Highlights: White-winged Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak

It was again a beautiful day at the Point. A White-winged Crossbill that was coming in to the feeders yesterday was there again today. While we can get large flights of crossbills it is rare for one to come in to the feeders. As I was photographing the crossbill it very unexpectedly came and landed on my camera lens. The Common Redpolls began moving in earnest today, but only a few are coming to feeders. The majority are eating catkins from the alders and birches or seeds from the Jack Pine cones. The below photos show Common Redpolls eating the seeds and fighting over a pine cone. There were also a few Pine Grosbeaks present again today, but no waxwings were present.There was a Great Black-backed Gull at the harbor this morning.

Chris Neri

Bohemian Waxwing

Hilghlights: Wolf & Sharp-tailed Grouse

Tom & Don Jennette had a Wolf today from the waterbird shack this morning. As I have yet to see more than tracks in Michigan I am very jealous. Tom will post photos to the waterbird blog. It was another beautiful day and there was a very nice mix of late season birds around. It's pretty amazing to see Sharp-tailed & Spruce Grouse, Bohemian Waxwings, Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, White-winged & Red Crossbills on a day in November when temperatures hit the mid 50's. There was also a Yellow-rumped Warbler in with the Bohemians all of which were actively flycatching. Definitely not a typical November day, hope it keeps up.


Pine Grosbeak

Chris Neri

Bohemian Waxwing

Highlights: Pine Grosbeak, Bohemian Waxwing, Common Redpoll

While overall activity was somewhat slow it was an absolutely beautiful day and some good birds were around. The 1st Pine Grosbeaks of the season arrived, a flock of about 70 Bohemian Waxwings were around, and Common Redpolls finally found the feeders. There continues to be hundreds of American Goldfinch along with Pine Siskin and Purple Finch at the feeders. Other sightings included Ruffed Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Merlin, Red-winged Blackbird, and Snow Bunting. The King Eider that was present at the river mouth the last two days was not seen today.

Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin, and

part of an American Goldfinch

Chris Neri

King Eider

Highlights: King Eider at the river mouth

A King Eider was found at the Tahquameon River mouth this morning and was still present at nightfall. Also present at the river mouth were Tundra Swan, Long-tailed Duck, Mallard,

Black Duck, Common Goldeneye, and Bufflehead. Sightings in the woods at the Point included Snow Bunting, Fox Sparrow, Evening Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, and lots of Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch.

Tundra Swans

Snow Bunting

Chris Neri

Spruce Grouse

Highlights:Spruce Grouse & Bohemian Waxwing

Well it's November at that Point and the snow squalls and late season birds have begun to arrive. Evening Grosbeaks have become regular at the feeders and the numbers of Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch have also increased there. There has also been several sightings of Bohemian Waxwing, Common Redpoll, and Spruce Grouse. Other sighitngs have included Copper's Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Merlin, Barn Swallow, Northern Shrike, Winter Wren, Brown Thrasher, Fox Sparrow, Snow Bunting, Northern Cardinal, and White-winged Crossbill.

Brown Thrasher



Glaucous Gull

Chris Neri

Highlights: Western Grebe (photo above), Northern Cardinal

We've been experiencing some extreme weather lately, not to mention a 14 hour power outage yesterday. While the activity in the woods has been slow there have been some good sightings. Certainly one of the birds of the season was the Western Grebe found by Jason Bojczyk at the harbor today. It's a good time of year for gulls and multiple Great Black-backed Gulls and a Glaucous Gull were present. The season's first Northern Cardinal spent the day at the feeders and we have continued seeing an increase in the number of American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. We're set to get a little break in this weather tomorrow, hopefully there will be another surprise.

Glaucous Gull

Chris Neri

Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Greater Scaup &

Green-winged Teal (click to enlarge)

Northern Pintail, eider, and

White-winged Scoter (click to enlarge)

Highlights: eider, Northern Shrike, Black-backed Woodpecker

For the second day in a row an eider was seen at the waterbird count. Today's eider is the middle bird in the bottom photo. This photo will need to be reviewed by the records committee to see if it can be pinned to a species. There are aspects of its shape which may suggest Common, but we're still searching for photos of King and Common in flight for comparison before we can even convince ourselves.. From left to right the upper photo shows one Surf Scoter, 6 Black Scoters, 4 Greater Scaup, 1 Green-winged Teal, and 6 more Greater Scaup, you may have to scroll the photo to see all the birds. The Northern Shrike I color banded last Wednesday was seen again today for the 1st time since Thursday. While there was no change in species diversity the woods were more active today than they have been recently. There was a big increase in the number of American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and American Goldfinch. There were also more Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets then there has been the last few days. Other sightings included American Golden-Plover, Brown Creeper, both nuthatches, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Fox and White-crowned Sparrows, Red Crossbill, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin

Chris Neri