October 31, 2008

WEATHER: Another nice day at the point, with temps in the 50's, sunny skies, and a NW wind that slowly increased through out the day.

WATERFOWL: Despite seemingly good conditions, not much was moving today. Only 132 LT Ducks, 13 WW and 8 Black Scoters, 87 Bufflehead, 30 RN Grebes, and the first Harlequin Duck of the season.

OTHERBIRDS: In the 7th hour, we spotted a ANCIENT MURRELET in flight over the lake heading south. It was only seen in flight and we watched until it flew out of site, heading towards the Soo

Celebrating after the Murrelet flew by.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for partly cloudy skies, and Northwest winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: Warm (50's!) and sunny, with a 30+ m.p.h. south wind.

WATERFOWL: Not much. Highlights were; 1 Black and 5 WW Scoters, 3 Greater Scaup, and the first Hooded Merganser of the fall.

OTHERBIRDS: White-winged Crossbills were moving today, with 66 seen coming in off the lake.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for partly cloudy skies, and Northwest winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 29, 2008

WEATHER: Cool and partly sunny, with a strong (25+ mph) north wind, that slowly died throughout the count.

WATERFOWL: Good winds, low numbers. 623 Long-tailed Ducks, 1 Black Scoter, 22 WW Scoters, 50 Common Goldeneye, 4 Mallards, 50 RB Mergansers, and 21 RN Grebes.

OTHERBIRDS: just before the end of the count, Don Jennette spotted a Snowy Owl sitting at the tip! It was around the tip for a few minutes before moving down the bayshoreline. Check out the sightings blog for Chris's steller pictures of it.


The forecast for tomorrow is calling for partly cloudy skies, and 20-30 m.p.h. south winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 28, 2008

WEATHER: Cold and cloudy, with a steady north wind, and the first snow flakes of the season.

WATERFOWL: A good day for Black Scoters, with 16. But only 18 WW Scoters went south. The second hour was good for Bufflehead, with 101. But we only had 190 for the day.

SHOREBIRDS: 1 Greater Yellowlegs went past the tip today.

GULLS: The first Black-legged Kittiwake of the fall came by today, with a first winter bird in the 4th hour of the count.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for cloudy skies, snow showers and 20+ m.p.h. winds!

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: Cloudy, with intermittent rain shows and 25+ mph NNW winds.

WATERFOWL: Despite seemly great winds, only a smattering of birds went south today. Including 3 Black Scoters, 1 GW Teal, and 1 Mallard!

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for cloudy skies, snow showers and 10-20 m.p.h. NNW winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: Cloudy and cool, with intermittent rain shows and light winds that started out of the southwest, then slowly shifted to the west.

WATERFOWL: A light flight. Highlights were, 35 White-winged and 2 Black Scoters, 34 Bufflehead, 517 RB Mergansers, 1 Mallard, and 37 RN Grebes.

SHOREBIRDS: One Dunlin, and 1 Sanderling.

OTHERBIRDS: Ken Mettie Jr. found a CATTLE EGRET tucked in the gull flock at the harbor this morning, this is only the third point record, and second latest fall record.


The forecast for tomorrow is calling for cloudy skies, rain and snow showers and 25 mph winds!

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: More south winds, and cloudy skies with temps in the 50's.

WATERFOWL: Another quite day, with just a trickle of ducks going by. Highlights were 3 WW and 1 Black Scoters, and 1 RN Grebe
.
OTHERBIRDS: Two Northern Goshawks made a couple passes near the Shack today. The Northern Shrike made a couple forays along the treeline as well.



The forecast for tomorrow is calling for showers and west winds, with gusts over 40 mph!

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: Cloudy and cool, with a strong SE wind all day.

WATERFOWL: Things were better then yesterday, with 4 Mallards, 14 Greater Scaup, 1 Surf, 5 WW and 2 Black Scoters, 1 LT Duck, 4 Bufflehead, 1 Common and 136 RB Mergansers. 1 RT Loon, 2 Common Loons, and 5 RN Grebes also migrated south today.

SHOREBIRDS: A late Greater Yellowlegs flew over the shack in the second hour of the count.

OTHERBIRDS: A Northern Goshawk made a couple passes super close to the Shack today, at one point it was less then 20ft away!

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for cloudy skies, rain showers and 10-20 mph winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: Another pleasant day at the tip, with mostly sunny skies, and a stiff SE wind, and temps in the upper 40's.

WATERFOWL: The flight today was impressive, with 1 Mallard, 2 LT Ducks, 1 RB and 1 Common Merganser going past the point!

OTHERBIRDS: The Northern Shrike was around again, and briefly perched on the Merlin pole in the late morning.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for more of the same.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: A gorgeous day at the point with sunny skies and light SE wind, with temps in the 40's.

WATERFOWL: Very slow. 2 Greater Scaup, 1 Lesser Scaup, 30 WW Scoters, 9 LT Ducks, and 89 RB Mergansers.

OTHERBIRDS: A Northern Shrike tee'ed up on the Merlin pole a couple times today, and a WW Crossbill flew over the shack in the early afternoon.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for partly cloudy skies, and light SE winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 17, 2008

WEATHER: A beautiful day at the point with sunny skies and a cool SW breeze.

WATERFOWL: Red-breasted Merganser's put on a good show today, with 1077 going south today, and 523 in one hour! Other then the RB Mergs, there was a modest push of other ducks, with 346 Scaup, 59 LT Ducks, 79 White-winged, 9 Black and 13 Surf Scoters, and 54 GW Teal.

SHOREBIRDS: 1 Am. Golden-Plover.

OTHERBIRDS: The highlight of the day was a Long-eared Owl that flew in off the lake and went right over the shack, in the middle of the day! Check out the sightings blog for Chirs's shot of it.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for sunny skies, and light SSE winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 16, 2008

WEATHER: Cloudy and cool, with a strong NW wind that slowly died off throughout the day.

WATERFOWL: Despite seemingly perfect conditions today, There was only faint traces of a waterfowl flight. With only 48 WW Scoters, 111 LT Ducks, 22 Green-winged Teal, 125 RB Mergansers, and 92 RN Grebes.

SHOREBIRDS: 1 Am. Golden-Plover and 1 Sanderling.

OTHERBIRDS: Snow Buntings numbers increased today, with over a dozen feeding around the point.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for cloudy skies, and light winds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 15, 2008

WEATHER: Cloudy and cool, with a steady SW wind and light rain in the midday.

WATERFOWL: The flight sputtered along throughout the day with no real highlights. Long-tailed Duck number keep growing, with 353 going by today. 4 Black, 34 Surf and 168 WW Scoters also went south today, along with 5 RT Loons.

SHOREBIRDS: 1 Am. Golden-Plover and 1 Sanderling.

GULLS: 17 Bonaprate's Gulls went past today, hopefully a sign of whats to come.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for NNW winds and sun.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 14, 2008

WEATHER: Mostly sunny, with strong WNW winds throughout the day.

WATERFOWL: A modest flight, including; 140+ White-winged, 30 Surf and 4 Black Scoters, 110 Am. Wigeon, over 600 Scaup, and 233 Long-tailed Ducks, 92 Red-necked Grebes.

SHOREBIRDS: 1 Am. Golden-Plover and 2 Sanderlings.

OTHERBIRDS: A Owl (either a Long-eared or a Short-eared) flew past the tip in the first hour.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for light south winds and sun.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 13, 2008

WEATHER: Another cloudy, hazy day, with light SE winds.

WATERFOWL: Some Ducks flew past the point today, including all three Scoters.

SHOREBIRDS: 1 Black-bellied Plover was a nice bird today.

OTHERBIRDS: Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned and Rough-legged Hawks were all where seen hunting around the tip.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for WNW winds and thunderstorms!

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: A cloudy, hazy day, with light SE winds.

WATERFOWL: Another day with a good waterfowl movement. With 12 species ducks recorded, including good looks at all three Scoters, and 14 RT Loons.

GULLS; 6 Bonaparte's Gull's migrated south today.

OTHERBIRDS: The highlight of the day had to be great looks at an adult Northern Goshawk as it hunted along the tree line behind the Shack.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for more SE winds, partly cloudy skies, and rain in the late afternoon.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 11, 2008

WEATHER: Windy! Strong SE winds all day made things interesting.

WATERFOWL: Despite the wind there was a decent movement throughout the day, with 10 duck species recorded including; 34 WW Scoters, 6 Surf Scoters, over 800 Scaup. 8 RT Loons, and 91 Common Loons were also recorded.

SHOREBIRDS: 2 Dunlin were it for the day.

JAEGERS: 1 Intermediate morph 1st winter Parasitic Jaeger chased a Ring-billed Gull over the Shack and north up the lake in the 5th hour of the count.

OTHERBIRDS: 1 Northern Harrier, and 1 Peregrine Falcon came in off the lake today. And a female BB Woodpecker made a brief flight along the lakeshore, before going back into the woods in the afternoon.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for more SE winds and partly cloudy skies.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER:Partly cloudy, with temps in the upper 60's and light WNW winds throughout the count.

WATERFOWL: There was a actual duck flight today, with over 3000 individuals of 18 species recorded, including; 2300+ Scaup, 213 Redheads, 18 Ring-necked Ducks, 134 Am. Wigeon, 120 WW Scoters, and 59 Surf Scoters. 148 RN Grebes, 31 Common and 10 RT Loons rounded out the waterbirds.

SHOREBIRDS:1 Am. Golden-Plover and 2 Sanderlings.

OTHERBIRDS: Similer to yesterday with 1 Northern Goshawk that buzzed the Shack, a female Black-backed Woodpecker on the Merlin Pole, and a Swamp Sparrow that flew into the Shack!

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for SE winds and partly cloudy skies.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 9, 2008

WEATHER: Sunny, with strong west winds throughout the count.

WATERFOWL: There was movement today, which was pretty nice too see. 142 WW Scoters, 132 RN Grebes, and 3 RT Loons where some of the highlights today.

SHOREBIRDS:1 Am. Golden-Plover and 4 Sanderlings.

OTHERBIRDS: 2 Northern Goshawks, a Black-backed Woodpecker, a Northern Shrike, and a Clay-colored Sparrow all put on appearances today at the tip.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for WNW winds and sunny skies.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counte

October 8, 2008

WEATHER: Cloudy with showers throughout the day, with strong Southeast winds at the start of the count, which had shifted to the West by the end of the count.

WATERFOWL: It was slow until the last 2 hours when 43 Greater & 146 Lesser Scaup came through.

SHOREBIRDS:1 Dunlin and 3 Sanderlings.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for gusty West winds, and sunny skies.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counte

October 7, 2008

WEATHER: Sunny and cool, with strong southeast winds.

WATERFOWL:Painfully slow. With only 12 WW Scoters, 10 LT Ducks, 17 RB Mergansers, 1 Common Loon, and 1 RN Grebe.

SHOREBIRDS:1 Am. Golden-Plover, and 4 Sanderlings.

JAEGERS, GULLS: The juvenile Parasitic Jaeger came by the point again today. Each time it put on a exciting show, harassing the gulls and stealing food from them. The 1st winter GBB Gull was present again today.

OTHERBIRDS; The first 3 Rough-legged Hawks of the season showed up today.


The forecast for tomorrow is calling for showers and southwinds.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 6, 2008

WEATHER: Sunny and cool, with strong southeast winds.

WATERFOWL: Another slow day, with very low numbers. The highlight was 71 WW Scoters, 3 Surf Scoters.
SHOREBIRDS: 3 Am. Golden-Plovers, and 2 Sanderlings.

JAEGERS: A juvenile Parasitic Jaeger put on two appearances today. The first time it buzzed the shoreline, the second time it cut the tip and flew 50yds away from the waterbird shack!

OTHERBIRDS; 1 BB Woodpecker made a brief stop at the Merlin Pole in the second hour of the count, Lapland Longspurs, Horned Larks, and Am. Pipits continue to flock around the tip.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for southeast winds and sun.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

Highlights: Parasitic Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, RED PHALAROPE.

WEATHER: A pleasant day at the tip. Cool, and partly sunny with light northeast winds.

WATERFOWL:Extremely slow with very low numbers. 3 Surf Scoters, and 35 WW Scoters where the only ducks of intrest.

SHOREBIRDS: 1 Am. Golden-Plover, 8 Sanderlings, and 1 RED PHALAROPE, that spent over two hours feeding just off the tip!


JAEGERS, GULLS: The juvenile Parasitic Jaeger was present again, and spent much of the day harassing the gulls and resting offshore of the tip. A juvenile Sabine's Gull spent about 2 hours feeding around the tip, and landed briefly on the tip! The 1st winter GBB Gull was present today as well.



The forecast for tomorrow is calling for some sun, and Southest winds!

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

WEATHER: Cool, and partly sunny with light northerly winds.

WATERFOWL:Slow. All three Scoter species went past the tip today, along with a few Long-tailed Ducks.

SHOREBIRDS: 2 Am. Golden-Plovers, and 4 Sanderlings.

JAEGERS, GULLS: What was probably yesterday's juvenile Parasitic Jaeger, buzzed the point again today in the afternoon. At one point it chased a RB Gull 30 feet over the Shack! A 1st winter Great Black-backed flew south today as well.

OTHER BIRDS: Early in the morning, Craig Bateman picked up a Long-eared Owl in flight over the lake, which eventually landed in the trees, where it was seen for sometime. Check out the sightings blog for pictures of it. Also, throughout the day, at least 3 different Black-backed Woodpeckers were seen on the Merlin Pole.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for east winds and sun.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 3, 2008

WEATHER: Cool, and partly sunny with strong NW winds.

WATERFOWL:Pretty slow, highlights were all three Scoter species, and a breeding plumaged PACIFIC LOON that flew past the point in the late morning.

SHOREBIRDS: 16 Sanderlings spent most of the day mulling around the tip.

JAEGERS, GULLS: A juvenile Parasitic Jaeger buzzed the point a few times in the afternoon. A juvenile Little Gull flew past in the 3rd hour, in 5th hour it reappeared at the tip and spent a half hour flying around the tip and resting on and offshore.


The forecast for tomorrow is calling for lite north winds and sun.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 2, 2008

WEATHER: Pretty much like yesterday, only a little sunnier.

WATERFOWL: Like yesterday, only slower. A nice sight was a flock of 6 Surf Scoters, 5 of which where adult males!

SHOREBIRDS: 2 Am. Golden-Plovers, 1 flew past just after dawn, and the second briefly landed near the shack in the afternoon.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for more north winds and showers.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter

October 1, 2008

WEATHER: Cloudy and cool, with strong north winds. It seemed like a good day for migration.

WATERFOWL: considering the excellent winds, it was surprisingly slow. With only a 7 species of Ducks seen, including 58 WW Scoters and 3 Black Scoters. 4 RT Loons, and 13 RN Grebes also went south today.

SHOREBIRDS: The end of the shorebird season, with only 12 Sanderlings present today.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for more north winds and showers.

Good Birding,
Tim Baerwald
Waterbird Counter