15 November 2007

Highlights: RED-THROATED LOON (2), AMERICAN PIPIT (1)

WEATHER: It was a pretty brutal morning! Gale-force winds were out of the north along with frequent snow showers and very poor visibility. Skies were completely clouded over the whole day. The temperature was cooler today, it ranged from 1-3 Celsius. See the short video below of the wind and snow!




OVERALL MOVEMENT: The numbers today were higher than the previous several days due to the winds out of the north. The new winds brought nearly 500 migrants past the point. No species was seen every hour but Common Goldeneye came the closest; seen 6 of the 8 hours. The most numerous species was also Common Goldeneye with 200+ counted. In fact, Common Goldeneye was the last species tallied this fall!!

DUCKS & GEESE: Surprise surprise, a last MALLARD flew by the point this morning! Scoter numbers were thin; only 6 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS passed by. Otherwise, COMMON GOLDENEYE (200+), BUFFLEHEAD (80+), and LONG-TAILED DUCK (8) were counted. Over 70 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were seen in addition to 10+ COMMON MERGANSERS.

LOONS & GREBES: I can't remember the last day that Common Loon was missed, but it happened today! However, 2 RED-THROATED LOONS passed overhead during the 4th hour. Over 15 RED-NECKED GREBES were counted but Horned Grebe was not seen today.

No raptors or shorebirds were seen today.

The only other non-waterbird species seen from the beach today were SNOW BUNTING, COMMON REDPOLL, COMMON RAVEN, and an AMERICAN PIPIT. Today ties the late date for American Pipit here at Whitefish Point.

This concludes the Fall 2007 Waterbird Count at Whitefish Point. Look for one last post here in a couple minutes.....

Thanks for reading,

Cory Gregory
arcticory@gmail.com