WPBO Sightings

We've moved

2011-03-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. The WPBO blogs have moved! All of the blogs are now part of the main WPBO webite, which you can find, as always, at wpbo.org. The 2011 season is already underway, with hawks and owls on the move. So check it out!

WPBO Sault Ste. Marie Field Trip-Part 2

2011-01-17T14:23:00.000-05:00

Gray Jay-Hulbert Bog

The second day of WPBO's field trip targeted the remaining winter species we had left to see. We started off driving from the Soo and west along M-28 until we reached 3139 (Dick Road). Roads were snow covered most of the way, but several vehicles didn't care what the conditions were, including a large Semi-truck we let blazingly pass us by. At 3139, we targeted trying to see some Crossbills. We piled into three cars, as the road was only drivable with 4 or all-wheel drive vehicles. We spent awhile along this road playing both species of Crossbills calls, but got no response. As we were starting to get into our individual vehicles again at the intersection of 3139 and M-28, we started hearing some Red Crossbills around! They called for a couple of minutes and some flew over the road, but, unfortunately, none landed in some trees within view of us. We went on to the Maple Ridge Restaurant, near the intersection of 123 and M-28, where most of us stopped for coffee. A few of us went on to the Bear Butt Bar to briefly check out the feeders. There wasn't anything at the feeders, but a single male Pine Grosbeak across the road on top of a tree was giving great views. We went back to the restaurant, gathered up again, and headed towards the Hulbert Bog, which is known for Gray Jays and occasionally Boreal Chickadees. Before we got to the East-West part of the road, some feeders were scanned which had 2 Pine Grosbeaks near it. Nice views were had and at least 4 additional Pine Grosbeaks were seen down this part of the road. At the East-West portion of the road, some seed was dropped and some of us walked from the west side of the road, while others walked from the east side. The Jays have the potential to be anywhere along this East-West part of the road. We played the calls of both our target species all along the road. We frequently heard a Pileated Woodpecker calling before it finally flew close by us along the road, a spectacular male. Over an hour was spent searching for our target birds, but we weren't getting any responses. We started heading back towards the cars when all of a sudden a Gray Jay came in out of nowhere! We had excellent views of it for a long time and brief views of a second Gray Jay. One of the Jays came within 12 feet of us! It was a life bird for quite a number of people. We got in our vehicles again and tried for the Boreal Chickadee some more without success. We headed up the northern portion of Basnau Road and some of us now saw 4 Evening Grosbeaks at the feeders we had checked out earlier. We went back to the Maple Ridge Restaurant for lunch and then headed north towards Whitefish Point. On the way to Whitefish Point we made brief stops at the Bear Butt Bar and Taquamenon Rivermouth, but were unable to connect with any winter bird species. At Whitefish Point we went to the feeders to try and find a Hoary Redpoll. There were at least 30 Common Redpolls around, but we were unable to pick out a Hoary. Lake Superior was scanned for waterfowl, but we were only able to find a Red-breasted Merganser. From Whitefish Point we went down to Vermillion Road, but were unable to find anything of note. It started snowing heavily again and it was getting late, so we called an end to our fabulous trip. It was an excellent 2 days of birding, with almost all of our target species seen.

Again, if you're interested in joining on a WPBO Sault Ste. Marie winter field trip, there's still room in our 2nd, and final, trip on February 19-20, 2011. The more eyes and ears, the better! You can register here:

http://wpbo.org/calendar/field-trips/

Here's the entire list of species seen on this Sault Ste. Marie field trip.

35 Species:

Mallard

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Wild Turkey

Bald Eagle

Northern Goshawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Snowy Owl

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Northern Shrike

Blue Jay

Gray Jay

American Crow

Common Raven

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

European Starling

American Tree Sparrow

Snow Bunting

Common Grackle

Pine Grosbeak

Common Redpoll

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

Evening Grosbeak

Red Crossbill

House Sparrow

Jason Bojczyk

WPBO Sault Ste. Marie Field Trip-Part 1

2011-01-15T20:03:00.001-05:00

(Click to enlarge photos-they look better and less grainy!)

Snowy Owl-Pickford

Pine Grosbeaks-Dunbar

Pine Grosbeak-Dunbar

Northern Shrike-South of the Soo

Sharp-tailed Grouse-South of the Soo

The first day of WPBO's Sault Ste. Marie field trip was today and we had great results. We started off the day at 8:00 in a caravan of 3 cars. The predicted snowfall overnight did come, and we got about 3-5 inches in Sault Ste. Marie. Our first stop was at the Edison Powerplant, where we had Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, and Red-breasted Mergansers in the partly frozen St. Mary's River. While traveling along to our next stop, the Sugar Island Ferry, we had a close encounter with a Bald Eagle perched in a tree. We got a few more species at the Sugar Island Ferry and another Bald Eagle flew down the river. From here, we traveled down Nicolet Road and startled an immature Northern Goshawk off an old barn which flew way off into the distance. 1/2 mile later the Goshawk gave another pass flying quickly along the field by our cars. Traveling further down Nicolet, a group of 11 Sharp-tailed Grouse were spotted in a field, making this the first lifer for some on the trip. Great views were had by all, and then they took off across the road. We were able to find these birds again at our next stop, near 9 mile and Nicolet, and, amazingly, we had even better views of the Sharp-taileds perched at the top of some Tamaracks. Common Redpolls, woodpeckers, and a very surprising Common Grackle were also seen at this stop at some feeders. We continued on towards the Dunbar feeders, but not before encountering our first, of several today, Shrike along the way. Some distant Common Redpolls were also seen. At Dunbar, our group sort of split into two groups-one at the feeders, and one at the boat launch. At the boat launch, we had a single female Pine Grosbeak and another Bald Eagle gave a nice pass down the river. We then joined up with the rest of our group, as well as several other birders, and birded the Dunbar feeders. We had Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, American Tree Sparrows, and Goldfinches. Then, all of a sudden, 5 grosbeaks flew from behind all of us and landed at the top of some trees near the feeders. Three of them were Pine Grosbeaks-2 female and a spectacular male, making this a life bird for some people who missed the one at the boat launch. And what were the other 2 grosbeaks next to it? None other than a male and female Evening Grosbeak! Just picture the top of a tree with both female and male Pine and Evening Grosbeaks in the same binocular view! Absolutely stunning! We reluctantly moved on towards Pickford by going down to 15 mile and heading west towards M-129. Along the way, a distant Shrike was spotted. As we stopped to get out our scopes, a magnificient dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk flew over the road, our first of the day. The Shrike was then viewed through our scopes and was a life bird for a couple of people. (The other Shrike in the day had only been seen briefly by a few people.) We made a brief stop in Pickford for lunch at the Main Street Cafe, before heading along towards Pennington and Gray Roads. Nothing of note was seen, except another Bald Eagle, until we got out at Gray Road. A light-morph Rough-legged Hawk at Gray Road was spotted way out in the distance and then viewed from scopes. From here we went on towards where a Snowy Owl had been seen yesterday-down Hancock Road. Down this road we saw another distant Rough-legged and a Red-tailed Hawk. We didn't see the Snowy Owl in the tree it was the day before, so we got out and searched both sides of the road. We scanned and scanned out in the distance before finding it right before our eyes sitting on the seat of a tractor! Scopes were set up on it and nice views were had by all, and it was another life bird for some people. (If you look at the most distant fenceposts in the picture above, that's where we were scanning.) And here's the part of the trip where you started to remember you were in the U.P. again. Soon after the Snowy Owl sighting, we were met with very strong winds, cold temperatures, and blinding snow. We headed very slowly down Townline Road and then up McCabe Road. Another Shrike and Sharp-tailed Grouse were seen by a few birders. From here we went west along M-48 to some feeders near Hantz Road which sometimes has Snow Buntings. Sure enough, 60+ were there although it was extremely hard to actually identify them through the white-out like conditions. We then went up Hantz Road and stopped at another spot for Snow Buntings, and much better views were attained by all. From here we briefly went around some neighborhoods in Rudyard looking at feeders, but only had a Pine Siskin. Due to the weather conditions, we decided to cut our trip a little short and headed up I-75 to some more feeders along M-129, south of 9 mile road. On I-75 another Bald Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk were seen. Another Shrike was found along the way, and at the feeders south of 9 mile were some more Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks, and 3 Turkeys. Yet another Bald Eagle was seen here too. We started wrapping up our day by going back north and then east along 7 mile road. A Shrike was found here and the best views of the day were had by all. I, personally, had never had a Shrike so close and tame. We finished our day by heading north along Ridge Road and into the Soo again. Just an absolutely amazing day of winter birding around the Soo. We're looking forward to tomorrow!

Does the above trip look and sound exciting? If so, there is still room on our February 19-20, 2011 trip for you. Yes, it was cold, but most of the birding is done by car and it's always a lot of fun. The birds more than make up for the cold weather. There is always the possibility of some more Northern Owls showing up by then too! If you want to sign up, here's the link to do so:

http://wpbo.org/calendar/field-trips/

Here's the list of birds seen today-all of the 'winter birds', except the Northern Goshawk, were seen by all WPBO field trip members.

1/15/11 trip day list: 32 species

Mallard

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Wild Turkey

Bald Eagle

Northern Goshawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Snowy Owl

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Shrike

Blue Jay

American Crow

Common Raven

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

European Starling

American Tree Sparrow

Snow Bunting

Common Grackle

Pine Grosbeak

Common Redpoll

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

Evening Grosbeak

House Sparrow

Jason Bojczyk

Sightings of late

2010-11-07T19:07:00.001-05:00

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Spotted Towhee was last sighted on the 1st and there hasn't been any other mega bird to take its place since but in lieu of anything outstanding has been a nice mix of boreal birds that have shown up in recent days.

Foremost among them (at least in my humble opinion) has been the arrival of the Bohemian Waxwings over the past two days as we went from 0 to at least 50-100 around the point in several obvious flocks. I also got word that there was a flock of at 250 at the river mouth the other day so their annual invasion has begun. Also seen each of the past several days have been Pine Grosbeaks and White-winged Crossbills with a few other "large" finches mixed in for good measure. The redpolls are still arriving daily but no confirmed sightings of Hoary among them of late.

Predatory birds seen lately have included at least two Northern Goshawks including an adult which flew in off the lake on the 6th (despite what some people might tell you about that species crossing water), a few days with decent Rough-legged Hawk migration, and a young Northern Shrike that has been present, but elusive, for a few days.

The most interesting passerine of late is a partly leucistic Rose-breasted Grosbeak that has been present at the feeders for a few days, the previous late date for this species at the point was September 28th so its clearly a little lost.

Scott

Recent sightings (Spotted Towhee continues)

2010-10-30T19:26:00.005-04:00

Evening Grosbeak

No major news to report form the past two days but the Spotted Towhee continues at the feeders, though it still being relatively shy. Also of interest to some is the recent influx of "Boreal" birds over the past couple days with large numbers of Snow Buntings and Evening Grosbeaks accompanied by smaller numbers of Bohemian Waxwing, Northern Shrike, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, and Common Redpoll among others. Also noted of late were Sharp-tailed Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Rough-legged Hawk, and Short-eared Owl along with the plethora of sparrows and other birds at the feeders which have included a Brewer's Blackbird and who knows what else might be lurking in woods just waiting to be discovered.

Scott

The aftermath

2010-10-28T19:43:00.002-04:00

Cave Swallow

What a storm, winds in excess of 55 MPH (I heard that the peak wind speed at Whitefish Point was 63!! MPH) while I was out there and the power is still out at the point with Paradise (my current home) just getting theirs back this afternoon. The storm brought a couple big birds to the point, the best of which was a CAVE SWALLOW which made a couple passes of me on the point yesterday before hanging out around the buildings for the afternoon and evening when I was able to snap a couple pics for documentation purposes.

Other notable birds were as much for the date of arrival as for the species themselves with many of these species not having been recorded since mid-September or early October and in some cases the first week of September. They include

-Turkey Vulture (27th and 28th)
-Tree Swallow (2 on the 27th and 28th)
-Barn Swallow (27th)
-American Pipit (28th)
-Savannah Sparrows (28th)
-Yellow-rumped Warbler (27th)
-Snow Buntings- hundreds arrived off the lake throughout the day on the 27th and 28th
-An Icterid flock composed of 2 Red-winged Blackbirds, 2-3 Rusty Blackbirds, 12 Common Grackles, and 3 Brown-headed Cowbirds which joined the two European Starlings that have been present for awhile to make a pretty diverse blackbird flock for the point
-Common Redpoll- at least 15-20 arrived on the 27th with a number still around on the 28th
-Evening Grosbeak- a female on the 27th

There is also the continuing Brown Thrasher, SPOTTED TOWHEE, and Indigo Bunting among others as of the 28th.

Scott

Spotted Towhee continues

2010-10-25T21:29:00.000-04:00

The female Spotted Towhee was still present this afternoon about 4 at the feeders. I guess it remains to be seen how long this bird will stick around, especially with the weather that's on the horizon.

Just another bird from the west

2010-10-24T18:07:00.000-04:00

female Spotted Towhee

A female Spotted Towhee was found this afternoon by Ken Mettie Jr. at the feeders behind the WPBO gift shop and was still there in the early evening feeding among the other sparrows in the rain. The is an overdue first record for Whitefish Point and only the 7th for Michigan.

The Common Ground-Dove however was not located today despite many searching eyes so it seems we have traded one vagrant bird for another. Also present at the feeders were a Brown Thrasher, Indigo Bunting, and a good selection of sparrows including Fox and Swamp.

Scott

Dove update

2010-10-23T17:22:00.001-04:00

Yep its still here, didn't leave on last night's calm weather but it was a little less reliable today with the increased crowds at the point. Looks like it might be sticking around for the long haul.

Scott

Dove update

2010-10-22T17:27:00.000-04:00

The bird was still present as of 4:15 this afternoon. Its still being seen on the lawn next to the gift shop starting about 9:30 or 10 in the morning and then regularly through the rest of the day.

Also present at the feeders this afternoon was a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Brown Thrasher, and Fox Sparrow.

Scott

Dove update

2010-10-21T17:11:00.000-04:00

The Common Ground-Dove continues today through at least 3 p.m. and with the current weather (35 degrees and snowing as of 5 p.m.) it is unlikely that it is going anywhere soon. Also present at the feeders today were the continuing Brown Thrasher and Indigo Bunting but there were very few other birds present on the point today.

Scott

Quick update

2010-10-20T19:13:00.001-04:00

The dove was seen up until 7 or so and was starting to go to roost at that time in the alders behind the gift shop which means it should be here tomorrow morning as long as the weather doesn't get 'em.

Other birds present today included a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Hermit Thrush, a continuing Brown Thrasher, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a female-type Indigo Bunting, 3 House Sparrows (fairly rare at the point if not all that interesting as a rule), and an increase in Pine Siskin and Snow Bunting numbers with 150+ and 20+ respectively.

The only other notable bird seen in recent days but not today was a Winter Wren on the 18th.

Scott

COMMON GROUND-DOVE!!!

2010-10-20T18:04:00.000-04:00

Common Ground-Dove next to gift shop

This little beauty was found near the gift shop by Hank Veldman around 11:30 this morning. It eventually settled in nicely around the lawn and feeders adjacent to the gift shop for the latter half of the afternoon and was still there as of 5 p.m. or so. As is typical with this species he stays on (or very close to) the ground at all times and flies it short bursts, heading for cover when he gets spooked. They typically feed in short grass and/or sandy soils which makes the area around the gift shop and the banding trail ideal conditions for this species, at least as ideal as a bird which is normally found no closer than southern Alabama could find in the UP.

Scott

Reasons to walk the trails

2010-09-12T20:33:00.004-04:00

Landbird migration was strong on the point today with many birds already present this morning and large numbers arriving well after sunrise. Most common were Swainson's Thrush and Yellow-rumped Warbler but other common species were present in good numbers including Blue Jay, Cedar Waxwing, and White-throated Sparrow.

New birds for the fall arriving today included 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a Gray Catbird, and 2 Rusty Blackbirds while other notables included 2 Black-backed Woodpeckers, 2 Least Flycatchers, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 Veery, 1 Gray-cheeked Thrush, 9 warbler species (including 1 Pine, small numbers of both Blackpoll and Bay-breasted, and a Northern Waterthrush), a couple Clay-colored Sparrows, a new Field Sparrow, and a few additional Lapland Longspurs.

The weather is suppose to more of the same for Monday and Tuesday so hopefully all the birds that were staged to the north of us didn't come through today and there will be more to enjoy in the near future.

Scott

WARBLERS!!!

2010-09-01T21:01:00.005-04:00

From the walk out to the shack this morning it was clear that there were a lot of birds on the point. But the true number wasn't revealed until the birds began to move with first light and the trees began to drip. Huge numbers of passerines had piled up on the point through the night and even as waves continued to arrive in the early morning hours there were birds taking advantage of western winds and departing the point. Standing at the shack I watched hundreds, upon, hundreds of warblers moving south and east with the storms and yet the woods still dripped with birds.

All of the 25 regular occurring fall warblers were found this morning and afternoon and while most birds evaded our eyes the ones that could be found included

Tennessee 150

Orange-crowned 4

Nashville 40

Northern Parula 5

Yellow Warbler 3

Chestnut-sided 2

Magnolia 75

Cape May 75

Black-throated Blue 4

Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) 100

Black-throated Green 8

Blackburnian 8

Pine 2

Palm 30

Bay-breasted 15

Blackpoll 115

Black-and-white 5

American Redstart 25

Ovenbird 9

Northern Waterthrush 2

Connecticut 1 (along the south side of the "Fog Horn" Pond)

Mourning 2

Common Yellowthroat 4

Wilson's 5

Canada 3

Other migrant numbers included:

Black-backed Woodpecker 1

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1

Alder Flycatcher 1

Least Flycatcher 2

Philadelphia Vireo 4

Red-eyed Vireo 2

Brown Creeper 6

House Wren 1

Golden-crowned Kinglet 10

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6

Veery 1

Gray-cheeked Thrush 5

Swainson's Thrush 150

Hermit Thrush 5

Cedar Waxwing 125

Lincoln's Sparrow 6

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1

I know not every day in September can be this good but this sure was one heck of a way to ring in the new month at the point.

Scott

Ovenbird

Black-and-white Warbler

American Redstart

Blackpoll Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Cape May Warbler

8/29 migration

2010-08-29T23:13:00.005-04:00

Swainson's Thrush

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

The highlight in the woods today was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The woods were pretty active, but most of that activity was Yellow-rumped Warblers. Swainson's Thrushes remain in good numbers with 17 seen today. Other notable species include Golden-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, White-crowned Sparrow, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Warbler species(9): Nashville-4, Black-throated Blue-1, Yellow-rumped-25, Black-throated Green-1, Palm-3, Blackpoll-1, American Redstart-2, Common Yellowthroat-3, and Wilson's-2.

8/28 migration

2010-08-28T20:00:00.002-04:00

There was decent activity in the woods early this morning, but as soon as it started getting hot out, it became quite dead.

Highlights: Northern Goshawk, Pileated Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Swainson's Thrushes, Lincoln's Sparrow, and a Red Crossbill.

Warbler species(7): Nashville-3, Northern Parula-1, Yellow-rumped-5, Black-throated Green-1, Palm-1, Blackpoll-2, and Common Yellowthroat-5.

8/27 migration

2010-08-27T14:46:00.003-04:00

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

The woods were quite active again, although things were more spread out. Warbler diversity remains good, with 10 species today. Swainson's Thrushes were present in high numbers with at least 13 at the point. Other thrushes were quite skittish and flew off before they could be identified.

Highlights: Northern Goshawk, Philadelphia Vireo, Brown Creeper, 5 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Swainson's Thrush, and 5 Lincoln's Sparrows.

Warbler species(10): Nashville-3, Northern Parula-1, Cape May-1, Yellow-rumped-30, Black-throated Green-2, Palm-3, Blackpoll-2, Northern Waterthrush-1, Common Yellowthroat-3, and Wilson's-3

FYI

2010-08-26T19:42:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that this blog may not be updated daily depending on staffing but I will be giving a quick rundown of what is seen each day in the woods at the end of the Waterbird Count blog which hopefully will suffice when we can't give a full day's rundown here.

Thanks,

Scott

Recent migration

2010-08-25T16:50:00.003-04:00

Things have really picked up in the woods this past week, including 21 species of warbler between the past 2 days and today. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Swainson's Thrush, Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireos, and Common Nighthawks are some of the more recent arrivals. There continues to be a decent variety of raptors around the point, including a Goshawk.

Warblers today include: Tennessee, Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, A. Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's, and Canada.

8/13 migration

2010-08-13T23:30:00.002-04:00

Not much today, and no evening count was conducted. Just 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper and 6 Least Sandpipers.

8/12 migration

2010-08-12T22:09:00.002-04:00

The woods weren't covered today, but it didn't seem like much was going on in them from the walks to the shack. Waterfowl were slow this morning, but there was a decent variety of shorebirds. This morning:

Common Loon-1
Red-necked Grebe-6
Great Blue Heron-1
Ruddy Turnstone-1
Sanderling-4
Semipalmated Sandpiper-2
Least Sandpiper-8
Caspian Tern-1
Tern Sp.-1

This evening Red-necked Grebes really moved again, as did the fog. Within 10 minutes the visibility went from 30 km to barely seeing just past the shack at around 9:00.

Red-necked Grebe-140
Waterbird Sp.-14

8/10 and 8/11 migration

2010-08-11T21:40:00.006-04:00

Ruddy Turnstone

8/10-Not much around-No shorebirds or waterfowl, led to the 'bird of the day' being a Palm Warbler. Very foggy for some of the day as well.

8/11-Hawk diversity has been pretty good this week, and 4 species were seen today. Another slow day for waterfowl, but shorebirds were excellent. This morning:

Dabbler Sp.-1

Common Loon-3

Red-necked Grebe-1

Piping Plover-3

Spotted Sandpiper-1

Ruddy Turnstone-1

Sanderling-5

Semipalmated Sandpiper-2

Least Sandpiper-16

Baird's Sandpiper-1

Not much time was spent at the point this evening, due to rain, but most of the shorebirds above were still around, with an additional Sanderling. No waterfowl were seen.

8/9 migration

2010-08-09T22:28:00.003-04:00

The woods were slow today, along with waterfowl, but there was a good variety of shorebirds.

This morning:

Double-crested Cormorant-4
Great Blue Heron-1
Semipalmated Plover-2
Least Sandpiper-1
Baird's Sandpiper-1
Bonaparte's Gull-4

This evening:

Common Loon-2
Red-necked Grebe-6
Sanderling-5
Semipalmated Sandpiper-1
Shorebird Sp.-1

8/8 migration

2010-08-08T21:52:00.004-04:00

There was pretty good activity in the woods today, with a decent variety of warblers, including at least 15 Palm. Waterbirds were pretty slow this morning:

Common Loon-3

Red-necked Grebe-1
Great Blue Heron-1
Baird's Sandpiper-2
Short-billed Dowitcher-1
Bonaparte's Gull-1

It was better this evening:

Common Loon-1
Red-necked Grebe-47
Grebe Sp.-2
Killdeer-1
Sanderling-7
Bonaparte's Gull-1

8/7 migration

2010-08-07T21:29:00.003-04:00

Pretty slow in the woods today. Highlights today were 10 Red Crossbills, 1 Palm Warbler, 1 Harrier, and 1 Kestrel. Another couple of hours were spent this morning at the shack and almost everything was migrating by at the horizon and couldn't be identified. This morning:

Mallard-1
Common Loon-2
Red-necked Grebe-1
Waterbird sp.-58
Sanderling-2
Baird's Sandpiper-3
Spotted Sandpiper-1
Bonaparte's Gull-1

Things were much closer late this evening and the following were seen:

Red-necked Grebe-80
Waterbird Sp.-5
Sanderling-2(different from the morning)

This summer and past week's migration

2010-08-06T23:01:00.006-04:00

Lesser Yellowlegs

Sanderling

Willets

Another year of nesting Piping Plovers was nice, with 4 successfully fledged chicks, 3 of which survived the summer. There were a few unusual/uncommon sightings this summer at the point including a Whimbrel in mid-June, a White-crowned Sparrow several times in July, 4 Willets on July 2, a Black-billed Cuckoo throughout July, Red Crossbills a couple of times in July, a Cape May Warbler on July 10, Common Loons throughout July, a Palm Warbler on July 21, a Woodcock, Cape May Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and 2 Baltimore Orioles on July 22, a Tennessee Warbler on July 23, a White-winged Scoter and 6 warbler species on July 26, a Woodcock and House Wren on August 4, and a Bonaparte's Gull yesterday. The beginning of fall migration appeared to start on July 22 here, with a good number and diversity of species. This past week there have been 5-7 warbler species each day, and usually a couple species of shorebirds. Some of the shorebirds this past week include Lesser Yellowlegs, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, American Golden-Plover, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, and Killdeer.

With migration obviously taking place, a few hours were spent this morning at the waterbird shack and the following migrants were seen:

White-winged Scoter-1
Common Loon-5
Red-necked Grebe~170
Double-crested Cormorant-5
Waterbird sp.-20
Least Sandpiper-1
Semipalmated Sandpiper-1

2010-05-21T11:27:00.012-04:00

Red-headed Woodpecker

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Blackburnian Warbler

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Magnolia Warbler

Highlights: Red-headed Woodpecker & Yellow-headed Blackbird

The current weather pattern has really stalled things out the last couple days, but late season migrants have just started picking up and there have been some interesting recent sightings. On the 21st there was a nice flight of songbirds including several first arrival. Even though activity dropped off the last two days, there have been a couple more first arrivals. Recent sightings in the woods include; Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Gray Catbird, Blackpoll & Canada Warblers, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Bobolink, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Red Crossbill.

2010-05-18T06:47:00.003-04:00

Blackburnian Warbler

Cape May Warbler

American Redstart

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Swamp Sparrow

Highlights: Swainson's Hawk, Connecticut Warbler

We are currently at what is really a great time of the year at the Point. Although some things are slowing down, we're in the period when hawks, waterbirds, and songbirds can be active. The songbirds have begun picking up and recent sightings in the woods include; Chimney Swift, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher, Blue-headed & Philadelphia Vireos, Bank Swallow, Scarlet Tanager, Clay-colored Sparrow, and Rose-breasted & Evening Grosbeaks. The warblers have begun arriving in earnest with 17 species the last two days including; Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, Connecticut, and Wilson's. We want to thank Jason Bojczyk, who is currently down state for the Purple Gallinule, for volunteering his time. In addition to giving the counters days off, he has been giving education programs in the Owl's Roost and updating the sightings blog.

5/10/2010

2010-05-10T23:04:00.004-04:00

Cape May Warbler

Sharp-shinned Hawk
killing a Blue Jay

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler with a fly

Pine Warbler

With the warm weather and clear skies, activity at the waterbird count, hawk count, and woods picked up significantly. Diversity in the woods was good today, with the first nice mix of warblers.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 66

Highlights: Ruffed Grouse, American Woodcock, Bonaparte's Gulls, Caspian Tern, Blue-headed Vireos, Bank Swallows, many Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, many American Pipits, Lincoln's Sparrow, Snow Bunting, and Evening Grosbeaks.

Warbler species(10): Orange-crowned-4, Nashville-8, Yellow-2, Magnolia-1, Cape May-3, Yellow-rumped-93, Black-throated Green-8, Pine-1, Palm-2, and Black-and-white-1.

5/9/2010

2010-05-09T23:59:00.004-04:00

Lincoln's Sparrow

Clear skies but cold temperatures led to some species seen several days ago returning, but not the diversity expected at this time of year. Tomorrow could be a decent variety of species again, with perhaps some new migrants(and warblers)! Two woodcock were seen walking along one of the trails in the woods, which is always nice to see.

Number of species at the point today (including counts): 37

Highlights: Piping Plover, American Woodcock, Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Hermit Thrush, Lincoln's Sparrow and Snow Bunting.

Warbler species(1): Yellow-rumped-3

5/8/2010

2010-05-08T23:40:00.003-04:00

It was a very cold and windy day which led to the worst total number of species at the point in weeks. The predicted snow didn't accumulate though.

Total number of species(including counts): 21

Highlight: White-crowned Sparrows.

Warbler species(1): Yellow-rumped-3

5/7/2010

2010-05-07T23:55:00.005-04:00

Blue Jays and Hairy Woodpecker

Still no new passerine migrants and the woods were dead. Tomorrow doesn't look good either-up to 5 inches of snow overnight and 20 mph winds throughout the day from the North. Highlight of the day was 3 Piping Plovers.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 36

Highlights: Piping Plovers, American Pipit, and White-crowned Sparrows.

Warbler species(1): Yellow-rumped-4

5/6/2010

2010-05-07T00:14:00.002-04:00

Strong winds in an unfavorable direction led to a lack of birds at the counts and virtually no activity in the woods.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 33

Highlights: Bonaparte's Gulls, Glaucous Gull, Cliff Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and White-crowned Sparrows.

Warbler species(1): Yellow-rumped-6.

5/5/2010

2010-05-06T08:09:00.006-04:00

Spruce Grouse

After the early morning rain the sky cleared up a little bit, and the most species in a day this spring were recorded. No new songbirds arrived, but the number of warbler species is back up to 5. The waterbird count had a nice diversity of waterfowl and the hawk count didn't pick up until the end of the count.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 72

Highlights: Ruffed Grouse, Greater Yellowlegs, Caspian Tern, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallows, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Brown Thrasher, American Pipits, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Lapland Longspur.

Other: David Bell found 9 Willets at the Tahquamenon Rivermouth early in the morning, and they were still seen later in the evening. A Northern Mockingbird was at Vermillion and a Spruce Grouse was at Vermillion Road.

Warbler species(5): Nashville-2, Yellow-rumped-8, Black-throated Green-1, Pine-2, and Palm-2.

5/4/2010

2010-05-04T23:49:00.003-04:00

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The woods were quiet again today. The overall highlight today was the great loon flight that happened today-see the waterbird blog for more details. Another highlight was an immature Golden Eagle that made a couple of passes over the hawk platform towards the end of the hawk count in perfect lighting.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 56

Highlights: Greater Yellowlegs, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Hermit Thrush, American Pipits, and Evening Grosbeaks.

Warbler species(3): Nashville-1, Yellow-rumped-7, and Black-throated Green-1.

5/3/2010

2010-05-04T00:19:00.013-04:00

Sunset at the Point

The woods weren't covered that well today and no new migrants were detected. The number of Blue Jays has increased to over 200. The highlight of the day was an American Woodcock seen in the woods.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 50

Highlights: American Woodcock, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Hermit Thrushes, American Pipits, Swamp Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, and Evening Grosbeak.

Warbler species(1): Yellow-rumped-4.

5/2/2010

2010-05-02T23:29:00.008-04:00

Blue Jay

The woods were pretty quiet today other than the large flock of Blue Jays with at least 150 birds. Throughout the day the Blue Jays gave perfect imitation calls of both Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks. Towards the end of the hawk count a light morph Swainson's Hawk flew around and even briefly perched.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 58

Rarity: Swainson's Hawk

Highlights: Whip-poor-will, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Pipit, White-crowned Sparrow, and Evening Grosbeak.

Warbler species(3): Nashville-1, Yellow-rumped-4, and Black-throated Green-1.

5/1/2010

2010-05-01T23:46:00.006-04:00

Eastern Kingbird

The day began with thick fog around the point and didn't let up until around 12. It was nice to hear Common Loons calling in the fog though. There was visibility, at least partially, all day at the hawk platform and an amazing 2,411 birds were tallied. This included a large kettle of around 1,200 Broad-wingeds way up in the air. Although the woods weren't covered as well as yesterday, there were some new arrivals.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 60

Highlights: Whip-poor-will, Eastern Kingbird, Cliff Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Brown Thrasher, American Pipit, Vesper Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrows, and Rusty Blackbirds.

Warbler species(4): Yellow-rumped-10+, Black-throated Green-2, Pine-1, and Palm-1.

2010-04-30T22:38:00.006-04:00

Swamp and Vesper Sparrows

A great day at the point today that began with numerous Sharp-shinned Hawks at 6:30 this morning and continued through the end of the day. Yellow-rumped Warblers, blackbirds, and Robins all formed large flocks throughout the day. The songbird migration is really picking up and it was nice to see a Green Heron briefly today as well.

Number of species at the point today(including counts): 71

Highlights: Green Heron, Whip-poor-will, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushes, American Pipits, 5 warbler species, and 7 sparrow species, including singles of Vesper, Swamp, and White-crowned.

Warbler species(5): Nashville-1, Yellow-rumped-100+, Black-throated Green-1, Pine-1, and Palm-4.

2009-11-19T12:55:00.025-05:00

With the end of the fall field season on the 15th, so ends the research for 2009. It seems like more than 8 months since we were contending with feet of snow when the the spring research season started. After a particularly wet and cold spring and summer we experienced a beautiful September and November. The combined results of the research seasons resulted in the documentation of over 171,000 individual birds of 241 species. Included in these 241 species are Chaffinch and Whooping Crane, two birds which cannot be officially counted due to their origins. Notable sightings included records of the Point's 1st Tufted Titmouse, 2nd Western Grebe, 2nd American Avocet, 4th Long-billed Dowitcher, Brant, Long-tailed Jaeger, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and a King Eider at the Tahquameneon River mouth. All nine species of owls that occur at the Point were seen this year, 8 in spring alone. The owl research resulted in the banding of 1,164 owls; 928 Northern Saw-whets, 75 Boreals, 142 Long-eareds, 1 Short-eared, 10 Barreds, 4 Great Grays, 2 Great Horneds, and 2 Northern Hawk Owls. While the larger species of owls are seen fairly regularly when they are present, only 1 Saw-whet and 2 Boreals were found away from the owl banding. The spring hawk count tallied over 15,000 individual diurnal raptors of 16 species and also had a Snowy Owl fly by the platform! Of course the spring & fall waterbird counts are responsible for a large number of the sightings and details can be found on the waterbird blog. Below is a list of the 2009 sightings by season, S=spring and f=fall. Considering our northern location and the fact that our research area is only about 40 acres the list is quite impressive. I will hopefully get another post in before I wrap up here and join Nova down at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Texas for the winter.

Snow Goose: F

Cackling Goose: F

Canada Goose: S/F
Brant: S

Tundra Swan: S

TUSW/TRSW: F

Wood Duck: S/F

Gadwall: S/F

American Wigeon: S/F

Am. Black Duck: S/F

Mallard: S/F

Blue-winged Teal: S/Fl

Northern Shoveler: S/F

Northern Pintail: S/F

Green-winged Teal: F

Canvasback: S/F

Redhead: S/F

Ring-necked Duck: S/F

Greater Scaup: S/F

Lesser Sacup: S/F

eider species: F

Harlequin Duck: F

Surf Scoter: S/F

White-winged Scoter: S/F

Black Scoter: F

Long-tailed Duck: S/F

Bufflehead: S/F

Common Goldeneye: S/F

Hooded Merganser: S/F

Red-breasted Merganser: S/F

Common Merganser: S/F

Ruffed Grouse: F

Spruce Grouse: F

Sharp-tailed Grouse: F

Red-throated Loon: S/F

Pacific Loon: F

Common Loon: S/F

Horned Grebe: S/F

Red-necked Grebe: S/F

Western Grebe: F

American White-Pelican: S

Double-crested Cormorant: S/F

Great Blue Heron: S/F
Green Heron: S

Turkey Vulture: S/F

Osprey: S/F

Bald Eagle: S/F

Northern Harrier: S/F

Sharp-shinned Hawk: S/F

Cooper's Hawk: S/F

Northern Goshawk: S/F
Red-shouldered Hawk: S

Broad-winged Hawk: S/F

Swainson's Hawk: S

Red-tailed Hawk: S/F

Rough-legged Hawk: S/F
Golden Eagle: S

American Kestrel: S/F

Merlin: S/F

Peregrine Falcon: S/F

Sandhill Crane: S/F

Black-bellied Plover: S/F

Am. Golden-Plover: S/F

Semipalmated Plover: S/F

Piping Plover: S/F

Killdeer: S/F

American Avocet: S

Greater Yellowlegs: S/F

Lesser Yellowlegs: S/F

Solitary Sandpiper: S/F

Spotted Sandpiper: S/F

Whimbrel: S/F
Hudsonian Godwit: S

Ruddy Turnstone: S/F
Red Knot: S

Sanderling: S/F

Semipalmated Sandpiper: S/F

Least Sandpiper: S/F

White-rumped Sandpiper: S/F

Baird's Sandpiper: F

Pectoral Sandpiper: F

Dunlin: S/F

Buff-breasted Sandpiper: F
Short-billed Dowitcher: S

Long-billed Dowitcher: F

Wilson's Snipe: S/F

American Woodcock: S

Red Phalarope: F

Parasitic Jaeger: S/F

Long-tailed Jaeger: F

Franklin's Gull: F
Little Gull: S

Bonaparte's Gull: S/F

Ring-billed Gull: S/F

Herring Gull: S/F

Iceland Gull: S/F

Glaucous Gull: S/F

Great Black-backed Gull: S/F

Black-legged Kittiwake: F

Sabine's Gull: F

Caspian Tern: S/F

Common Tern: S/F

Forster's Tern: F
Rock Pigeon: Summer

Mourning Dove: S/F

Black-billed Cuckoo: F

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: F
Great Horned Owl: S

Snowy Owl: S

Northern Hawk Owl: F

Barred Owl: S/F
Great Gray Owl: S

Long-eared Owl: S/F

Short-eared Owl: S/F

Boreal Owl: S/F

Northern Saw-whet Owl: S/F
Common Nighthawk: S/F
Whip-poor-will: S

Chimney Swift: S/F

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: S/F

Belted Kingfisher: S/F

Red-headed Woodpecker: S

Red-bellied Woodpecker: S/F

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: S/F

Downy Woodpecker: S/F

Hairy Woodpecker: F

Black-backed Woodpecker: S/F

Northern Flicker: S/F

Pileated Woodpecker: S/F

Olive-sided Flycatcher: F
Eastern Wood-Pewee: S

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: S/F

Alder Flycatcher: S/F

Least Flycatcher: S/F

Eastern Phoebe: S/F
Great-crested Flycatcher: S
Eastern Kingbird: S

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: F

Northern Shrike: S/F

Blue-headed Vireo: S/F
Philadelphia Vireo: S

Red-eyed Vireo: S/F

Blue Jay: S/F

American Crow: S/F

Common Raven: S/F

Horned Lark: S/F

Tree Swallow: S/F

Northern Rough-winged Swallow: S

Bank Swallow: S/F

Barn Swallow: S/F

Cliff Swallow: S/F

Tufted Titmouse: F

Black-capped Chickadee: S/F
Boreal Chickadee: S

Red-breasted Nuthatch: S/F

White-breasted Nuthatch: S/F

Brown Creeper: S/F

House Wren: F

Winter Wren: S/F

Golden-crowned Kinglet: S/F

Ruby-crowned Kinglet: S/F

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: S/F
Eastern Bluebird: S

Veery: S/F

Gray-cheeked Thrush: S/F

Swainson's Thrush: S/F

Hermit Thrush: S/F

American Robin: S/F

Gray Catbird: S/F

Northern Mockingbird: S

Brown Thrasher: S/F

European Starling: S/F

American Pipit: S/F

Bohemian Waxwing: S/F

Cedar Waxwing: S/F

Tennessee Warbler: S/F

Orange-crowned Warbler: S/F

Nashville Warbler: S/F

Northern Parula: S/F

Yellow Warbler: S/F

Chestnut-sided Warbler: S/F

Magnolia Warbler: S/F

Cape May Warbler: S/F

Black-throated Blue Warbler: S/F

Yellow-rumped Warbler Warbler: S/F

Black-throated Green Warbler: S/F

Blackburnian Warbler: S/F

Pine Warbler: S/F W

Palm Warbler: S/F

Bay-breasted Warbler: S/F

Blackpoll Warbler: S/F

Black & White Warbler: S/F

American Redstart: S/F

Ovenbird: S/F

Northern Waterthrush: S/F

Connecticut Warbler: F

Mourning Warbler: S/F

Common Yellowthroat: S/F

Wilson's Warbler: S/F

Canada Warbler: F

Scarlet Tanager: S/F

American Tree Sparrow: S/F

Chipping Sparrow: S/F

Clay-colored Sparrow: S/F

Field Sparrow: S

Vesper Sparrow: S/F

Savannah Sparrow: S/F

Fox Sparrow: S/F

Song Sparrow: S/F

Lincoln's Sparrow: S/F

Swamp Sparrow: S/F

White-throated Sparrow: S/F

White-crowned Sparrow: S/F

Dark-eyed Junco: S/F

Lapland Longspur: S/F

Snow Bunting: S/F

Northern Cardinal: S/F

Rose-breasted Grosbeak: S/F
Indigo Bunting: S

Dickcissel: F

Bobolink: S/F

Red-winged Blackbird: S/F
Yellow-headed Blackbird: S

Rusty Blackbird: S/F

Brewer's Blackbird: F

Common Grackle: S/F
Brown-headed Cowbird: S
Baltimore Oriole: S

Pine Grosbeak: S/F

Purple Finch: S/F

House Finch: F

Red Crossbill: S/F

White-winged Crossbill: S/F

Common Redpoll: S/F

Hoary Redpoll: S

Pine Siskin: S/F

American Goldfinch: S/F

Evening Grosbeak: S/F

House Sparrow: F
Eurasian Tree Sparrow: S

While the blogs don't get a lot of comments posted on them I'd like to thank the many visitors who have expressed their appreciation of them. Without these compliments we would really wonder if anyone was reading them. Thanks folks.

Chris Neri

2009-11-10T21:27:00.004-05:00

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

2009-11-09T20:55:00.003-05:00

Bohemian Waxwing

Hilghlights: Wolf & Sharp-tailed Grouse

Tom & Don Jennette saw a Wolf 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

2009-11-08T19:18:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-06T22:07:00.004-05:00

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

2009-11-03T19:37:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-01T00:34:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-27T22:57:00.005-04:00

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

2009-10-26T08:05:00.004-04:00

Long-eared Owl

Highlights: Long-eared Owl, Gray Catbird

There was no major change in the birding activity on Saturday or Sunday. While Tim and Britta have banded one Long-eared Owl this season one found yesterday was the 1st to found during the day this season . Snow Bunting and Tree Sparrow numbers continue to increase. A Gray Catbird continues in the area behind the feeders. The Northern Shrike we color banded last week has moved on, but another one made an appearance yesterday. Northern Goshawks continue to make daily appearances and there was a small push of Rough-legged Hawks yesterday. Other birds seen over the weekend included Wilson's Snipe, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Cedar Waxwing, White-crowned Sparrow, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, and Evening Grosbeak.

Northern Goshawk

Chris Neri

2009-10-23T23:29:00.004-04:00

Ruffed Grouse

Highlights: Northern Parula, Gray Catbird

We get the occasional straggling warbler this time of year and a Northern Parula seen today was a pleasant surprise. The only other warbler species seen today was Yellow-rumped, which is obviously much more expected at this date. At least two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers continued. It just seems wrong to see these guys this late in the year, but they have also been present late into the last two falls. While the Pine Siskins have disappeared the numbers of American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Snow Bunting have been on the rise. Other sightings toady included Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Gray Catbird, Fox Sparrow, Purple Finch, and Evening Grosbeak.

Gray Catbird

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Chris Neri

2009-10-23T00:19:00.003-04:00

I covered the waterbird count for Tom today, but there were some decent sightings yesterday and today. We've been curious as to how long individual Northern Shrikes stage here so we color banded one yesterday. The photos above show it in hand on Wednesday and on one of the Sharpy sticks today. You can see the standard alluminum band and the red color band on it's right leg in the lower photo. If you come to the Point and see a shrike look for bands and please let us know if you see any. The season's first Red-bellied Woodpecker also made an appearance on the Sharpy stick today. Other recent sightings include Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Brown Creeper, both kinglets, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Snow Bunting, Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Savannah, American Tree, Fox, and White-Crowned Sparrows, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, and White-winged Crossbill.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Chris Neri

2009-10-19T23:41:00.003-04:00

Dickcissel photo by Kirk Zufelt

Highlights: Dickcissel

A Dickcissel was present around the feeders today along with 3 House Sparrows, which are actually uncommon here. There was also a significant increase in the numbers of Pine Siskin and Purple Finch around the feeders today. There were again good numbers of Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers present. Other sightings included Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Evening Grosbeak.

Northern Goshawk

Chris Neri

2009-10-18T23:04:00.002-04:00

Evening Grosbeak

Highlights: Bohemian Waxwing

The woods were fairly active early this morning, but strong southwest winds picked up and activity dropped off significantly later in the morning. We continue to see large numbers of Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. Evening Grosbeak, Purple Finch and Pine Siskin numbers have continued to increase and the first Bohemian Waxwings showed up yesterday.Other sightings included Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Tree Sparrow, and Rusty Blackbird. Tim and Britta also banded the 2nd Boreal Owl of the season last night.

Swamp Sparrow

Chris Neri

2009-10-16T22:01:00.003-04:00

Tufted Titmouse

Highlights: Tufted Titmouse, Northern Shrike

Despite the fact that east winds have really slowed the songbird activity down the last few days the Point's first ever Tufted Titmouse was found today. It made several appearances near the waterbird shack before disappearing during the last few hours of the count. Northern Shrikes have been making some brief appearances the last few days. While overall activity has been down, there has been large numbers of Downy Woodpeckers, decent numbers of Hairies, and a few Black-backed Woodpeckers. The trees near the waterbird shack can be crawling with woodpeckers at times and the Downies have occasionally been landing on the shack, our tripods, and our scopes (photo below). We also continue seeing White-breasted Nuthatch and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. The Evening Grosbeak numbers continue to grow slightly and they are being seen at the feeders fairly regularly.

The Merlin has regularly been observed catching the Downies. It's hard to see in the photo but a Downy is tucked onto the left side of the driftwood in the above photo. The Merlin had been chasing it along the bayshore, but it made it to the safety of the driftwood where it remained for about 1/2 hour after the Merlin left.

Perhaps most entertaining was Tom repeatedly holding up a stick when a wave of Downies and Hairies flew out towards us in hopes of having one land on it. No takers yet, but there's always tomorrow buddy.

Chris Neri

2009-10-12T18:42:00.006-04:00

7 Black-bellied Plovers,
American Golden-Plover (top center) &
Long-billed Dowitcher (middle bird)

Long-billed Dowitcher

Highlights: Long-billed Dowitcher, Gray Catbird

Once again the highlight came out at the tip when a Long-billed Dowitcher made multiple passes of the tip with a group of plovers. We were extremely surprised that despite a bunch of very low passes they didn't put down in the large pool of water currently flooding the tip, but were extremely thankful that the bird called on one of the passes. This is just the 2nd fall record and 4th overall for WPBO.

Activity in the woods remained very similar to that of the last couple days. The Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Gray Catbird and Magnolia Warbler were present again today. Other sightings included Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, American Tree, Savannah, Swamp, Lincoln's, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Lapland Longspur, Rusty Blackbird, Red Crossbill, and Pine Siskin.

Hermit Thrush

Chris Neri

2009-10-11T23:28:00.006-04:00

The Point in the 1st snow of the fall

Close up of the top photo showing birders
at the waterbird shack

Highlights: Short-eared Owl, Snow Bunting

We had the first snow of the season overnight. There wasn't much accumulation, maybe 2 inches, but it looked beautiful with the dark skies and changing leaves.Tom had two Short-eared Owls come in off the lake and the first Snow Bunting of the season out at the waterbird count today. There was not much change in the woods today with sightings including Ruffed Grouse, Downy Woodpecker, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Palm Warbler, American Tree Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, and Purple Finch.

Palm Warbler

Whitefish Point Lighthouse

Chris Neri

2009-10-10T22:03:00.005-04:00

American Tree Sparrow

Highlights: Magnolia Warbler, Wilson's Snipe, Red Crossbill

It's been a couple days since I was able to give the woods coverage in the morning. As is to be expected we continue to see a transition to some of the mid to late season migrants. The first American Tree Sparrows of the season have arrived and Rusty Blackbirds (photo to left) have been present the last few days. Evening Grosbeaks have been coming into the feeders and Red Crossbills have been observed as flyovers the last couple days. There has also been good numbers of Downy Woodpeckers and Golden-crowned Kinglets, and Dark-eyed Junco numbers have begun to increase. Ruffed Grouse sighting have also increased at the Point and in the surrounding area. There is still at least one Blue-gray Gnatcatcher hanging around and a Magnolia Warbler was a bit of a surprise today. Other sightings today included Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Winter Wren, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, Clay-colored, Savannah, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Lapland Longspur and Pine Siskin.

Magnolia Warbler

Chris Neri

2009-10-08T22:50:00.014-04:00

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Highlights: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Red Phalarope, and Boreal, Short-eared & Northern Hawk Owl

It was just one of those days when the Point was buzzing with excitement. It started off with a Short-eared Owl flying in off the lake. As we were watching the owl come in a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flew towards the lake from behind us and eventually ended up on one of the Sharpie sticks. We then saw what we are all but absolutely certain was a Boreal Owl come down the lakeshore and cross the lake. This is the first time I have ever seen a Saw-whet or Boreal Owl in flight during the day. Not long after this sighting a Boreal was found roosting and being mobbed by a Gnatcatcher and Chickadees. After the count we got a call at the house that a Short-eared was sitting on the tip. As we were walking out to the tip a call came over the radio that a Northern Hawk Owl was on the Merlin Pole. After the Hawk Owl headed out over the lake we went to the tip to look for the Short-eared and a Red Phalarope flew down the lakeshore and landed on the water off the tip. Just a sick day at the Point. We'd like to thank Leonard & Barb Graf, Ken Mettie Jr., Lucas Foerster, Skye Haas, Ryne Rutherford, Darleen Friedman, Jeff McCoy, Tex Wells, Lyle Hamilton, Sean Bachman, and about 30 others folks for their contributions in making this an extremely enjoyable day at the Point.

Other recent sightings include Ruffed Grouse, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, Pine, Palm, and Black-and-White Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed Junco, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-throated, and White-crowned Sparrows, Rusty Blackbird, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, and Evening Grosbeak.

Northern Hawk Owl

Red Phalarope

Merlin with Downy Woodpecker

Chris Neri

2009-10-01T23:19:00.005-04:00

Highlights: Northern Saw-whet Owl (above photo)

I was back in Philly for a while to attend my niece's wedding which is the reason this blog hasn't been updated recently. Tom & I want to thank all who responded to us privately about the jaeger identification from the last post. While this record has to be reviewed by the Michigan Rare Bird Records Committee to be official, we received very helpful tips and the consensus is that it is a Long-tailed Jaeger. The weather has been a bit nuts the last few days and activity in the woods has slowed a bit, but there has been some activity. Recent sightings include Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, Pine, Nashville, & Palm Warblers, Savannah, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Rusty & Brewer's Blackbirds, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin. While over 800 Saw-whets have been banded here this year, the one found roosting in the woods today was the first one to be found this year. This fact really demonstrates the importance of the information gathered by the owl banding in regard to our understanding of the major role that Whitefish Point plays in the migration of Michigan's smallest owl.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

The temperature has dropped significantly over the last few days. When we get quick drops in the air temperature in the fall the warm water temperature creates some major heat distortion. This in turn creates some bizarre optical illusions out over the lake. The above photo is of a freighter which at a distance appeared to be two vessels. The heat distortion unfortunately also wreaks havoc on our ability to identify distant birds out over the lake, increasing the frequency of statements such as, "well it's definitely a bird".

Chris Neri

I'll try again

2009-09-22T18:04:00.004-04:00

I cannot control the blog. In my post from today it doesn't allow you to click on the above image, hopefully this one will. See the below post for more on the above jaeger and todays complete post. The below photo is today's dark morph Red-tailed Hawk.

2009-09-22T17:33:00.003-04:00

Long-tailed Jaeger

Highlights: Long-tailed Jaeger, Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Just after the waterbird count ended today the above Long-tailed Jaeger came up the lake shore and cut over land to the bay shore. The identification of young jaegers is very complicated, but this bird shows multiple field marks good for Long-tailed. I left the files larger than usual so you can click on them for larger images. As always, comments on this ID are welcomed.

There has been good activity ion the woods and recent sightings include Northern Goshawk, Merlin, Red-tailed Hawk (including a dark morph), White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Pine, Blackpoll, Black & White, and Wilson's Warblers, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Waterthrush, and Lincoln's, White-throated, White-crowned Sparrows.

Chris Neri

2009-09-19T21:59:00.002-04:00

Moose

Highlights: Moose, Canada Warbler

We'd like to thank all the folks who attended the WPBO field trip led by Jerry Ziarno and Tom Wheeker. While there was other excitement at the tip Point this morning the sighting of a bull Moose stole the show for many of us. He made it out to the tree line behind the Merlin pole and was seen by many right from the waterbird shack. We continued to see a drop off in warbler diversity as the mid-season migrants have begun appearing. Sightings in the woods today included Ruffed Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Bald Eagle, Black-backed Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue-headed Vireo, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Tennessee, Nashville, Black-throated Green, and Canada Warblers, and Lapland Longspur.

Lapland Longspur

Ruffed Grouse

Chris Neri

2009-09-18T19:28:00.002-04:00

Gray-cheeked Thrush

Highlights: Gray-cheeked Thrush, Northern Waterthrush

Given that it finally felt like fall this morning we were hoping for a nice push of migrants today. That did not happen, but there was still decent activity. Sightings today included Northern Goshawk, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Nashville, Magnolia, and Blackpoll Warblers, American Redstart, and Savannah, Lincoln's and White-crowned Sparrow.

Bald Eagle

Chris Neri

2009-09-17T20:39:00.004-04:00

Cape May Warbler

Highlights: Black-backed Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch

I cover the waterbird count on Thursdays, but Leonard Graff was kind enough to cover the count long enough for me to do the songbird census. There continued to be an increase in the numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, and White-throated, White-crowned and Savanah Sparrows. There were also several White-breasted Nuthatches around today. Other sightings included Peregrine Falcon, Nashville, Cape May, Black-throated Green, Pine, and Blackpoll Warblers.

Merlins dogfighting

If you've spent anytime at the waterbird count in the last several years you have likely seen Little Jerry Kolak. Little Jerry is one of our resident Ring-billed Gulls and spends a lot of time next to the waterbird shack, yeah he's a bum. He has also likely heard many a confession from the waterbird counter on a slow day. Anyway, I got the below shot of Little Jerry with big Jerry Kolak today, little Jerry is the one on the left in case you were wondering.

Chris Neri

2009-09-17T00:25:00.003-04:00

White-crowned Sparrow

Highlights: Mourning Warbler, Gray Catbird

We'd like to start off by thanking the WPBO board members who made the trip to the Point for the first board meeting to be held at the Point since I've been here. Despite my lack of recent posts the birding has remained good and we've entered the period when the early migrants are continuing and the mid season migrants have begun arriving. Recent sightings in the woods include Black-backed, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireos, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Veery, Swainson's Thrush, Tennessee, Nashville, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Pine, Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black and White, Mourning, and Wilson's Warbler, Northern Parula, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, Horned Lark, American Pipit, Chipping, Vesper, Savannah, Lincoln's, Swamp, White-throated, and White-crowned Sparrows, Lapland Longspur, and White-winged Crossbill. The fall owl banding has started and after getting skunked during high winds the first night, Tim and Britta have banded 4 Saw-whets by the time I'm crashing tonight.

Brown Creeper

Palm Warbler

Red Squirell

Chris Neri

2009-09-09T22:43:00.003-04:00

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Highlights:Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-backed Woodpecker

The weather and birding was very similar to the last few days, which is okay by me. The warbler activity remained good well into the afternoon and sightings included Tennessee, Nashville, Yellow, Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Redstart, and Northern Waterthrush. Other sightings included Blue-headed & Red-eyed Vireos, Least Flycatcher, Brown Creeper, and White-winged Crossbill.

Common Yellowthroat

Pine Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Chris Neri

2009-09-08T23:45:00.002-04:00

Black-backed Woodpecker

Highlights: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-backed Woodpecker

Much to our amazement the weather has continued to be absolutely gorgeous. The birding in the woods has also continued to be productive. Sightings yesterday and today included Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-backed Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Swainson's and Gray-cheeked Thrush. The warblers have continued in good numbers with sightings of Tennessee, Nashville, Northern Parula, Yellow, Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm, Blackpoll, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, and Wilson's. After this spring's terrible warbler season, by far the worst I've experienced here, it is great to be having a good fall warbler migration.

Pine Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Chris Neri

2009-09-04T21:19:00.004-04:00

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Highlights: Buff-breasted Sandpiper

There wasn't much change today, gorgeous and good activity. Sightings included Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Swainson's Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Tennessee, Nashville, Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Black & White, and Wilson's Warbler. Chipping, Clay-colored, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's White-throated, and White-crowned Sparrows, and Evening Grosbeak.

Tennessee Warbler

Baird's Sandpiper bathing

Sanderling with fish

Osprey

Atlantis Fritillary

Chris Neri

2009-09-03T16:41:00.007-04:00

Pine Warbler

Highlights: Connecticut Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush

The weather continues to be absolutely beautiful and the birding remains good. There have been some very nice warbler flocks and numbers of other species have begun to build. Recent sightings include Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied, Least & Olive-sided Flycatcher, Veery, Swainson's Gray-cheeked & Hermit Thrushes, Cedar Waxwing, Tennessee, Nashville, Yellow, Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll & Connecticut Warblers, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Clay-colored, Lincoln's & White-crowned Sparrows, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Red & White-winged Crossbill.

Northern Goshawk

The songbird avoided the Merlin's pass in the above and below photos, but just as it got into the vegetation on the beach the Merlin got it.

American Copper

Butterflies: Compton's Tortoiseshell, Mourning Cloak, Atlantis Fritillary, Striped Hairstreak, & American Copper

Chris Neri

2009-09-01T23:48:00.007-04:00

Merlin & Broad-winged hawk

Highlights: Connecticut Warbler

The last two days have been absolutely gorgeous and the woods have been productive. There has been nice warbler diversity with sightings of Tennessee, Nashville, Magnolia, Cape May, Blackburnian, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Pine, Palm, Blackpoll, Black & White, American Redstart, Ovenbird, & Connecticut. Other sightings have included Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged & Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagle, Least Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush,Veery, and Red & White-winged Crossbills. Our local Merlin is regularly seen reeking havoc with other birds of prey and corvids, and today it was the Broad-winged's turn to deal with it (top photo).

Red Crossbill

Green Comma

Chris Neri

2009-08-30T22:33:00.004-04:00

Black-throated Green Warbler

Highlights: Vesper Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak

While it remained windy today's sun was very welcomed after yesterday's rain. Sightings today included Broad-winged Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Least Flycatcher,Tennessee, Nashville, Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped & Black-throated Green Warblers, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Lincoln's & Vesper Sparrows, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Northern Goshawk

Merlin cooling off

Compton's Tortoiseshell

Chris Neri

2009-08-28T22:07:00.005-04:00

Black-backed Woodpecker

Highlights: Black-backed Woodpecker & lots of warblers

There was a lot of activity in the woods today. There were literally hundreds of Nashville Warblers, I don't remember ever seeing so many of one species of warbler other than Yellow-rumpeds. There were also more Black-throated Green Warblers than I ever remember seeing in a day. Other warblers included Yellow, Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Blackburnian, Palm, Black & White, American Redstart, & Wilson's. Other sightings included Black-backed Woodpecker, Red-eyed Vireo, & White-throated, White-crowned, & Lincoln's Sparrows. Numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, & Purple Finch also picked up a bit today. Really a fun day in the woods.

Blackburnian Warbler

Lincoln's Sparrow

Peregrine Falcon

The above Peregrine landed in the brush pile next to the waterbird shack within about 25 feet of Tom and me. We were shocked to look up and see it that close.

Compton's Tortoiseshell

Butterflies: White Admiral, American Copper, Monarch, Compton's Tortoiseshell, & Northern Pearly Eye.

Chris Neri

2009-08-27T20:05:00.005-04:00

Whimbrel

I covered some of the waterbird count for Tom today, so I was unable to give the woods as much coverage as usual. There was decent activity in the morning with sightings including Northern Goshawk, Belted Kingfisher, Red-eyed Vireo, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, and Pine Warblers, & White-crowned Sparrow.

Yellow-rumped Warbler with Ant Lion

Northern Pearly Eye

Chris Neri

2009-08-26T21:21:00.005-04:00

yesterday's duck again

Yesterday's duck was present again this morning and this photo is in today's better light. I also left the file size larger than usual, click on it for a larger view. Thanks for the comments, and nice to hear from this spring's waterbird counter Andy Northrup. The woods were fairly active today and there were several nice flocks of warblers. They were mostly Yellow-rumpeds, but there were also Tennessee, Nashville, Cape May, Black-throated Green, & Palm. Other sightings included Wilson's Snipe, Scarlet Tanager & Lincoln's Sparrow.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Sanderling

Chris Neri

2009-08-25T21:27:00.005-04:00

Not sure

The above duck was on the net house pond today. We're leaning towards Redhead, but we're really not positive about the identification of this bird and would appreciate any comments. Otherwise the woods were relatively quiet. Sightings today included Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Nashville, Cape May, Yellow-rumped & Black-throated Green Warblers, and Clay-colored Sparrow.

Nashville Warbler

Semipalmated Plover

Chris Neri

2009-08-24T23:46:00.004-04:00

Cape May Warbler with a moth

House Wren

Well, we've made the switch from our nocturnal schedule owl banding to our day schedule.
The woods have been fairly productive the last few mornings with sightings of Tennessee, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Palm, and Bay-breasted Warblers, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Pileated Woodpecker, and House Wren. The wren has actually been present for a couple weeks now. The shorebirds have been decent and it is exciting that one of this summer's Piping Plover chicks has returned. We only know that it is one of the chicks thanks to Erin Roche and the plover crew who banded the chicks this summer. There was also a Chaffinch today. While Chaffinch have become a regular spring sighting since a bunch of birds were released in Chicago, I believe this may be the first fall sighting.

Piping Plover chick in early July

Piping Plover, one of the summer's chicks on August 24

Striped Hairstreak

There have been a few butterflies around, including American Copper, Pink-edged Sulphur, Monarch, White Admiral, Common Wood-Nymph, and Northern Pearly Eye

Chris Neri

Piping Plover Nesting at the Point

2009-06-05T17:29:00.008-04:00

Piping Plover are again nesting at Whitefish Point! The above photo is of Erin Roche and the nesting female. Erin has been working on the recovery program for this federally endangered species for years, and is currently working with them for her PhD. In impressive fashion she and others from the Piping Plover crew, sorry I can't remember all of your names, came to the Point and found the nest. They were able to band the female and set up an enclosure to protect the nest. Upon being released the female walked just a short distance, stretched and relaxed a bit (photo below), then returned to her nest. This is the first nest to be found at Whitefish Point in at least 2 decades. Congratulations to Erin and the whole crew, and thanks for letting us observe your work.

We'd like to thank all of you who pledged to the 2009 WPBO staff birdathon. It was a huge success and over $6,000 was raised for the summer owl research! This is crucial support, without which it would not be possible for us to continue this unique project. We find it impossible to properly express our thanks through words on the blogs. We are simply very grateful, thank you.

Well the spring research seasons have officially ended. Sightings of Pacific Loon, Parasitic Jaeger, and Marbled Godwit added some excitement to the last week of the count. Overall songbird activity, particularly warblers, was fairly low this spring. It has continued to be a cold spring and activity has remained fairly slow into June, but there continues to be some activity. Recent sightings include Green Heron, White-rumped Sandpiper, Olive-sided & Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Cape May, Blackpoll, & Mourning Warblers.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Common Nighthawk

Blackburnian Warbler

Evening Grosbeak

2009-05-21T04:19:00.003-04:00

Yellow-rumped Warbler flycatching

Swainson's Hawk

Highlights: Hudsonian Godwit, Swainson's Hawk, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow

The songbird and shorebird migrations have been picking up. In addition to the hundreds of Blue Jays and White-crowned Sparrows, many other species have been present recently. Recent sightings include Black-bellied, Semipalmated and Piping Plover, Whimbrel, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher,Common Nighthawk, Least Flycatcher, Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Bank, Cliff and Barn Swallows, Eastern Bluebird, Blue-gray Gnatcher, Northern Mockingbird, Clay-colored, Lincoln's and Swamp Sparrows, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted and Evening Grosbeaks, Bobolink, Rusty Blackbird, and Baltimore Oriole.

Sharp-shinned Hawk with a Blue Jay

Glaucous Gull

2009-05-16T19:12:00.002-04:00

This second-cycle Glaucous Gull was present on the beach near the tip of Whitefish Point today.

Warblers are here!

2009-05-14T22:21:00.005-04:00

Warblers have finally arrived in good numbers, with 20 species reported today here at Whitefish Point, including this Chestnut-sided Warbler. Other warbler species seen today were Golden-winged, Cape May, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Nashville, Black-and-white, Blackpoll, Blackburnian, Yellow-rumped, Wilson's, Orange-crowned, Tennessee, Western Palm, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, and Northern Waterthrush. Non-warbler sightings today included a female Bobolink, a Scarlet Tanager, two Baltimore Orioles, a Gray Catbird, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, hundreds of White-crowned Sparrows, tens of White-throated Sparrows, some Savannah Sparrows, some Clay-colored Sparrows, a Lincoln's Sparrow, a Gray-cheeked Thrush, a Swainson's Thrush, two Piping Plovers, a Merlin...

Great Gray Owls

2009-05-03T01:53:00.003-04:00

This is one of three Great Gray Owls that were seen near the Owl's Roost gift shop at nightfall Saturday. What a bird!

2009-04-25T13:06:00.003-04:00

American Avocet

An American Avocet was found at the harbor today. This is just the second record of this species for the Point. It was very odd to see an Avocet floating on the Bay. Also seen today were a Snowy Owl and multiple Short-eared Owls. The weather isn't exactly cooperating for our Spring Fling weekend, but there are a few good birds saving the day. As I have to get up for the banquet in about four hours, a more complete report will have to wait until after the weekend.

2009-04-19T08:37:00.002-04:00

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

American Kestrels on the lighthouse

Field Sparrow

The waterbird count began on the 15th, and things have been picking up. Recent sightings include, Field Sparrow, American White Pelican, and Boreal Chickadee. The hawk flight has started pick up, and 7 species of owl have been at the Point in the last 3 days. A flight of 2,000 Sandhill Cranes also occurred this week. For some details check out the other blogs.

2009-03-27T02:11:00.005-04:00

The 2009 field seasons kicked off on the 15th with the beginning of the hawk count and owl banding. Arriving on the UP in mid March was a bit of a jolt for all three of us. Nova spent the fall and winter working with the endangered Ocelots in Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in TX. I was able to join her in January and February volunteering with the Ocelots and waterfowl surveys. The season's hawk counter John van Dort spent the winter in Central America working with the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. Our tans are fading quickly.

As John is currently the only daytime field staff the sightings blog might not be seeing much activity for a few weeks. However, he is doing a great job with the new WPBO hawk count blog, including non-raptor sightings. The link is still not up on our homepage, but it is currently in the link section on all our blogs. Things are beginning to happen so check out the hawk and owl blogs to see what's going on up here. For instance, right now at 3AM it's snowing so we need to go close the owl nets, ugh.

2008-11-13T22:41:00.008-05:00

Highlights: Snowy Owl

Overall activity has been slow, but some good northern birds were around yesterday and today. The 4th Snowy Owl of the season spent a few hours at the Point yesterday. Unlike the previous three, this Snowy was a very heavily marked bird. Other sightings included; Northern Shrike, Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings, Red and White-winged Crossbills, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, and Common Redpoll.

Cedar Waxwings &

Bohemian Waxwing (left)

Pine Grosbeak

2008-11-11T20:29:00.008-05:00

The waterbird shack &

snow on the Canadian hills

Highlights: Rough-legged Hawk

Common Redpolls came through in good numbers today, otherwise the flight was slow. Both Red and White-winged Crossbills came through in modest numbers. Other sightings included; Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, Snow Bunting, and American Tree Sparrow.

Common Redpoll

I don't know if this guy was eating a carcass

or if he was injured.

2008-11-10T08:30:00.003-05:00

November 9

Highlights: Snowy Owl

A Snowy Owl spent a little time out at the tip before heading out across the bay. There were lots of snow squalls and strong winds today. The weather made for a slow birding day, but there were some birds around. Sightings included; Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings, Snow Bunting, Common Redpoll, and White-winged Crossbill.

Bohemian Waxwing

2008-11-07T22:38:00.004-05:00

Highlights: Bohemian Waxwing

The warm weather continued and the flight remained relatively slow. The only real change from the last few days was the appearance of the first Bohemian Waxwings of the season. Other sightings included; Northern Goshawk, Northern Shrike, Golden-crowned Kinglet, White-winged Crossbill, and Common Yellowthroat. There was also a Black-backed Woodpecker just west of Wildcat Beach State Park this afternoon.

2008-11-06T23:45:00.004-05:00

Highlights: Red Crossbill

As anyone in the region knows, we have been experience very warm weather for November and lots of south winds. While the flight has slowed a bit which each passing day, we continue to have a finch flight. Today there was a flock of about 30 Red Crossbills, and we continue to have daily sightings of Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll and American Goldfinch. Other sightings over the last few days have included; Bald Eagle, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Goshawk, Cedar Waxwing, and American Tree Sparrow.

Northern Shrike
White-winged Crossbill

2008-11-03T22:42:00.007-05:00

Highlights: Snowy Owl

A Snowy Owl spent the day out at the tip, spending most of its time sleeping. It became active at dusk and was working its way down the bayshore. The Lark Sparrow found yesterday was still present at the feeders. Overall migration was relatively slow today. However, there was a decent Common Redpoll movement. Other sightings included; Cedar Waxwing, Pine & Evening Grosbeaks, and White-winged Crossbill.

2008-11-02T22:43:00.002-05:00

Highlights: Lark Sparrow (above)

A Lark Sparrow was at the feeders this morning, and was still present as of this afternoon. A Northern Shrike was making regular raids on the feeders throughout the late morning and afternoon. The finch flight slowed a bit compared to yesterday, but Common Redpoll numbers picked up a bit. Other sightings today included; Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Cedar Waxwing, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks.

Northern Shrike

2008-11-01T21:17:00.010-04:00

Highlights: Northern Cardinals

Short-eared Owl

It was an absolutely beautiful, crisp November day. Tim had a Short-eared Owl come in off the lake first thing this morning. A male and a female Northern Cardinal found their way to the feeders in the late morning. As people familiar with the flight at the Point know, some days the birds mill around to the extent that it becomes very difficult to put a number on the birds. Today was one of those days, but there was surely well over 1,000 Pine Siskin, over 300 American Goldfinch, and around 125 White-winged Crossbill. Common Redpoll numbers increased a bit, and there were again Pine and Evening Grosbeaks present. Two Northern Shrikes headed out over the lake in the afternoon. Other sightings included; Bald Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin, Great Black-backed Gull, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Snow Bunting, American Tree Sparrow, and Lapland Longspur.

Common Redpoll

Pine Siskin

Red-breasted Merganser

2008-10-31T23:46:00.010-04:00

Highlights: Ancient Murrelet

Harlequin Duck

Tim had the best birds of the day out at the waterbird count. A Harlequin Duck flew up the lakeside shoreline, then spent a few hours out on the bay. An Ancient Murrelet gave us pretty decent looks as it flew by at a reasonably close distance in the afternoon. It was another good finch flight, with good numbers of Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, and the best White-winged Crossbill flight of the fall to date. Other sightings included; Black Scoter, Cedar Waxwing, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, and Common Redpoll. Quite a few of the finches were bathing in the Foghorn Pond this afternoon. We also had a Northern Shrike finishing up a songbird meal at the river mouth this evening.

White-winged Crossbill

American Goldfinch & Pine Siskin

Common Redpoll & Pine Siskin

American Tree Sparrow

Cedar Waxwing & Pine Siskin

Northern Shrike

2008-10-31T00:11:00.007-04:00

Highlights: Pine Grosbeak

We continued to get blasted with high winds today. There was again a decent finch flight, with a bit of an increase in White-winged Crossbill and American Goldfinch numbers. We're definitely getting a lot of practice at identifying finches in flight. Other sightings today included; Northern Goshawk, Cedar Waxwing, Rusty Blackbird, and Snow Bunting.

Northern Goshawk

Pine Grosbeak

White-winged Crossbill

Another shot of yesterday's Snowy Owl

2008-10-29T18:21:00.005-04:00

Highlights: Snowy Owl

Don Jennette, Tom Wheeker, Tim, and I were standing at the waterbird shack when Don very calmly said, "would anybody want to see a Snowy Owl?" The owl had snuck in on us and was sitting out at the tip, priceless. High winds kept songbird migration relatively low today. Sightings included; Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, White-winged Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and Merlin.

2008-10-28T19:17:00.005-04:00

Highlights: Northern Shrike

The songbird migration was slowed by today's snow squalls, but there was still some activity in the woods. Small numbers of Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and White-winged Crossbill were still moving, and several Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Palm Warbler were seen. Other sightings included; Ruffed Grouse, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Tree Sparrow, and Evening Grosbeak.

Black Scoter

White-winged Crossbill

Yellow-rumped Warbler with moth

Red-breasted Nuthatch

2008-10-27T20:45:00.002-04:00

I know what your thinking,"Isn't Chris from Philly?", "Don't the Phillies have a chance to win the world series tonight?", "Gee, I hope that won't effect his effort on the blog tonight."
I would never let that happen. Uh, the Phils have the bases loaded in the first.

2008-10-26T19:24:00.007-04:00

Highlights: Cattle Egret (above)

A Cattle Egret spent much of the morning at the harbor, this is just the 3rd record of this species for the Point. Efforts to relocate the egret in the afternoon and again in the evening were unsuccessful. Activity around the woods was particularly slow today. Sightings included; Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, American Tree Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and White-winged Crossbill.

Horned Grebe

2008-10-25T23:43:00.013-04:00

We were saddened by the news that Paradise resident Linda Roberts died last night. Linda added more local flavor than anyone I have known up here. I will miss her and the sound of her shooting from the O. K. Corral, her house down Wildcat Road

Highlights: Northern Shrike (above)

While the finch flight slowed down a bit today, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, Red and White-winged Crossbill, and Evening Grosbeak were seen. After not being seen for a a few days, there were several Yellow-rumped Warblers today. Northern Goshawks continue to be seen in the woods and making sweeps over the beach at the tip. Hundreds of Snow Bunting continue to be seen daily, and Tim had a few Lapland Longspurs today. Other sightings included; Rough-legged Hawk, Brown Creeper, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Cedar Waxwing, and American Tree Sparrow. It looks like we're going to get blasted with our first taste of winter over the next few days......oh yay.

Northern Goshawk, adult

Northern Goshawk, juvenile

2008-10-25T07:48:00.004-04:00

Highlights: Dickcissel (above)

After not being seen for a few days, a Dickcissel reappeared at the feeders. There was also a report of multiple Dickcissels seen at the feeders a couple of days ago. There was no real change in the woods today, but the big finch flight continued. Multiple Northern Goshawks were seen, including an adult. While we have seen a few Common Redpolls, and Pine and Evening Grosbeaks over the last few days, we're still waiting for their numbers to increase and for the first Bohemian Waxwings to arrive.