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 [...]
Typically, my spirits are quite light when I walk down the boardwalk toward the waterbird shack. However, when I headed that way a little before sunrise on April 15 — opening day for this count — I felt especially light: I was wearing only merino leggings, down pants, a fleece, a felted wool vest, [...]
This past week at the waterbird count has represented the longest stretch of favorable migration conditions I’ve ever experienced at WPBO: there have been no sustained periods of strong north winds; no lasting fog. Not surprisingly, the birding has been favorable, too! It feels like we’re on the cusp of the peak scoter, Long-tailed [...]
At WPBO, we measure things less by day or date than we do by seasonal happenings. See, for example: “The day the snow slid off the roof;” “The night the spring peepers began to sing;” “The day the sky was full of cranes and their voices.” Instead of observing Daylight Savings Time, the owl [...]
Waterbird Highlights: This week (Aug. 28–Sept. 2), 36 species (+1 other taxa) of waterbirds have passed by the Point. If you have been keeping up with Dunkadoo numbers, you are probably wondering where all the Red-necked Grebes are! We are wondering the same thing. This time last year, there had already been over 5,000 individuals; this [...]
Many of you already know and respect just how crucial avian research is, but do you know what makes Whitefish Point Bird Observatory such an excellent place for these research efforts to take place? Tune in with us each Thursday in May to learn about topics inspired by our research at WPBO in a free [...]
In the past month, we’ve seen a lot of changes at the fall waterbird count. While getting snowed on, it’s hard to imagine that, just a month prior, there was a suite of shorebirds working the shoreline, that we had a tropical visitor in the form of a frigatebird, and that the dabblers outnumbered the [...]
It’s abundantly clear that Whitefish Point is a great spot for birds. While the geography is the central factor which steers the diversity we experience at the fall waterbird count, the habitats offered by the point play a significant role. Many birds are specialists. With roughly 10,000 known species on the planet, it’s of obvious [...]
