Lines of ducks stream through the sky. By day, I search for them. (For most of the last week — a cheek-numbing stretch of demoralizing north winds — it’s seemed that I seek far more than I find.) Then, by night, when I close my eyes and drift off, the ducks reappear, twisting their way [...]
Loon migration at WPBO is currently approaching full throttle — today, May 1, I had what is, so far, the season’s highest daily counts of Common (277) and Red-throated (38). With weather and season being what they are, I anticipate that Common Loons will peak within the next few days. (Last year, that happened on [...]
At the staff house this week, there’s been an ongoing, friendly debate. Rich, WPBO’s hawk counter, believes that I, the waterbird counter, have the worse end of the weather deal. I don’t think that I do. While I am stationed on the windswept beach, it’s really not that bad. The waterbird shack — save for [...]
Black coffee and bright wind maps: that’s how I start days, up here in Paradise. As I trace back towards the source of the colorful lines that flow past the Point, I imagine — and anticipate — the birds they might be ferrying. When this morning ritual is complete, I throw on my heavy layers [...]
Most hours of most days, the little flock of Snow Buntings are the closest thing to company out at the waterbird shack. They’re pretty good for that, actually--hardy birds that flit about the frozen beach, gleaning the sparse grass, giving happy calls even when the snow is so profuse I can’t see the lake. Watching [...]
To the Inuit of Nunavut, the arrival of the Long-tailed Duck (or in their language, aggiarjuk) heralds spring’s coming. Traditional songs exalt the event--”When we have survived the worst and the future looks promising, the Long-tailed Ducks have now returned. As they return, they are full of joyous spirit.” At Whitefish Point, where one spends [...]
Gale-force winds (temporarily) felled the shack this week... October is an easy month to love at the Point. Each morning, I gear up in the parking lot, entertaining unrealistic fantasies of what might fly by the count (or perch on the Merlin pole…) It is a favorite time of day--the sky is colorful, [...]
On a brisk morning at the Point, one finds the mind and body to be in conflict. While the body craves the shelter that comes from huddling on the south side of the counter’s shack, the mind knows that pursuing comfort means that more birds might slip by undetected. On a heavy flight, after weeks [...]
The right winds in early October usher Whitefish’s peak Aythya (certain diving ducks like scaup and Redhead) flight past the Point, and yesterday, the 7th, was fun. For most of the count, each time I looked to the northwest, a new duck flock had sprung the gate and was rapidly traversing the zone of easy [...]
Visible migration must be one of the more beautiful, raw phenomena of this world, and the past week at the waterbird count has provided frequent opportunities to appreciate it. This is a welcome departure from 8-hour loops of occasional, heat-distorted Red-necked Grebes that defined many days in early September! The energy accompanying fall migration is [...]
