

2018-05-13T18:49:18-04:00May 13th, 2018|Migration Counts, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Scoters and Bonaparte’s Gulls
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Hawks are back at the Point!

The hawk count has finally come alive! The slowdown began the final week of March. It continued into the first week of April, when 47 hours of ceaseless searching yielded a meager total of 23 raptors. Nothing changed through the second week of April, aside from the weekend’s blizzard dumping a fresh two feet of [...]

2018-05-02T18:49:35-04:00May 2nd, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Hawks are back at the Point!
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Waterbird migration may finally be starting!

By Louie Dombroski Almost one week into the waterbird count, there is still little to report. There were some hopeful signs in March and early April with a few (very few) Canada Geese, Mallards, and Sandhill Cranes all reported from the hawk watch. On one visit in March, I climbed [...]

2018-04-23T08:34:57-04:00April 23rd, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Waterbird migration may finally be starting!
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A Slow Start to April

By Gary Palmer, 2018 Spring Hawk Counter After a solid start to the count in March, migration is suddenly far behind schedule here at the Point. Eight days into April only five species of raptor have been recorded for the month, and their numbers have been dismally low: one Turkey [...]

2018-04-09T12:10:24-04:00April 9th, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on A Slow Start to April
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March Migration Wrap-Up

By Gary Palmer, 2018 Hawk Counter Bald Eagles, Photo Skye Haas Migration seems to be on pause here at Whitefish Point, as March ended with a sizeable snowstorm accompanied by fierce north winds to continue a string of slow days. The month ended with a total of seven species of raptors and [...]

2018-04-02T11:25:22-04:00April 2nd, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on March Migration Wrap-Up
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Signs of Spring!

By Gary Palmer, 2018 Spring Hawk Counter Despite the thick blanket of snow which remains at Whitefish Point, there have been some clear indications that spring really is beginning. Today the thermometer crept above freezing for the first time this season, the warm air brought in by our first southerly winds. And along [...]

2018-03-27T13:24:38-04:00March 27th, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Signs of Spring!
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And We’re Off!

By Gary Palmer, 2018 Spring Hawk Counter The 2018 hawk count here at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is underway! We got off to a bit of a slow start on Thursday, March 15, when wind and snow conspired to produce some truly crummy viewing conditions. During the opening day blizzard, [...]

2018-03-20T08:22:01-04:00March 20th, 2018|Migration Counts|Comments Off on And We’re Off!
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Spring 2017 Waterbird Count summary

Here is a list of all of the waterbirds that were counted during the waterbird count at Whitefish Point in Spring 2017, along with the seasonal totals from Aril 15 through May 31. The count was usually conducted for eight hours, beginning at sunrise, but there were a few days when the count was shortened [...]

2018-01-12T13:04:17-05:00July 3rd, 2017|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Spring 2017 Waterbird Count summary
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