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!

Raptor Count Week 3 Update (3.26–4.01)

The third week of the hawk count saw highs and lows but culminated with 181 birds on April 1! The weather was unstable, with some cold and windy days when no raptors were seen and milder days when the kinder winds from the southwest brought the first Red-tailed Hawks! Four species made their first [...]

2024-05-08T15:04:07-04:00April 2nd, 2024|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Raptor Count Week 3 Update (3.26–4.01)
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Raptor Count Week 2 Update (3.19–3.25)

Bad weather tested the second week of the count. Drizzle, light rain, and drifting snow, coupled with strong northern and northwest winds, provided less-than-optimal conditions for observation on most days. On March 20, I had to interrupt the count because of whiteouts. Bald Eagles were the only regularly recorded species, with a few adults [...]

2024-05-08T15:04:00-04:00March 26th, 2024|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Raptor Count Week 2 Update (3.19–3.25)
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Raptor Count — Week 1 Update (3.15–3.18)

The dunes of Whitefish Point were free of snow on March 15. Photo by Michael Patrikeev The count started on a bright, sunny day with unseasonably mild temperatures of 40 F (6 C)! It was nice to see Lake Superior's turquoise and deep blue waters after many years spent away from the [...]

2024-05-08T15:03:54-04:00March 19th, 2024|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Raptor Count — Week 1 Update (3.15–3.18)
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Fall Waterbird Count – Week 14 Update (11.9-11.15)

The final week of the fall waterbird count! Migration continued to slowly but steadily taper off throughout the week. It was fairly slow number-wise with no large flights, but quite interesting nonetheless with light pushes of late-season species and a few unique rarities in town. A rainbow appeared over the Point on Nov. 9 [...]

2023-11-17T11:50:13-05:00November 16th, 2023|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count – Week 14 Update (11.9-11.15)
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Fall Waterbird Count – Week 13 Update (11.2-11.8)

As the season slowly tapers down, this past week was highlighted by classic late-season waterbirds, several interesting rarities, and two strong storms over the past two days. The week started fairly slow on Nov. 2 and 3, with Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Long-tailed Ducks, and Red-breasted Mergansers being the primary movers. A great highlight was [...]

2023-11-09T09:59:01-05:00November 9th, 2023|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count – Week 13 Update (11.2-11.8)
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Fall Waterbird Count – Week 12 Update (10.26-11.1)

This past week featured the first signs of the winter to come, with the first day of snow flurries on Oct. 28 and accumulating snow each day since Oct. 30. This made for some beautiful late fall scenes while walking through the pine woods out to the waterbird shack each morning. This week also [...]

2023-11-02T09:30:07-04:00November 2nd, 2023|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count – Week 12 Update (10.26-11.1)
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Fall Waterbird Count – Week 11 Update (10.19-10.25)

This past week was quite interesting and fun at the waterbird shack; it featured two heavy waterbird flights on Oct. 20 and Oct. 25, with lighter days of waterfowl migration in between. However, among those lighter days, the Point experienced two potentially record-breaking days for passerine migration. The forecast for Oct. 20 looked good [...]

2023-10-26T09:45:17-04:00October 26th, 2023|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count – Week 11 Update (10.19-10.25)
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Fall Waterbird Count – Week 10 Update (10.12-10.18)

It was a fairly slow start to the week, with waterbirds continuing to trickle through the area following the strong front on Oct. 8. The weekend forecast looked quite interesting, with a strong north-northeasterly flow across the region wrapping back around behind a low-pressure system and cold front passing well to our south. The [...]

2023-10-24T12:57:52-04:00October 19th, 2023|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count – Week 10 Update (10.12-10.18)
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Fall Waterbird Count – Week 9 Update (10.5-10.11)

This past week featured the strongest week of migration so far, and each day brought a different mix of waterbirds. On Oct. 5, a weak rain front passed over the region in the predawn hours. This was the same morning as the historic fallout across Chicago and the southern Lake Michigan area, widely broadcast [...]

2023-10-12T12:33:36-04:00October 12th, 2023|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count – Week 9 Update (10.5-10.11)
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Fall Waterbird Count – Week 8 Update (9.28-10.4)

The week got off to a slow start on Sept. 28 and 29 with a continuing, unfavorable, southeasterly breeze. Luckily, this was followed by the three most productive days of the season so far! The forecast for Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 did not seem very optimistic, with high pressure, pleasant temperatures, and a [...]

2023-10-05T09:30:41-04:00October 5th, 2023|Migration Counts|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count – Week 8 Update (9.28-10.4)
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