Toodle Pip

Well it's time to bid you a very fond farewell. I've had a thoroughly smashing time and am hoping to return at some point next year so will hopefully see some of you then.
Thanks to everyone who's helped make my stay so enjoyable, whether keeping me company at the shack, having me round for dinner and drinks, taking me birding, or just generally being an
all-round good egg.

The 2010 Spring waterbird count at Whitefish Point totalled 19,395 individual birds. The five most abundant species were: Common Loon (3542), Long Tailed Duck (2996), Canada Goose (2645), Red Breasted Merganser (2688), Sandhill Crane (1316), and White-winged Scoter (1215). You can get the full write up in the WPBO newsletter The Migrant - please continue to support the observatory in whatever way you can.

Tata for now,
Mike.

Both photos by K. Mettie Jr. - click on them to enlarge

It's a bit like buses...

... you wait for ages then two turn up at the same time.
On Tuesday i was back at the shack having a busmans holiday, when i was approached by a couple who asked for directions to a site for Red Crossbills. Jerry told them of a good spot, and they went off to check it out. A bit later they stopped by the accomodation building and told Chris they'd just found a Kirtlands Warbler! A mad dash ensued (always lots of fun) and within 15 minutes we were watching the bird. It gave a great performance, singing away and approached to within about 10 feet at one point - a real stunner. The photo above is "digibinned"!

Great views were also obtained of the crossbills, then we had a team visit to Seney NWR where Chris was able to lure a calling Yellow Rail a little closer by tapping 2 pebbles together. We then finished the evening with a lovely dinner at the Ole Forest Inn, where the waitress reminded us of the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. Some cocktails were imbibed before it was time to head back to the HQ - all in all a great day. Waterbird count totals to follow soon.

Sunday May 31st - Finishing with a bang

Well the last day of the count was a good one, fog at the start hampered the count but may have grounded a few migrants. 2 Franklins Gulls were swimming on the lake while feeding on floating insects, then a Saw Whet was seen flying in off the lake and landing on a log on the beach. Shortly after, a Pacific Loon went through. So not a bad way to end the season! Loons and Canada Geese were still going through in good numbers in fact. I'll be posting the season totals fairly soon, so stay tuned for a bit longer - i've got a feeling most species were below average, but we'll see.
Thanks to everyone who came to see me at the shack, it was always nice to have visitors. Thanks to Jason for standing in for me a couple of days and allowing me to have some time off, and a big thanks to Phil for helping out with the count for the last two weeks, it was nice to be able to dash off if a good bird was found nearby!

5/30/10 - Bird-a-thon

Here's a view from the beach in the evening (it's zoomed in quite a bit).

Sunday was Bird-a-Thon day so we were up well before first light and down to Vermilion where Bittern, Sedge Wren and Olive Sided Flycatcher were all nailed on call. Crossbills showed well after sun up, with a Field Sparrow heard by Chris being a rare bird for the area. Next we tried a trail for Spruce Grouse, no joy but a Ruffed was photographed by Libby. Then out to the waterbird shack where Phil had been counting. A Yellow Rail had just been found by Tim Bearwald - 10 minutes later and i would have been on the spot as it ran by! No further sign despite extensive searching. A nice scattering of shorebirds along the beach included a Willet. Nice to see the Piping Plovers have started to lay a clutch of eggs. Finally tally around the 120 mark i believe - not bad on what was a fairly quiet day birdwise.

5/29/10

A cracking morning with loads of passerines on the move; sometime mid-count Chris radioed to say he'd found a Mockingbird so me and Jason thought we'd go look for it; Phil said he'd hold the fort. Then Chris and Nova said they'd found a Bay Breasted Warbler near the mist nets so we went for that instead. While looking around the area it was obvious there was a pocket of bird activity near a small pond, including a Yellow Bellied Flycatcher giving great views. While waiting quietly in some pines by the pond a close warbler passed through some willows about 15 feet away, about 5 feet off the ground. In my bins i could see that it had a plain dark grey head with no hint of a supercilium at all, but a very strikingly bold white eyering. I quickly scanned the plumage for distinguishing features and noted yellow underparts, fairly plain concolourous dark upperparts across the head, mantle and wings with strong black streaks on the upper mantle; in the brief view i wasn't struck by any bold wingbars. The breast was unpatterned but there were black streaks on the rear flanks. It quickly moved on and I was immediately thinking Kirtlands but wanted to check a field guide for confusion species. Luckily Geoff had one nearby, and i was able to eliminate a first spring female Magnolia due to their contrasting wings and mantle, lack of dark streaks on the upper mantle; paler head and mantle and usually, presence of either fairly obvious wingbars, a hint of a post-ocular supercilium or some patterning on the upper breast. I staked out the spot for about 2 hours but it seems the bird was just passing through, though i did find Least and Alder Flycatchers, Wilsons, female Mourning and probable female Tennessee Warbler and interestingly a female Magnolia which Geoff had reported, this being noticeably different to the bird i saw. I'm really pleased to have found a good Point bird which i've been hoping to do since i started here, though it's tinged with disappointment that it didn't stay around for others to enjoy; i can understand why some people have shown some scepticism, as i've been on the other side of the fence many times myself! However as i've said to a couple of folks whilst i've been here, i never claim a bird unless i'm at least 110% certain of the ID. I was lucky enough to find another life bird too, a Great Crested Flycatcher behind the shack, though unfortunately only NTVs were obtained of the Olive Sided Flycatcher in the same area as it flew back south, though it had been calling loudly and frequently.
Canada Geese continue to go through, with 366. Still some White Winged Scoter and R B Merganser too with 27 and 33 respectively. 42 Common Loons was more than in recent days, while 19 D C Cormorant included a flock of 16. Shorebirds were noticeable with 9 S P Plover and 16 Sanderling.
Here's an evening view from the beach to help you get an idea of the scenery:

5/28/10 cont. Peregrine... err... hang on...

A bit of excitement during the count too. A sighting of a Peregrine came over the radio, i was busy counting so didn't immediately turn around. When i did i saw the bird flying away from us with some Broad Wings and remarked on its unusual, slow, stiff flight action, but was told that they sometimes fly like that here (!), though it seemed odd for it to be mixing so closely with the low flock of slow-moving Buteos. A minute or so later "Mississippi Kite" came over the radio; we couldn't see the bird but later found out that there was no Peregrine and it was in fact the Mississippi Kite! Hearty congrats to the 2 independant finders, but for me unfortunately, not UTB (Under The Belt) or OML (On My List) but "NTVs" (= Non-Tickable Views).

5/28/10 - Jolly Japes

An interesting and educational day today, if a little frustrating at times. There was a passage of terns on and off the whole day in small groups which totalled 47, but due to the conditions both myself and Phil felt it was not possible to say with 100% certainty what species any of them were! The sky was cloudless, and looking into the sun the whole day meant that birds were generally silhouettes, and even structural details became hard to discern in the glare. Add to this heat shimmer and some tripod shake when not in the lee of the shack and you have a recipe for some challenging bird ID! Indeed at times the birds seemed to show features of different and dissimilar species at the same time. Yet another reminder, not that i need one, of just how hard seabirding really is.
A lone tern flew through towards the end of the count and we agreed it was a good candidate for either Sandwich or Gull-Billed; i see the former pretty regularly between late March and late September. So ironically we may have had a 2nd State record, we just don't know which species! I think it's fair to say that there was a consensus that at least some of the other terns were Arctics. It makes me wonder how many go by un-ID'd. If a supporting cast for this High Arctic bird were needed it was provided by a respectable count of 12 Red Throated Loons, which nests the furthest north of all the loon species, getting almost as far north as there is land and small pools of open water. Additionally i had a Parasitic Jaeger during the evening flight which probably nests the furthest north of the jaegers. It is generally the case that the birds which breed the furthest north migrate the latest.

Canada Geese continued to go through with almost 200 and there was a good high count of Ring Billed Gulls with 168 - they really were "all over the gaff", as they say in Sheffield.

Laugher

A Laughing Gull flew over this morning, chuckling away which helped us to pick it up as it headed SE into the bay - unfortunately it just kept on going. This could be the same bird which Phil had 2 days ago, or could be a new bird. Canada Geese kept on going through, with a whopping 673 birds today. Loons made a slight comeback with 53, including 9 Red Throated. Five Swan sp looked large, heavy and long necked and were probably either Mute or Trumpeter but were too distant to ID. Black Bellied Plover put in a good showing with 34. And don't forget, there's still time to send in your pledges for the WPBO Bird-a-thon!

26/5/10 - O Canada!

The Canada Goose migration is well and truly underway, 437 on Wednesday and 283 the day before. There is a somewhat smaller passage early in the Spring, but as i understand it, no one is completely sure where these new birds are coming from, going to, or why. The most likely explanation seems to be that it is some kind of moult migration, perhaps of failed or non-breeders from further south, seeking fresh grazing to the north. In the UK where Canada Goose is an introduced non-native, a small moult migration has developed up into Scotland from further south. Certainly a lot of the birds we are currently seeing look pretty shabby and in need of some new feathers! Conversely, seaduck (scoters and Longtails) have come to a very abrupt halt. A Prairie Warbler was spotted by Jack in the pine just behind the shack and sang for a while before heading back south.
I had a couple of days off and Ken kindly drove us to the Keweenaw for an overnight visit. We spent quite a lot of time with Max up on Brockway Mountain and had stunning views of some raptors, despite the 90 degree wind coming all the way from Texas. One of the highlights was seeing a wolf by the side of the road! In the meantime Phil kindly held the fort back at the shack and had 2 Parasitic Jaegers and a Laughing Gull - good stuff.

Fog

Not much more to say really. Fog. Lots of it. More fog than birds certainly. A walk round the tip before the count produced 8 Black Bellied Plover, and while stumbling around behind the shack i had a flock of about 10 birds go over which looked and sounded like waxwings. Mid-afternoon they again flew over me, and i again failed to nail the I.D. Third time lucky, as i was walking out to the point for the evening flight they went over once more; this time i got my bins on them before they quickly disappeared and could see a yellow tail band - Cedar Waxwing fully trousered! Back of the net! And there were nearer to 20 this time. Hope they stick around. Another warm welcome to an even newer member of the team, Libby who will be volunteering here for a couple of months, supporting the team, providing guided walks and so forth. Do come along and support our programs if you can.