September 2, 2009

Another picture-perfect day for weather. The temp topped out in the lower 70's and a cloud was not seen the whole day. Winds were light from the SW.

Waterfowl: Very slow. The only bird that was moving in any numbers was Red-necked Grebe with 233 birds counted. After two very good days for Blue-winged Teal, only 6 were seen today. About an average day for Common Loons with 14.

Shorebirds: Overall very slow but a Black-bellied Plover that stopped by during the second hour and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper that flew in just before the end of the count made up for the lack of numbers. Chris and I went back out to the point this evening with hopes of photographing the Buff-breasted but the bird was nowhere to be found.

Other: A standard mix of warblers near the treeline was just about it. I couldn't resist digiscoping this Ring-billed Gull during my mid-morning boredom:


The forecast calls for another week of absolutely gorgeous weather!

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

September 1, 2009- Jaeger

September started the same way August ended-- with absolutely gorgeous weather. Temps approached 70 degrees and winds were fairly light out of the NW.

Sunrise over Lake Superior


Waterfowl: It was another good day for Blue-winged Teal with 117 recorded. Other dabblers included 13 Wigeon, 8 Shoveler, a few Green-winged Teal, and an individual Mallard and American Black Duck. It was a so-so day for Red-necked Grebes with 203 and Common Loons with 17. 4 Horned Grebes were also recorded.


Gulls/Terns/Jaegers: We watched a very distant jaeger during the last hour of the count but the bird worked its way towards the Soo and never came close to land. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

Shorebirds: Pretty quiet, probably because the beach was under the constant surveillance of a Merlin, Peregrine, and Goshawk during the morning. 2 American Golden Plovers that briefly landed during the 4th hour were the highlight.

Other: It was a great day for raptors with 9 species seen from the shack including all three falcon species, Goshawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk, and even a mini-kettle of about a dozen Broad-winged Hawks.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 31, 2009: Big Blue-winged Teal push

It was an absolutely gorgeous day with sunny skies, temp around 65, and a gentle breeze out of the NW. The light NW winds yielded the best waterbird flight so far of the year (for variety).

Waterfowl: The highlight was the number of Blue-winged Teal. 226 were counted which almost triples the high count from last fall. Most of these birds were represented by 3 large flocks-- including one of 90 birds. Other dabblers included 29 Green-winged Teal, 17 American Wigeon, and several Gadwall, Mallard, and American Black Duck. Divers put in a decent showing as well with 427 Red-necked Grebes, 6 Horned Grebes, 20 Common Loons, 17 Scaup, and a couple White-winged Scoters, dark-winged scoters, and Bufflehead.

Gulls/Terns: An impressive 65 Common Terns were totaled with about 40 in one group.

Shorebirds: Very few (because of the presence of a Peregrine) including another Whimbrel which stopped by early to bathe and preen for about 15 minutes before moving on. It is turning out to be quite a good fall for Whimbrels here.

Other: The Peregrine and Merlin put on a hunting clinic picking tired passerines off the lake and the Goshawk gave a nice low flyover. A tired Blackpoll Warbler flew in off the bay and rested on the beach and luckily escaped the detection of either of the falcons. Both Red and White-winged Crossbills were heard and seen flying over.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 30, 2009: First Jaeger

It was a sunny day with strong winds out of the north. It was an interesting day being slow overall but with a few brief periods of excitement.

Waterfowl: 139 Red-necked Grebes, 13 Common Loons, a White-winged Scoter and a few unidentified dark-winged Scoters. Dabblers put in a weak showing with a handful of Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, and Wigeon.

Gulls/Terns/Jaegers: The highlight of the day was a jaeger that came in off the lake from the NE during the first hour. It was in the glare of the rising sun during almost all of the observation so there was no way I could ID it to species. It looked like a juvenile intermediate color morph but even the shade of brown was very hard to determine in the sun. There were two more sightings later in the day of possible jaegers (the same bird?) far off in the distance but views were always frustratingly distant and brief.

Shorebirds: A flyover Whimbrel early in the count was the highlight. Other than that just standard peeps, Sanderlings, and Semipalmated Plovers.

Other: The highlight was a young Northern Goshawk that gave amazing views by passing a few yards from the waterbird shack while hunting the beach.

Looks like a nice week of weather ahead. Hopefully the birding will be too!

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 29, 2009: Buff-breasted Sandpiper

It was a miserable day with steady moderate rain and 20-25mph East winds.

Waterfowl: Did not want to fly in this weather. The only brave migrants were 4 Red-necked Grebes and a single White-winged Scoter and American Wigeon.

Gulls/Terns: A gorgeous juvenile Bonaparte's Gull stopped by for a little bit in the morning.

Shorebirds: The highlight of the day was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper which showed up during the 4th hour. It associated with peeps and lingered for the rest of the count. 2-3 American Golden Plovers also stopped by as well as 7 Semipalmated Plovers and a handful of other peeps.

Other: A dozen Cliff Swallows came in off the lake during the last hour.

My hopes are high for tomorrow as the rain clears out and the winds shift to the north!

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 28, 2009

It was a cloudy day with occasional showers and light winds out of the SE.

Waterfowl: A very slow day. Only 32 Red-necked Grebes, 4 Common Loons, 2 Bufflehead, and 1 Horned Grebe for divers. One flock of dabblers included 7 Shovelers, a Wigeon and an American Black Duck. Perhaps the most interesting sighting was a group of 155 Canada Geese migrating south.

Shorebirds: A slow day for them too. The highlight was 2 American Golden Plovers that flew in during the 7th hour. Both birds still had a lot of alternate plumage. Other shorebirds included a standard mix of Sanderlings, peeps, and a couple Semipalmated Plovers.

Other: Chris reported an excellent morning for warblers in the woods. See his sightings blog for details. I watched a Merlin eat an unlucky Nashville Warbler on the Merlin pole but the highlight was a Peregrine Falcon that landed within 30 feet of the waterbird shack. Unfortunately my camera was out of reach but Chris got stunning photos (see the sightings blog for a photo). I was able to get a more distant photo when the bird flew to the tip--


Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 27, 2009

It was a mostly cloudy day with a stiff breeze out of the SE. Considering the poor wind direction, it was a surprisingly good day for waterfowl numbers and variety.

Waterbirds: Red-necked Grebes had their second-best showing of the year with 692 as well as two Horned Grebes. Scoters also had a good day with 11 White-winged Scoters and the first Surf Scoter of the year (as well as 4 more unidentified dark-winged scoters). Other divers included 9 Common Loons, 2 Bufflehead, and the first 2 Lesser Scaup of the season. Dabblers included 20 Blue-winged Teal, 6 Green-winged Teal, and 6 American Wigeon.

Shorebirds: A slow day with several Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Baird's Sandpipers. A Whimbrel flew in after the count and the Piping Plover appears to be gone.

Other: Not much besides a few warblers and a reappearance of the Goshawk.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 26, 2009

It was a very pleasant day with temps in the 60's and moderate winds out of the NE.

Waterfowl: Unfortunately, the waterbirds did not respond well to the shift in winds and it was a very slow day. Red-necked Grebes were seen in moderate-sized flocks on and off today totaling 157 birds. A few teal were mixed in and I saw the first Bufflehead of the fall. 15 Common Loons flew by today.

Shorebirds: The worst day yet for them. Very low numbers of Sanderling, Least, and Baird's Sandpipers were the only shorebirds present. However, after the count more shorebirds appeared including more of these species and the Piping Plover.

Other: A Peregrine Falcon was present at the tip of the point early this morning.

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 25, 2009

It was a cloudy and windy day with a thunderstorm that hit around noon. The winds were strong out of the south which put a damper on the waterbird movement.

Waterfowl: Only 54 Red-necked Grebes and 7 Common Loons. One mixed flock of ducks yielded the first Shoveler, American Wigeon, and Greater Scaup of the year. Besides a few teal, all else was very quiet.

Shorebirds: The Piping Plover remains but the Whimbrel streak finally broke at 4 days. The only other species present were normal peep species (including up to 11 Baird's) and a Semipalmated Plover.

Other: Very slow for passerines as well, mainly because the strong winds made hearing chip notes very difficult. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird coming in off the lake was probably the most interesting bird in this category.

Hopefully I'll have more to report tomorrow...

Tom Prestby
Waterbird Counter

August 24, 2009

It was a gorgeous day out on the point-- temps were in the upper 70's and winds were light.

Waterfowl: A pretty slow day. 372 Red-necked Grebes passed by, almost all of which were during the first 3 hours of the count. 12 Common Loons were seen and a few dabblers including a few Blue-winged Teal and the first Gadwall of the season.

Gulls/Terns: 2 juvenile Bonapartes Gulls hung out at the tip and 14 Common Terns flew by.

Shorebirds: A Whimbrel was present early (possibly the same bird as yesterday) and the Piping Plover remains. The peep flock was smaller than normal-- including a few Semipalmated Sandpipers and a few Baird's Sandpipers. One of the Baird's posed for pictures-- bee below.

Other: It was a decent day for warblers with high numbers of Palms and Yellow-rumpeds but not much else. 3 Red-winged Blackbirds came in off the lake.

Tom Prestby

Waterbird Counter