Long-tailed and more

This morning dawned with moderate-strong W winds and just had the feeling like it would be one of those good days. From the beginning Red-necked Grebes were moving in large numbers and smaller numbers of ducks, loons, and Horned Grebes were evident amongst them. The birds that really bring people to the point didn't show up until 9:30 a.m. though, that's when the season's second Long-tailed Jaeger (an adult with broken off tail streamers) kited past the point, some distance away but close enough to still be appreciated. About 30 minutes later a juvenile Sabine's Gull made a short appearance and was then followed by a Red-necked Phalarope which was lost when it flew into the rip current at the point's tip. It took another few hours but eventually a juvenile Parasitic Jaeger came by (an unidentified bird flew past about the same time as the Long-tailed) to give a 2 jaeger species day. Guess it pays to be on that spit of land 8 hours a day every once in a while.

Beyond the highlights there was a good waterbird movement led by Red-necked Grebe which took the day's top spot with 1760 while Canada Goose was second with 242 and American Wigeon was the most common of the ducks with 73. Small numbers of Blue-winged Teal and other dabblers also made an appearance while diving duck numbers remained steady with Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoter, and Common Merganser being the most common from that group. Loons were present in increased numbers with 52 Common and 11 Red-throated seen today while 19 Horned Grebes joined their larger cousins. A young Forster's Tern joined the few Common Terns that were around this afternoon and an American Golden-Plover flew over calling on an otherwise poor shorebird day.

A non-waterbird count Wood Duck was flushed from one of the point's small ponds this afternoon while the woods on the point still held a few birds but were quieter than yesterday. Small flocks of passerines were moving around this afternoon made up mostly of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, and White-throated Sparrows but a few others were among them including a Philadelphia and a Red-eyed Vireo, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Orange-crowned and Cape May Warblers, and a few Lincoln's Sparrows. A first for me on the point was a Ruffed Grouse that was in the underbrush near the Fog horn Pond.

Dabblers on the move

No post yesterday as Adam gave me the day off to do some much needed grocery shopping, it seems I picked a good day as it was nothing but south and southeast all morning and waterbird movement was expectedly weak. Of note were 4 more jaegers (2 unidentified and 2 Parasitics) but overall numbers were fairly low, though they still beat a couple days ago.

Today was a different story, there were birds early, and there were birds often. Without a doubt this was a banner day for Blue-winged Teal movement on Lake Superior as we tallied 1488 this morning and afternoon with another 236 unidentified teal seen, Green-winged Teal was much less common with 62 seen this morning. Along with the teal most other expected dabblers were seen this morning including an impressive count for Whitefish Point of 82 Northern Shovelers while other counts included 301 American Wigeons, 3 American Black Ducks, 63 Mallards, and 8 Northern Pintails. Diving ducks continue to be seen in small numbers with 30 Redheads, 32 Greater Scaup, and 16 White-winged Scoters leading the pack.

Other waterbird numbers included 307 Red-necked Grebes, 16 Common Loons, 8 Horned Grebes, and 64 Common Terns. As has become normal so far this fall there were 4 jaegers seen today, all in the final 2 hours of the count, with a single Parasitic and 3 unidentified birds (one that got away may have been a Pomarine). Shorebirds were still present in low numbers with a single Baird's and 2 Buff-breasteds still present on the point's shoreline.

For info on today's passerine/landbird movement take a look at the sightings blog.

A new day

Today may not have been the best waterbird migration day nor the best day in the woods this Fall but after the past few days it sure seemed like it was. A big boost in the overall numbers was the re-appearance of Canada Geese flocks and sparrows added some diversity to the woods, in the end it was just nice to see something was moving up here once more. Tomorrow's forecast is for similar weather, the avian forecast to-be-determined however.

Skeins of Canada Geese coming south from the Hudson/James Bay region made up almost half of today's birds with 243 counted and easily outdistanced Red-necked Grebe (62) for the most common bird of the day. Coming in third was Green-winged Teal with 29, one ahead of Common Loon which increased from the past couple days to 28. Other waterbirds rebounded a bit as well with a single American Black Duck, 14 White-winged Scoters, 2 Red-throated Loons, and 2 Horned Grebes also seen today.

Shorebird numbers were better than recent days with new arrivals including an American Golden-Plover than came in during the last hour of the count and 3 Buff-breasted Sandpipers that arrived around noon. Also found today was a Wilson's Snipe that was flushed from the dune vegetation close to the shack. An unknown Jaeger species passed by on the lake early in the morning and small numbers of Bonaparte's Gulls and Common Terns were again present along the point.

Passerines were in much larger numbers today around the point with the expected mid-to-late Fall mix of American Pipits, Horned Larks, Savannah Sparrows, and Lapland Longspurs now present on the point for the second straight day. In the woods American Robins and Yellow-rumped Warblers were in the largest numbers while 9 other warbler species were found including a late Yellow and a female-type Black-throated Blue. Other birds present included numbers of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushes, a House Wren, and solid sparrow numbers which included 2 Field, 2 Vesper, a Swamp, and a few Lincoln's among the more regular species.

More birds than colors in a rainbow

And when I say that I am being literal, we did eventually manage more total birds today than there were individual colors in the rainbow that showed to the south of us this morning. Though it did take some time to rack up 8 total birds, it did finally happen. My heavy sarcasm has likely led you all to infer that the large bird movement did NOT happen today, instead one of the slowest days of the year was in its place. Winds were strong to moderate out of the NW turning to the N by the afternoon with rain surrounding us though we remained dry on the point itself, seemingly good weather for a movement but I guess there was more going on than I could account for. Maybe tomorrow.

Highlight has to be used loosely for anything today but 2 Red-throated Loons would qualify as today's best birds with a Common Goldeneye vying for second place in the category. Among the most numerous were Red-necked Grebe (69), Common Tern (18), and Common Loon (12), those three species accounting for more than 85% of the total birds seen today.

Total shorebird numbers were slightly higher than the past few days thanks to 18 Sanderlings on the point this afternoon though diversity was no better with a Semipalmated Plover and a Least Sandpiper the only other species noted.

Passerines were just as poor with the woods deathly quiet this afternoon during my walk though two new birds for the fall did grace the point, 3 Horned Larks and a Lapland Longspur.

Sabine's and Parasitic

The winds did indeed shift overnight and today I was greeted by strong WNW and eventually NW winds that blasted the point under cloudy skies all morning long. By mid-morning the sustained winds were causing waves on the lake to reach the 10-15 foot range and a small contingent of freighters were sitting in Whitefish Bay so as not to become 2010's Edmund Fitzgerald. Of course the birds can fly above the waves so while it seems many (at least hopefully) decided to wait for the weather to die down a bit a few still decided to get up and use the strong tailwind to their advantage. The weatherman says similar weather for tomorrow but with a little calmer winds so we will see what that has in store for us.

Since this blog is suppose to be about Whitefish Point birds not the weather I guess I'll mention the few highlights that did come by. The season's second and my first juvenile Sabine's Gull spent about 5-10 minutes kiting over the waves along the point a little before 10 this morning while in other news the season's jaeger total continued to rise with 5 seen today including two intermediate juvenile birds that came close to the point and could clearly be ID'ed as Parasitics. That brings the season total to 30 jaegers including 25 over the past week alone.

However, overall waterbird numbers were lower than hoped for with Canada Goose remaining the most common for the second consecutive day at 164 birds while Red-necked Grebe was again second with 135 and Common Loon clung to third with 27 birds counted. Duck numbers rebounded a bit with the season's first Hooded Merganser early in the morning, a single of each Scaup species, and 2 White-winged Scoters in the afternoon. Red-throated Loons continue to move by in small numbers with 5 seen today, the season's highest yet total. Shorebirds, terns, and Bonaparte's Gulls continue in small numbers with little change in species makeup or abundance.

The high winds hampered birding on the point itself for yet another day with a couple American Pipits circling the point being the most notable landbird seen.

What would I write about if not for jaegers?

The morning greeted me with 20-25 mph winds blowing out of the SE and a dearth of birds on or near the point. As the day passed by the winds began to slow a bit and by the time I left this afternoon they were coming from the S/SW and rain was beginning to fall. The forecast tells me that I'll return to the point with strong W/NW winds tomorrow morning so hopefully all of the birds that have been stalled yesterday and today will be making their way south past the point then.

Among the birds that did pass by today the highlight was yet another jaeger, a light-phase adult, but given the great distance and behavior, the bird could not be identified between Parasitic and Pomarine. For the first time this year Canada Goose was the most common bird for the day with a whopping 27 while Red-necked Grebe came in second with 24 and Common Loon outpaced Common Tern 17 to 16 for third place. Duck numbers continued to be weak with a few teal and other dabblers struggling past through the day.

Shorebird diversity remained around 5 species with Sanderling still present in the largest numbers and a group of 6 American Golden-Plovers flying over being the most interesting. Much like the water the point's woods were also quiet today with a total of 8 warbler species seen including Pine and Wilson's but little else showing itself.

9/5 and 9/6

Adam gave me a little rest time yesterday so I spent the day either in the woods or inside but those at the point did see a decent duck diversity, 598 Red-necked Grebes, 3 American Golden-Plovers, a juvenile Sabine's Gull, and a single Jaeger Sp.

Today's count was less exciting as the winds shifted to the S/SE overnight and continued that way through the afternoon eventually picking up some speed by the time I left the shack.

Migrant highlights passing the point today included a Surf Scoter, 4 Red-throated Loons, 20 Horned Grebes, and yet another juvenile Parasitic Jaeger. Passing in the largest numbers were 103 Common Terns, 99 Red-necked Grebes, and 23 Common Loons, a clear decrease in numbers from recent days.

The forecast is for a return to west and northwest winds in the next couple days so hopefully that will herald a few more birds and little less time fighting to stay awake in the afternoon.

Jaegers galore

Well today was one for the Whitefish Point record books, no less than 14 jaegers (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) were seen today with 13 during the count (including a group of 3) and 1 within the first hour after the count ended. Only two could be definitively identified as Parasitics though jizz and percentages suggest that all likely were. Given that this count has been performed for nearly 25 years and the previous record was 6 or 7 illustrates just how unique today was.

The uniqueness was not just confined to the jaegers as the weather this morning and afternoon was more suggestive of mid-October than early September with cool temps (40-50 degrees F all day), high winds (20-30 mph), and regular rain squalls off of the lake. The weather overnight included very high winds and torrential rain which downed trees and flooded the point itself creating a small lake where there was once just gravel. Tomorrow is suppose to be lighter winds and sunnier skies so hopefully all of those birds set down by this weather event will be gracing us with their presence.

A few other birds showed up in between jaeger sightings today topped by 1241 Red-necked Grebes, 262 Canada Geese, and 30 Common Loons. Small numbers of ducks continue to pass by with 4 Northern Pintails, 8 White-winged Scoters, and 2 dark-winged Scoters being the most notable among them.

Small numbers of Common Terns were again seen today with up to 11 feeding about the point during the count. A few shorebirds remained on the point despite the weather and included a Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Baird's Sandpiper.

Very few other birds were seen given today's weather but at least a few raptors and warblers are still poking about on the point for the time being.

3 Jaeger day

While moderate to strong SW to W west winds dominated today and storms passed all around, though most missed the point to my benefit, the number of birds passing through again dropped from previous days. As seems to be the case when the birds stop moving that's when jaegers appear off the point, so it was no surprise and perhaps a bad omen that I was graced with at least three today with two being clear cut Parasitics and the third undoubtedly also a Parasitic but at a distance which made a 100% decision difficult.

With the drop in overall bird numbers Red-necked Grebe again took the top spot with a grand total of 48 birds seen today, Canada Geese stole the second spot with a group of 17 early on, and Common Loon rounded out the top three with 15 throughout the day. Small numbers of dabbling and White-winged Scoters continued to pass by today and a single Red-throated Loon also flew past early this afternoon.

Common Terns were again present but in much smaller numbers with a total of 9 seen while shorebirds continue in small numbers including newly arrived Ruddy Turnstone and Pectoral Sandpiper, the later being the first of the fall.

Passerine migrants continue to reduce in numbers and while small numbers of the more common warbler species were seen the diversity and total abundance was not large. The current weather outside and the forecast for the near future looks very promising so hopefully tomorrow's post will have better news to report.

Finally a Canada Goose

While I realize the 6 Canada Geese that passed the point may not be that exciting I had been stunned by the fact that I had not seen one yet at the point so for the first time in a long time, I enjoyed when they came by. However, no other new birds for the fall passed by today under increasingly cloudy skies with light to moderate SE to S winds probably not helping matters much.

For the second straight day Common Tern was the most common migrant with 412 passing by while Red-necked Grebe held the #2 spot with 106 birds seen. Common Loon put on its best showing so far this fall and climbed into the #3 spot with a total of 103. Duck numbers were drastically reduced from yesterday with 4 American Wigeons, 17 Blue-winged Teal, and 25 Common Mergansers the only ones seen. Horned Grebes and Red-throated Loons continue in small numbers with 6 and 2 respectively.

Another jaeger passed by the point today which was almost assuredly an adult light-morph Parasitic but the distance and poor early morning light caused me to enter Jaeger Sp. on the taly sheet. Also passing through were 2 Sandhill Cranes midday, 4 Bonaparte's Gulls, and another Forster's Tern. Shorebird numbers were greatly reduced from yesterday with fewer than 15 birds of 6 species seen.

Overall land bird numbers were also much lower with numerous migrant warblers seen flying off the point during the morning and small numbers still hanging on in the woods. The only additional passerine species noted today were Blue-headed Vireo and American Pipit. Raptor numbers seemed to be higher today with multiple Northern Harriers, an Osprey, and a Bald Eagle all arriving off the lake.