This week the fall waterbird count was full of highs and lows. On the slowest day, we tallied only 16 species of birds. Later in the week, we were surrounded by hundreds of terns and flights of songbirds, recording 53 species on August 31st. This sense of never knowing what a day will hold [...]
The fall count has just begun, but already this week has produced what is sure to be one of the most memorable days of the season. It was one of those days at Whitefish Point where there are birds everywhere you look. There were thousands of waterbirds zipping by, the flight calls of warblers [...]
Another season of waterbird counting is officially underway at Whitefish Point! Our work started the day before the count on August 14th. With the help of some dedicated local volunteers we moved the waterbird ‘shack’ to its fall vantage point. This structure will serve as an important windbreak and refuge for the waterbird counter [...]
Greetings! Former counter Skye Haas here, with a wrap-up post about the end of the WPBO spring 2025 Waterbird Count. With Martina needing to start her summer gig, I, along with Louie Dombroski and Max Henschell (also both former WPBO waterbird counters), filled in for the last week of the season. The late spring favored [...]
Hi everyone! The 5th week of the waterbird count has flown by! I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but like other weeks, it was a mixed bag of exciting days and quiet moments. This is, unfortunately, my last full week as your waterbird counter. My last day of counting will [...]
Week 4 of the Waterbird Count was very much a boom or bust week, with a few days of remarkable migration and a few days of calm and quiet. Red-throated Loon by Martina Nordstrand May 6th continued our theme from last week- lots of loons! With 588 loons counted, this day is [...]
It's hard to believe, but we are already halfway through the Spring Waterbird Count! The third week of the count was very eventful and full of highlights! Red-necked Grebes by Martina Nordstrand April 29th featured an exciting weather switch, with southwest winds overnight and into the first few hours of the count. [...]
The second week of the Spring Waterbird Count saw the arrivals and peaks of many waterbirds, with many first-of-season sightings! Apr 22 was a quieter day, without much waterbird movement over the course of the day. I did have a few Green-winged Teal which are always a treat to see, and a decent crane [...]
Hi everyone, I am Martina Nordstrand, the Spring 2025 Waterbird Counter for Whitefish Point Bird Observatory! I'm excited to spend this spring counting at the Point and seeing some great visible migration over Lake Superior. I am originally from North Carolina, so when I arrived in Paradise last week, it was definitely a change [...]
Week 13 was the final week of the fall waterbird count, with two days to spare. This will be my last blog post (unless we see something phenomenal in the last two days). With our total numbers for the week (4,278 birds) compared to early September, we are beginning to see migration tapering off. [...]
