WPBO Trip Report by Myles McNally: Birding in Paradise
This year’s Spring Fling pre-trip Birding in Paradise was so popular that we divided it into two groups, one led by Jason Bojczyk and the other by Jason St. Pierre. Here are their reports.
Jason Bojczyk:
Our day began at the Whitefish Point State Harbor, where we hoped to see a Townsend’s Solitaire that was seen there the day before. We didn’t have any luck with the Solitaire, but we were treated to a nice show of birds migrating onward to the point, including many Robins, blackbirds, hawks, and best of all, a Bohemian Waxwing, which perched nicely for us briefly, before migrating towards the point. We then made our way to the point too. Upon getting out of our cars we were treated to a spectacular show of Sharp-shinned Hawks seemingly everywhere. We enjoyed 7 Flickers in one tree in the scope before heading on to walk towards the tip. Along the way to the tip, we observed many Sharp-shinned Hawks perched in the outer Jack Pines and had good scope views of them. A few Golden-crowned Kinglets were seen, a few Yellow-rumped Warblers heard calling, and a Pileated Woodpecker put on a nice show at the Merlin Pole. At the waterbird shack, we observed Red-necked Grebes, Long-tailed Ducks, and Red-breasted Mergansers sitting on the water. We observed a few Common Loons, Rough-legged Hawks, and Harriers flying around as well. Soon after this Tom Reed, the waterbird counter, found 2 Short-eared Owls flying over the woods, which quickly led to a 3rd Short-eared Owl being found. We observed them flying around the lighthouse and then one being harassed by some Herring Gulls on its way to Canada.
From the tip we walked to the feeders, where the sparrow activity was great. Some of the species we observed included Song, Savannah, Vesper, White-throated, American Tree, and Chipping Sparrows. We soon left the feeders to go to the harbor as the Townsend’s Solitaire had just been found again. We were able to get some decent views of it perched close to the trunk of a Jack Pine. After enjoying this rare bird, we headed on up to the hawk platform where we saw several other hawk species, including Red-taileds and Rough-leggeds. Lunch was now approaching and so we made another quick stop at the feeders and then headed to the Berry Patch in Paradise. Soon after our arrival, the rain started to pour outside. Unfortunately, the rain was fairly steady after our lunch as we made our way to the Tahquamenon Rivermouth. The Rivermouth was pretty good with some of the species we saw there being Tundra Swans, an American Coot, Hooded Mergansers, American Black Ducks, Double-crested Cormorants, and Bufflehead. Overall it was a great trip, with the highest species diversity in the area at this point in the spring. I look forward to seeing some of you again at the point!
Northern Harrier
Jason St. Pierre:
Friday’s field trip was a blast, and we really made the most of the lack of visible migration we were handed. The day’s weather started out clear and in the mid-twenties. Our first visit was the waterbird shack, with about an hour-long visit with Tom Reed. There, the migration was quite slow, though the group had wonderful looks at a few Common Loons, some of which flew fairly low and directly over us. Red-breasted and Common Mergansers were flying back and forth, where they could be compared to the loons. Though little other activity was in the air, we did have really nice views of Red-necked Grebes and Long-tailed Ducks sitting on the bay. A few Sharp-shinned Hawks and a Pileated Woodpecker made visits to the “Merlin Pole.” Next, we headed to the feeders, where numbers of birds had decreased markedly from the prior day. The feeders were quite slow to heat up, perhaps because of the cold. We did have a brief glimpse of a Palm Warbler, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was quite cooperative for all to view and photograph.
Next, we headed to the hawk platform where Sharp-shinned Hawks were the most numerous species, putting on a nice show. At the Harbor on our way back south, the Townsend’s Solitaire, a Rocky Mountain resident known for it’s habits of vagrancy, was re-found and was viewed by probably 25 people. We made a brief stop at Vermillion Rd hoping for Red Crossbills, but found little more than a boreal desert. Following a splendid lunch and blueberry pie ala mode at the Berry Patch, we stopped at the Tahquamenon river mouth. An Eastern Phoebe flitted around near the parking lot to the north of the river. Waterfowl here included 3 Tundra Swans, some Hooded Mergansers, and a pair of Canvasback which are not terribly common in the Paradise area. Dabblers included 2 American Wigeon, some Black Ducks, and some Mallards. By this time, the rain and sleet were really coming down. These wet and windy conditions provoked us to end the birding tour here, as we were all now drenched and chilled. In approximately 6 hours of birding, we managed approximately 60 species in total; not a bad day of birding in this delayed spring!
Townsend’s Solitaire at the Harbor
Combined Trips List-55 Species:
- Canada Goose
- Tundra Swan
- American Wigeon
- American Black Duck
- Mallard
- Canvasback
- Ring-necked Duck
- Long-tailed Duck
- Bufflehead
- Common Goldeneye
- Hooded Merganser
- Common Merganser
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Common Loon
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Red-necked Grebe
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Turkey Vulture
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Harrier
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Rough-legged Hawk
- American Kestrel
- Merlin
- American Coot
- Sandhill Crane
- Ring-billed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Northern Flicker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Eastern Phoebe
- Blue Jay
- American Crow
- Common Raven
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- American Robin
- European Starling
- Bohemian Waxwing
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Palm Warbler
- American Tree Sparrow
- Chipping Sparrow
- Vesper Sparrow
- Savannah Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Common Grackle