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!

Fall Waterbird Count Update – Week 3 (8/29-9/4)

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 [...]

2024-09-05T09:40:05-04:00September 5th, 2024|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count Update – Week 3 (8/29-9/4)
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Fall Waterbird Count Update – Week 2 (8/22-8/28)

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 [...]

2024-08-29T09:56:03-04:00August 29th, 2024|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count Update – Week 2 (8/22-8/28)
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Fall Waterbird Count Update – Week 1 (8/15-8/21)

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 [...]

2024-08-29T10:27:08-04:00August 22nd, 2024|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Fall Waterbird Count Update – Week 1 (8/15-8/21)
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Waterbird Count Week 7 Update (5/23-5/29)

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 [...]

2024-05-30T09:49:40-04:00May 30th, 2024|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Waterbird Count Week 7 Update (5/23-5/29)
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Raptor Count Week 11 Update (5.21–5.27)

The 2024 WPBO Raptor Count is drawing to an end. Although the last day of count is May 31, the four remaining days are unlikely to change the overall picture as the hawk flight significantly slowed down this week. The Sharp-shinned Hawks are almost through, with only a handful still recorded daily, and some [...]

2024-05-28T11:30:42-04:00May 28th, 2024|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Raptor Count Week 11 Update (5.21–5.27)
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Waterbird Count Week 6 Update (5/16-5/22)

It's been an exciting week at the Point, with many of our later migrants starting to hit hard and many of our irregular migrants starting to show up. Our second wave of Canada Geese is in full swing, with over 3,000 individuals being seen over the last three days. White-winged Scoters are still passing [...]

2024-05-23T13:09:03-04:00May 23rd, 2024|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Waterbird Count Week 6 Update (5/16-5/22)
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Raptor Count Week 10 Update (5.14–5.20)

The tip of Whitefish Point was enveloped in heavy fog for most of May 17 and 18. The morning of May 17 was bright and sunny, and a large kettle of Broad-winged Hawks began forming west of the deck. Low clouds already obscured a part of it, and then fog rolled in from the [...]

2024-05-21T10:53:50-04:00May 21st, 2024|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Raptor Count Week 10 Update (5.14–5.20)
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Waterbird Count Week 5 Update (5/9-5/15)

Prevailing north winds have kept this past week fairly slow, with little changing in terms of species diversity. The numbers of White-winged Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks are slowly increasing, with the number of loons and grebes slowly decreasing. Red-breasted Mergansers have also begun to move in pretty good numbers, with May 13 netting 440 [...]

2024-05-16T10:23:08-04:00May 16th, 2024|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Waterbird Count Week 5 Update (5/9-5/15)
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Raptor Count Week 9 Update (5.07–5.13)

Whitefish Point is a great place to learn the immature plumages of the Bald Eagle. Several immature eagles are often seen over the area daily; they are one, two, three, or possibly four years old. Naturally, no juveniles (a bird in its first plumage) are observed in the spring; they have not hatched or [...]

2024-05-14T09:15:48-04:00May 14th, 2024|Migration Counts, Raptor Count|Comments Off on Raptor Count Week 9 Update (5.07–5.13)
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Waterbird Count Week 4 Update (5/2-5/8)

Plenty of birds have been migrating this week. Most days saw triple-digit numbers of loons, although none beat last week's high count. Many ducks seem to be tapering off this week, with only a handful of dabblers and scaup being seen each day. May 3 saw the biggest push of Bufflehead for the season, [...]

2024-05-09T09:24:29-04:00May 9th, 2024|Migration Counts, Waterbird Count|Comments Off on Waterbird Count Week 4 Update (5/2-5/8)
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