Migration Counts

This week of the waterbird count was my favorite so far! With many visiting birders and many exciting birds to be seen, there was quite a shift in species numbers this week. In particular, I was excited to see large numbers of Long-tailed Ducks, with 579 on 10/14 and then 1,396 on 10/15. We [...]

Week 8 of the waterbird count started off strong with some nice northwest winds; 10/3 was our biggest day so far this fall, with 2,765 waterbirds counted! As wind speeds increased throughout the week, our waterbird numbers decreased, with just a few hundred counted on some later days. On our more intense days, we [...]

With some good weather days pushing lots of birds through and many visitors drawn in by other rare birds at the Point, week 7 of the waterbird count was very lively! We had north winds on 9/29 and 10/1 that persuaded lots of ducks to move through, and the calmer days brought in some [...]

Week six of the fall waterbird count was quite interesting as we experienced many different types of weather. From calm to strong winds in all directions, clear skies, and rain, the birds appeared to be on the move in the more inclement weather. Friday (9/20), we counted 1,209 waterbirds. Rain came in from the [...]

With above-average temperatures and wind blowing to the north and northeast each day, we didn't see any significant pushes of waterbirds this week; however, we did continue to add some new species to our fall count, putting us at 40 waterbird species for the week. Most of the new waterbirds were diving ducks. We [...]

The fourth week of fall waterbird counting at Whitefish Point has wrapped up, and we’re starting to see some changes in the abundance of several waterbird migrants. While we’re still seeing a considerable amount of Red-necked Grebes moving along Lake Superior (288 this week), they are no longer the most numerous species on the [...]

While it was mostly quiet in terms of songbirds and raptors, it was an exciting week for waterbird counting at Whitefish Point! Due to passing storm fronts and winds shifting to the NW, we had some favorable conditions for migration over the weekend. The birds did not disappoint, with our highest two waterbird counts [...]

Things started to heat up during the second week of the fall waterbird count at Whitefish Point. While some species from the first week, such as Piping Plover, have already departed, the influx of several new species kept things interesting. We had 32 waterbird species pass by the Point over the past week: three [...]

The first week of the fall count at Whitefish Point has officially wrapped up, and the waterbirds are starting to move. We had 29 species of waterbird pass by the Point during our counts this week, with the most numerous being Red-necked Grebes. Our peak day for them was 8/18, when the winds started [...]

Spring migration is coming to a close at Whitefish Point, but that doesn't mean the excitement is gone. Waterbird numbers have begun to drop, with only loons, mergansers, geese, and some shorebirds being reliable each day. One of the highlights at the season's end has been large pushes of Whimbrels; the evening flight on [...]