Hawk Count- Oct. 13

The End of a Record-breaking Season

Nancy and I have had quite the season here on Point LaBarbe, and have caught more owls than we ever could have imagined we would catch! The MSRW fall average is 200-300 Northern saw-whet Owls captured, and a few Long-eared Owls if they’re lucky. For us to have caught 648 Northern Saw-whet Owls, 11 Long-eared...

November 9, 2020

The 1st week of November

I have to apologize for the missing blogs, there has been some technological glitches and WiFi errors here on my end. However, here is an update on what the November season has looked like so far. Long-tailed Ducks had moved through the area fairly consistently all throughout late October, but had begun to trickle in...

November 7, 2020

Saw-whet Owl migration (and banding) is winding down

Its been a record-breaking year at MSRW’s Point LaBarbe owl-banding station but all good things must come to an end. Starting Halloween night, we noticed a marked decrease in the number of Northern Saw-whet Owls landing in our nets. Part of the reason has been some sub-optimal migration conditions – especially winds and a bright...

November 6, 2020

Processing a Northern Saw-whet Owl

As bird banders, the most important thing to us besides our own safety is the birds’ safety. We do absolutely everything we can to minimize any stress or harm to the birds. One facet of this is to reduce the amount of time we have the birds, from first capture to release, and especially the...

November 2, 2020

New Fall owl-banding records!

At the beginning of MSRW’s 2020 fall owl-banding season back in September, we speculated on the number of owls we might catch. A good year would be 400 Northern Saw-whet Owls and several Long-eared Owls. We have greatly exceeded all expectations. Thursday night we captured our 600th saw-whet, a record for the fall banding season....

October 30, 2020

Introducing the Northern Saw-whet Owl – a lean, mean, mouse-eating machine!

To humans, the Northern Saw-whet Owl (hereafter saw-whet), our target species at MSRW’s owl-banding stations, is cute. It is diminutive, docile, soft and fluffy, and has big beautiful yellow eyes. Saw-whets are sit-and-wait predators, sitting on a low branch waiting for prey to come by. Their usual prey are mice, especially deer mice, and voles....

October 28, 2020

Busy Night at the Owl-Banding Station

Last Saturday night, we finally got a full night of excellent weather at MSRW’s Point LaBarbe owl-banding station. Under high clouds, no significant precipitation and little wind, we caught a record number of owls. Sixty-one Northern Saw-whet Owls landed in our nets between 7:30 PM and 7:30 AM. Over 80% of these owls were young...

October 26, 2020

Owl Diversity in Michigan

At MSRW’s Point LaBarbe owl-banding station, we have been catching three species of owls this fall – Northern Saw-whet Owls (our target species), Long-eared Owls, and Barred Owls. In past years, the fall banding station has also caught Boreal Owls, which we would be delighted to catch this year. The checklist of Michigan Birds lists...

October 23, 2020

Our 400th Northern Saw-whet Owl!

Last night, we had a decent push of migration and caught 20 Northern Saw-whet Owls, bringing our season total to 416. Next benchmark goal is 500 saw-whets, here’s hoping we’ll get there! Owl banding totals September 18th through October 20th: Northern Saw-whet Owl: 416 Long-eared Owl: 4 Barred Owl: 2 -Kandace Glanville

October 20, 2020

3rd Week of October

The skies are filled with ducks, raptors, cranes, and everything in between. My highest totaling days have all come this week. Thanks in large part to the immense numbers of redheads, sandhill cranes, turkey vultures, American crows, and red-breasted mergansers. It is rare to have a few minutes without watching a large flock of redheads,...

October 18, 2020

A Primer on Ageing an Owl

In addition to putting a band on each owl we catch at MSRW’s owl-banding station on Point LaBarbe, we take a variety of measurements and we try to determine the age and sex each of individual. Determining the age of a bird helps us understand population dynamics of a bird population. For example, if we...

October 16, 2020

2nd week of October

The armchair challenge has met an unfortunate end. Although I have had a few days with some returning birds to the armchair, I have been unable to successfully capture any birds on the piece of furniture. I like to think that it was a good run we had, and maybe will give me the chance...

October 14, 2020

Banding Set-up & Our 300th Northern Saw-whet Owl!

Point LaBarbe is an important geographic location for southern migration in the fall. It’s the very southern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and birds funnel through here on their way south, before crossing the Straits. Why risk flying over large bodies of water when you can migrate over land? As the owls are migrating south...

October 13, 2020

Huge migration of Red-tails and some other recent highlights

We were all perhaps thinking that there was a bit of a lag in the Red-tail migration this fall. Well, yesterday’s flight certainly set that in motion in a grand fashion. I suspect some recent days of northwest winds brought many of these birds to the eastern UP so even on the blustery east winds,...

October 12, 2020

Midseason Review

Things have been going really well at the waterbird count as of late. The timing is everything, however. Early in the morning there is a rush of birds and the activity steeply drops off in the afternoon. But I wanted to take a look at the first half of the season’s migration count. The halfway...

October 10, 2020

Weather, weather and more weather!

Not only does weather affect bird activities, including migration, it also affects field biologists’ activities. At the MSRW owl-banding station on Point Labarbe, we have not been able to open nets for three of the past five nights because of weather. One night was canceled because of rain. Obviously we should not try to catch...

October 10, 2020

The first week of October

The first week of this spooky month has been incredibly interesting. There have been ups and downs in terms of birds and weather. But it is shaping up to be an incredible month of migration. October has brought with it a sizable increase in ducks flying east. Mainly these are “aythya sp.” or redheads. However,...

October 7, 2020

Why we band owls

Over the past two nights, we have captured 26 Northern Saw-whet Owls (‘saw-whets’) at the Point Labarbe owl-banding station, for a season total to date of 247 saw-whets. Thirteen of the 247 owls were already banded when we captured them. Because every band has a unique number, we are able to find out where and...

October 5, 2020

Owl-banding update: Every night is different

Thursday and Friday nights provided a lot of excitement at the owl-banding station at Point Labarbe but despite similar weather conditions, they couldn’t have been more different. Thursday night, under bright cloudy skies, a northwest breeze and chilly temperatures, Northern Saw-whet Owls came through in flocks, at a clip of 10 – 15 owls netted...

October 3, 2020

The 4th Armchair Challenge

Well if you guessed American Redstart for last week’s armchair challenge, you were right! This is a female bird, not quite as striking as the male, but stunning nonetheless. Redstarts have begun to leave the Mackinac region, but when they return in Spring, be on the lookout for these beauties as they skulk in the...

October 1, 2020

Welcoming October

As September has winded to a close, the waterbird count has ramped up with intensity. There are waterbirds moving past during most of the counting hours, and the first few continue to be a mirage of varying flocks. Here is what I have been seeing the last few days: The numbers of loons these last...

October 1, 2020

Net Checks

Bird banding can be very fast-paced on a busy day, but oftentimes it can also be very slow while you’re waiting for birds to be caught in nets or traps. So what do banders do while they’re waiting for birds to band? Most banding operations that use mist nets have something called “net checks,” which...

October 1, 2020

Owl banding season is off to a fast start!

The owl-banding season at Point Labarbe typically runs from September 20th to November 10th, which should cover the entire migration period of Northern Saw-whet Owls (“saw-whets”). Usually the season starts slowly and the first few nights, banders sit around struggling to stay awake and hoping for a bird or two. Not so this year! Ed...

September 29, 2020

Introducing the Fall 2020 owl-banders

The fall migration owl-banding season has begun! We’ve had a fast start to the season out on Point LaBarbe – more about that in our next blog. First, we, the owl-banders, would like to introduce ourselves to you. I’m Nancy Drilling and I am the lead bander. I’m originally from Iowa and now live in...

September 28, 2020

Peak flights of Sharpies, Kestrels and Harriers.

Over the last week or so, several species of our more common raptors have been migrating in considerable numbers. Sharp-shinned Hawks have been the most dominant of those species, topping out at 470 on September 26th. In the same general time span, we have recorded days of 49, 41 and 39 (twice) American Kestrels. Just...

September 28, 2020

Sep 27

What a day on the water! From the first inklings of light until the last few seconds of the 8 hour survey period, I had plenty of birds to pick through. The waterbird activity was frantic for the first 2.5 hrs with over 100 loons and close to 1000 different individual ducks. Large flocks of...

September 27, 2020

Sep 26

Today was a foggy, hazy, and generally poor viewing day for waterbird counting. So ironically, today was the best day for waterbirds the Straits have had. There were constant flocks of canada geese migrating high over the bridge. The largest flock was only about 70 birds, but there were dozens of these throughout the day....

September 26, 2020

The 3rd Armchair challenge

The answer to last week’s photo is a yellow-rumped warbler. More specifically, this is a myrtle warbler, the now subspecies of yellow-rumped. There is a fair distinction between myrtle and audubon’s warblers in both vocals and plumage. The myrtle warbler has a whiter throat than the audubon’s and browner streaking down back and nape. In...

September 24, 2020

Jaeger Day

Yesterday, September 20th, there was a large flock of ring-billed and herring gulls patrolling the buoys in the waterway to the East of Graham Point. Mixed in and incessantly harassing the gulls, was an adult parasitic jaeger. This is the second time I have found this species, the other was a juvenile. Both times they...

September 21, 2020

Another rarity visits the hawk watch

On this Friday past, as Steve Baker and I were enjoying another day at Point LaBarbe, I was scanning to the northwest not finding much during a bit of lull in the days flight. Suddenly, a very excited Steve bolts up out of his chair and exclaims “Swallow-tailed Kite!” There to the northeast and not...

September 20, 2020

Sep 16-18

The last few days have been pretty exciting at the waterbird count. I must admit, that the raptor watch probably has the waterbirds beat with exciting species, however. The last few days, Calvin has located a black vulture, say’s phoebe, and swallow-tailed kite. All very rare birds for the Straits area, and all birds that...

September 18, 2020

Some highlights of the last few days.

In between bouts of strong wind and rain this week, there have been some very good bird sightings at the watch. On Monday past a Say’s Phoebe, a vagrant from the West, spent a couple of hours in the vicinity of the watch area. As far as a I can tell looking at eBird records,...

September 17, 2020

2nd Edition of the Armchair Challenge

Alright, well the week is up, and so that means it is time to reveal the answer to the first photo, and showcase the second candidate. This is a black-throated green warbler. Specifically, it is either an adult female or an immature bird. Notice the black streaking down the flanks, and the lack of black...

September 16, 2020

Sep 14-15

Waterbirds are trickling in! For those of you who aren’t totally sure where my survey sites are located, here is a digital elevation model of the Mackinac Straits area. You can see the bridge, depths in the straits, UP, LP, and the highlighted points are my survey locations. I have recently fallen in love with...

September 15, 2020

Sharpies galore and small falcon foraging behavior

Yesterday’s break in the weather brought the first good Sharp-shinned Hawk push of the year to date. Once the sun came out in the late morning, there wasn’t a time all day when Sharpies weren’t in view zipping by the watch, four, five, six at a time. The tally for the day was 362 with...

September 14, 2020

Season Summary on day 22

The last few days have been relatively slow. A few new species have started to trickle in such as mute swan, wood duck, and red-breasted merganser. However, I haven’t seen the large numbers of common loon and red-necked grebe that I was becoming accustomed to. Conditions have not been all that favorable recently, so it...

September 11, 2020

First good Broad-wing push

After some rainy weather recently, we finally saw some favorable conditions for raptor migration today. With light and somewhat variable winds and partly sunny skies, most of the birds were riding high on thermals. As a result, most if not all of the hawks showed little hesitation in crossing over the Straits. Several times today,...

September 11, 2020

1st Edition of the Armchair ID Challenge

Hi there! Throughout this migration season, I thought that it would be a fun idea to have some bird quizzes so that we can learn and see some of the avian life around us. The last couple of days I have carried my camera out to my survey sites and tried to photograph some birds....

September 9, 2020

Tremendous monarch day and Western Kingbird

With last Saturday’s movement of Monarchs, we thought we had perhaps reached the peak. But yesterday’s spectacle surpassed that event considerably. A tremendous lift off was seen at mid day with many dozens and then hundreds rising out of the trees and low shrubbery. I tallied 1829 for the day, a conservative number certainly. And...

September 8, 2020

Introduction to hawk counter

My name is Calvin Brennan and I am this Fall’s hawk counter at Point LaBarbe. I currently live in Grayling, MI but spend much of my time spring and fall following the bird migration. I have counted hawks at a number of locations including Whitefish Point, Brockway Mountain, Detroit River; all those in Michigan and...

September 7, 2020

Sep 3 - Sep 6 2020

Sep 3: I went into this day knowing that there was a thunderstorm on the horizon. The second I started my count, I could begin to see the storm pushing across the islands to the west and making its way towards me. I had great company throughout the morning, and we were able to find...

September 6, 2020

A Quick Note on the Evolution of Birds

Let’s talk about birds. They have seemingly conquered every stretch of our planet from the seas, skies, and landmasses. They have survived ice ages, volcanic eruptions, meteors, and thus far, humans. These animals exhibit drastic variations in size, habitats, behaviors, and morphology. They also demonstrate unique and incredibly fine-tuned adaptions like the bills of Galapagos...

September 2, 2020

Aug 29 - Sep 2

Here is the link to all of my data again, just in case: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/mackinac-straits-raptor-watch/waterbirds-fall-2020 Aug 29: This was a windy, blistery day that made it pretty difficult to spot many birds. From Graham point, most of the day involves directly looking into the sun which can also limit visibility and distort shapes. However, because it...

September 2, 2020

Hello Again!

Many of you might already know where to see live updates and exact totals on species throughout the season. But just in case, you can use this link to view all of the birds broken down by year, day, hour, whatever floats your boat: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/mackinac-straits-raptor-watch/waterbirds-fall-2020. It is great to have finished some waterbird surveys...

August 29, 2020

An Introduction

Hello! My name is Benjamin Stalheim. I am working as the 2020 fall waterbird counter, and I am so excited to share with you all that passes through the Mackinac Straits this season. A little about myself… I am a wildlife and evolutionary biologist and have studied the ecology of birds across the world. Although...

August 28, 2020

Return of the Ticks! Raptor Banding Update

As the spring season slowly winds down and there are only three days left to this inaugural raptor banding season I have been reflecting over the past few days and thinking of all the pros and cons of the season. The pros were that we caught a great diversity of birds and had a very...

May 28, 2020

In the home stretch! Raptor Banding update

As we approach the middle of May, it is hard to believe that the Spring migration season is almost over, mostly because it feels like we only started yesterday. I guess the adage is true that time does fly when you are having fun. I mean the joy of monitoring and catching the migratory raptors,...

May 14, 2020

Leucistic Golden Eagle

On May 4th, toward the end of the day, a leucistic Golden Eagle came to pass the hawk watch called Ed Pike, who came back to the hawk watch, and we both saw it circle overhead for four-plus minutes.

May 9, 2020

An Epic Day!

An Epic Day. May 1 at the hawk watch set a new one day record for raptors tallied with 21188. It was a perfect storm of improved weather and stacked up raptors to the south that produced massive numbers of migrating raptors with kettles of 500-1000 overhead throughout the day. Broad-wings ruled the day with...

May 4, 2020

Golden Day! Raptor Banding Update Mackinaw City

One of the most exciting things about banding birds during migration is that you never know what you are going to catch. Sure, you have an idea of what birds are around, and when you can expect to see individual birds during the migration season as there are definite trends for when a species can...

April 30, 2020

75 and feeling alive! Raptor banding update

You would think that after sitting all day in the blind looking at the sky and the periphery scanning for raptors, that when I come home in the afternoon that the last thing I would want to do is sit some more. Well, if you thought that, then you are wrong. Coming home and getting...

April 24, 2020

The Ghost of Mackinaw... Raptor Banding Update

Since I last left you, fine folks, we stood at 40 birds of 7 species captured for the inaugural spring 2020 raptor banding season. Since then, we have added 15 new birds, including some fresh captures and some first of the season species. This past week has been quite good despite battling the onslaught of adverse...

April 21, 2020

The Ol Bog Trotter! Raptor Trapping Update #2

Being a raptor trapper is very exciting for many reasons. Firstly, it is always a thrill not knowing what you will catch on any given day, and if you will catch anything at all. Nothing is guaranteed when you are trying to catch the apex predators of the food chain, and the challenge of trapping...

April 10, 2020

Inaugural Snowy Owl Season 2020 in the Books!

As we all sit at home during these chaotic times and try to find things to do during our quarantine, let me give you a final update from our Snowy owl project this winter. It is the perfect distraction if you ask me! Since I last reported on owls, we stood at 5 owls captured...

April 10, 2020

A day at the Hawk Watch, Mackinaw City

My husband Jim and I were able to visit the Hawk Watch on Sunday April 5 and want to give you an armchair experience. The day was mostly sunny, 42 degrees, with a light westerly breeze – just enough that we finally wised up and moved our lawn chairs to the EAST side of our car. We...

April 9, 2020

Kathy Bricker

Buteo Mania 2K20: Hawk Trapping update 2

Greetings once again fellow supporters and followers of MSRW. Since my last blog post there has been a lot going in terms of bird movement, birds being captured and spring migration in general. Where to begin… Well since I’m the raptor trapper for the spring, I guess it makes sense to focus on the trapping,...

April 3, 2020

Raptor Trapping 2020: Kicking the Season Off!

As the snow begins to melt and the ice breaks up over the straits, we now hear Red-wings and Robins singing daily, signaling that spring is here! This means that many birds are starting their journey north to return to their breeding grounds for the summer. We here at MSRW are excited about documenting...

March 28, 2020

SNOW DAY! (Snowy Owl Project Update)

Since my first blog post regarding the work we have started with the Snowy owls we have more exciting news for you fine folks on what we have been up to. We have continued to count and trap at our various sites and to our avail have managed to catch two more owls. This...

March 28, 2020

First big day at the Hawk Watch, Friday, March 27

Friday morning started out foggy with light easterly winds. Around 11 am the fog started to break up with some sun peaking out. Some Red-tails and Red-shouldereds started showing up, but the fog remained over the straits, not allowing them to cross. After 12 pm the fog lifted more, with easterly winds, although it remained...

March 28, 2020

Snowy Owl Project Winter 2020

Greetings once again fellow supporters and followers of MSRW. Some of you may remember me from such field seasons that include the 2017 spring/fall owl banding and from the spring 2019 banding season. For those of you who don’t know me my name is Nick Alioto. I am a biologist, and some might even...

March 26, 2020

Raptor Fest 2020 is CANCELED

With heavy hearts, we have canceled this year’s Mackinaw Raptor Fest on April 3 to 5. With the growing risk of contracting Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and the closure of Mackinaw City School, there is no choice. While you are likely as disappointed as us, you’ll agree that it’s vital to keep everyone safe and healthy. ...

March 14, 2020

2020

Back in the saddle again. So far 52 Golden Eagles this season! The last few days have been very slow due to the weather.

March 13, 2020

Great day at the Hawk Watch

Today with winds finally out of the northwest at 10 to 15 mph we thought it would be a good day for Golden Eagles. It was cold with the northwest to west winds; the skies cleared shortly after 11 am and temps were in the high 20’s F. Shortly after noon some Goldens started moving...

March 10, 2020

Spring 2020 Hawk Watch begins

Spring 2020 Hawk Watch begins March 5, the first day of the count held heavy cloud cover and scattered snow showers with no Raptors in sight. March 6 started out cloudy and became clear by noon. Winds were moderate out of the north; a day for strong flyers. A couple of Bald Eagles headed north...

March 7, 2020

Owl Update: Fall 2019 Season Summary

Owl Update: Fall 2019 Season Summary – Now that I’ve arrived in my natal homeland of California after four days of driving, I can share the season summary. It is very odd to write this blog post outside of my usual spot at the St. Ignace Burger King. The last night of banding occurred on...

November 15, 2019

Owl update: sunrise (Nov 2-6)

This morning, the sun rose on the last full night of operation. I will see about opening the set tonight, however more than likely snow flurries will shut the station down early. Tomorrow, Ed and I will disassemble the station, thus drawing the 2019 fall owl banding season on Pt. laBarbe to a close. How...

November 7, 2019

Hawk Count-October 29th Through November 3rd

10-29: Total-42; Turkey Vulture-2, Red-shouldered-8, Red-tailed-30, Rough-legged-2 10-30: Total-71; Bald Eagle-1, Red-shouldered-10, Red-tailed-56, Rough-legged-3, Golden Eagle-1 10-31: Total-7; Red-tailed-7 11-1: Total-235; Turkey Vulture-3, Bald Eagle-11, Harrier-1, Sharpie-3, Red-shouldered-4, Red-tailed-204, Rough-legged-8, Golden Eagle-1 11-2: Total-139; Bald Eagle-4, Sharpie-4, Red-shouldered-9, Red-tailed-112, Rough-legged-3, Golden Eagle-7 11-3: Total-101; Bald Eagle-4, Sharpie-1, Red-shouldered-24, Red-tailed-66, Rough-legged-3, Golden Eagle-2, Merlin-1

November 3, 2019

Owl update: it's cold and wet (Oct 27-Nov 1)

I’ll start off by saying that the night of October 27th was exceptional because it surpassed our previously most productive night of the fall (39 birds), with 42 birds. I think it is quite remarkable that so many birds are moving this far into the season, however it could be the birds were pinioned by...

November 2, 2019

Hawk Count-October 22nd Through 28th

10-22: Total-151; Turkey Vulture-36, Sharp-shinned-101, Red-tailed-8, Rough-legged-6 10-23: Total-18; Turkey Vulture-1, Sharpie-14, Red-tailed-3 10-24: Total-125; Turkey Vulture-14, Bald Eagle-3, Sharpie-15, Red-shouldered-18, Red-tailed-73, Rough-legged-1, Kestrel-1 10-25: Total-114; Turkey Vulture-33, Bald Eagle-9, Harrier-1, Sharpie-3, Goshawk-2, Red-shouldered-19, Red-tailed-40, Rough-legged-3, Golden Eagle-3, Unknown Falcon-1 10-26: Total-203; Turkey Vulture-12, Bald Eagle-4, Sharpie-6, Goshawk-1, Red-shouldered-7, Red-tailed-167, Rough-legged-5, Golden Eagle-1 10-27: Total-64;...

October 28, 2019

Owl update: a familiar face (Oct 21-26)

Not much has been going on at the station this week. The weather hasn’t been cooperative; the owls apparently aren’t big fans of all the wind, rain, and extra high humidity, and I can’t blame them! On the morning of the 25th, I walked out of the station to check the nearby nets, and found...

October 27, 2019

Owl update: peak movement (Oct 16-20)

The past week of running the station has been a far cry from the listless early season activity. Last Wednesday (Oct 16), some stretches of road were badly flooded due to the recent storms. Fortunately the banding station didn’t float away into the lake because it was quite a productive night for owls. I had...

October 22, 2019

Hawk Count-October 12th Through 16th

10-12: Total-376; Turkey Vulture-324, Bald Eagle-3, Northern Harrier-1, Sharp-shinned Hawk-34, Red-tailed Hawk-5, American Kestrel-7, Merlin-1, Peregrine Falcon-1 10-13: Rain, sleet, and hail throughout the day 10-14: Total-194; Turkey Vulture-88, Bald Eagle-5, Sharp-shinned-80, Cooper’s Hawk-1, Northern Goshawk-1, Broad-winged-1, Red-tailed-11, American Kestrel-4, Merlin-1, Peregrine-1, Unknown Buteo-1 10-15: Total-158; Turkey Vulture-136, Harrier-1, Sharpie-19, Red-tailed-2 10-16: Rain throughout the...

October 16, 2019

Owl update: sunset rainbow brings lots of birds (Oct 10-15)

Last Thursday (Oct 10) Rob brought along another cohort of his students from Sault College. Conditions weren’t looking good for owl movement given the blustery southeast winds, so in the meantime we poked around the bush for critters, and enjoyed the fire while gorging on candy. To my surprised delight, a saw-whet appeared at the...

October 16, 2019

Hawk Count-October 6th Through 11th

10-6: Total-536; Turkey Vulture-294, Bald Eagle-34, Northern Harrier-2, Sharp-shinned Hawk-184, Red-tailed Hawk-13, American Kestrel-7, Peregrine Falcon-2 10-7: Total-597; Turkey Vulture-162, Bald Eagle-23, Northern Harrier-3, Sharp-shinned Hawk-368, Cooper’s Hawk-2, Red-tailed Hawk-31, American Kestrel-3, Merlin-3, Peregrine Falcon-2 10-8: Total-212; Turkey Vulture-94, Bald Eagle-8, Sharp-shinned Hawk-71, Broad-winged Hawk-1, Red-tailed Hawk-26, American Kestrel-7, Peregrine Falcon-2, Unknown Accipiter-1, Unknown Falcon-2...

October 11, 2019

Owl update: highs and lows (Oct 5-9)

The weather has brought some mixed results this past week. On October 5th and 6th, the station was paralyzed due to high winds. However, the following night a gentle west wind brought 22 owls, as well as the first barred owl of the season. Ed and I were very busy! Since then it’s been eerily...

October 10, 2019

Hawk Count-October 1st Through 5th

10-1: Total-45; Turkey Vulture-29, Bald Eagle-3. Sharp-shinned-9, Broad-winged-1, Red-tailed-2, Peregrine-1 10-2: Total-245; Turkey Vulture-107, Bald Eagle-18, Sharp-shinned-70, Cooper’s-2, Red-shouldered-6, Broad-winged-5, Red-tailed-30, Kestrel-2, Merlin-1, Peregrine-2, Unknown Buteo-2 10-3: Heavy fog and rain throughout the day resulting in no count 10-4: Total-743; Turkey Vulture-598, Osprey-2, Bald Eagle-4, Harrier-3, Sharpie-37, Cooper’s-1, Red-shouldered-9, Broad-winged-2, Red-tailed-78, Kestrel-3, Peregrine-6 10-5: Total-382;...

October 6, 2019

Owl update: a steady stream (Sept 29-Oct 4)

Welcome back to the banding station. Since my last update, owls were at a paucity, but now over the past week, movement has been picking up. Back on Tuesday (Oct 1) I enjoyed the company of six owls, which was the season’s best night. This isn’t a particularly impressive number for early October, but I...

October 5, 2019

Hawk Count-September 27th Through 30th and September Overview

Raptors: 3 of the last 4 days of September had at least a drizzle throughout most of the count period. The expected amazing day, Saturday, September 28th, was very good, but more like a moderate version of what was hoped for/expected. September 27th: Rain occurred from 11:45 throughout the rest of the count period. Most...

October 2, 2019

Owl update: a lackadaisical trickle (Sept 25-28)

I suspected that Saturday night would bring a big push, as conditions were optimized for migration relative to these past warm and windy nights; at last, a night with temperatures dropping into the crisp 40’s and a gentle wind blowing from the north. Instead, the most productive night of the season occurred on Wednesday, the...

September 29, 2019

Hawk Count-September 20th Through 26th

Raptors: The last week has been excellent, with more than 2,000 raptors moving through. In fact, this week alone nearly tallied (46%) half of all the raptors recorded this season. We are now significantly ahead of last year’s pace with more than 1,000 raptors tallied than this date last year in the season. Compared to...

September 27, 2019

Owl update: of all the woodland creatures (Sept 21-24)

I am happy to introduce our first netted critter of the season: an eastern whip-poor-will, met Monday night. This one hatched this spring, indicated by its set of juvenile flight feathers and wide buffy tinge to tail. I found it at the net array where the saw-whet owl audio lure is place – I wonder...

September 25, 2019

Fall 2019 owl and hawk banding

Hello again everyone! September 20th was the first night of my second season running the MSRW owl banding station. I am very glad to share what I see and hear here at Point la Barbe until the fall migration season comes to a close on November 10th. That said, it was an owl-less night. Dropping...

September 21, 2019

Hawk Count-September 15th Through 19th

Raptors: As expected, raptors have picked up significantly. In fact, they’ve been better than expected. After taking 26 days to tally the 1,000th raptor of the season (on September 14th), it was only 3 days later (September 17th), when the 2,000th raptor was tallied. Two days tallied over 300 raptors during the period, and there...

September 20, 2019

Hawk Count-September 11th Through 14th

Raptors: Raptors were slow until today, but not nearly as slow as anticipated, due in large part to significantly different weather than predicted. We are starting to get into the peak period, where raptors could move no matter what (apart from rain). That surely was the case today, when they significantly picked up, and the...

September 15, 2019

Hawk Count-September 5th Through 10th

Raptors: Raptors picked up significantly during the period. Of the 6 days, 3 were very poor and 3 were very good. In fact, just 3 days of counting, September 7th, 8th and 9th, made up more than 50% of the total raptors seen this season in 22 days of counting! Furthermore, one hour alone on...

September 11, 2019

Monarch Butterfly tagging

This fall (2019) MSRW is conducting preliminary research, tagging Monarch Butterflies migrating through the Mackinac Straits. Bert Ebbers (MSRW Board member) is heading the project and purchased the equipment and tags. Bert is investigating the habitat used by Monarchs on Point LaBarbe. As well as learning the techniques utilized in capturing and tagging Monarchs, and...

September 6, 2019

Hawk Count-August 30th Through September 4th

Raptors: Raptors have continued to remain slow through the period. The best day was on August 31st, with 50 individuals tallied, comprised of 8 species. The breakdown for that day was Turkey Vulture-6, Osprey-2, Bald Eagle-23, Northern Harrier-2, Sharp-shinned Hawk-5, Cooper’s Hawk-1, Broad-winged Hawk-6, and Red-tailed Hawk 5. Today (September 4th) had light, northwest winds,...

September 5, 2019

Hawk Count-August 26th Through 29th

Raptors: There’ve been two poor days and two good days. The good days have been completely dominated by Bald Eagles. August 27th tallied 33 Bald Eagles for the day, including 21 birds in a period of one hour. Today, August 29th, tallied 44 Bald Eagles, including 29 birds in one hour. Interestingly, these two days...

August 30, 2019

Hawk Count-August 21st Through 25th

Raptors: Bald Eagles and Turkey Vultures have been steady and in fairly good, early season numbers. Everything else, not so much. The northerly winds predicted for 3 days straight didn’t occur for more than a few hours in a row, nor were they nearly as strong as predicted. The first Northern Harrier and Red-shouldered Hawk...

August 26, 2019

Thank You Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation

This past April the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation (PHSACF) awarded MSRW a $10,000 grant which was partly enabled by the Erickson Family Fund and the Ann K. Irish Charitable Fund. Also, the Marana Webber Tost Charitable Fund and Fund for the Community added another $1,000 to that amount. It has been inspiring to have...

August 24, 2019

Hawk Count-Opening Day at Pointe LaBarbe-August 20th

It was an excellent opener for the season, despite the mostly southwest winds. This year, we are starting 5 days earlier and ending 4 days earlier. In other words, the season will be from August 20th to November 10th, at the same location as last fall, Pointe LaBarbe. Last August, in just one week of...

August 21, 2019

Join us for this inspiring event!

July 22, 2019

Banding Am. Kestrel nestlings

Nesting season is well underway and the Am. Kestrels are, in a few cases, still sitting on eggs; while most are busy feeding young. Some nest boxes that were active in 2018 are empty, some that were empty in 2018 now have nests. Sadly a few reports have come in that, the Am. Kestrels appeared...

June 25, 2019

Late Raptor migration

Although the official Raptor count ended June 5; with the poor migration conditions for the last several days of the count I decided to conduct some further counts. On June 6 the weather cooperated for a good late migration and 599 raptors were counted. Mostly Broad-winged Hawks with a few Turkey Vultures and Red-tails. Bald...

June 16, 2019

June 5 Last day

64571 hawks were counted this year most so far. Best year for Rough-legged Hawks with 328, Kestrels about double with 81 Red-tailed Hawks with 22363 andNorthern Harriers with 134! Also four Swainson’s Hawks were seen. Thanks To Ed Pike and Steve Baker for all your help made it alot easlier. A special thanks to Jo...

June 5, 2019

Over 60000

So far 4 Swainsons’ Hawks have been seen 177 Golden Eagles this season have pass by. Under two weeks left in the season time flies!

May 24, 2019

Final Waterbird Report (updated)

May 23, 2019

Owl’s well that ends well…. That’s a Wrap Spring 2K19.. (Owl update)

Greetings once again MSRW followers and supporters. This blog will be the last blog I will be posting as our spring 2019 owl season has come to an end and even though it is over, it was a very successful season. Spring migration banding and surveys took place from March 20 to May 8 2019....

May 19, 2019

Hawk trapping season wrap up:

H Unfortunately our time hawk trapping in Mackinaw has ended. However that being said the last week of trapping produced some very interesting captures and good numbers. Since my last update on the 30th we were able to get in four more sessions of trapping before I departed Michigan on May 9th. Our first session...

May 19, 2019

May 16

Yesterday had two Swainsons’ Hawks come by with the Broad-winged Hawks. And one Gyrfalcon flew south on May 13th. The total for the year so far is 57,697 raptors.

May 16, 2019

Big Late Push of Waterfowl Migrants

5/9: Very odd morning, with a lot of species on the move, but mostly in small numbers, variable directions, and with several putting on the disappearing act after loafing for a while. Spotted sandpipers, of all things, were the heavy hitters today, with a minimum of 30 flying East, and often ditching out briefly on...

May 12, 2019

Marsh comes to life

5/5: May has hit with a bang! Waterbirds relatively sparse in the morning, but a few windy periods stirred the long-tails and kicked up some white-winged scoter flocks, a few loons, and handful of late scaup. Sandhill crane flying South; heron flying North. Big influx of passerines last night, with two new warbler spp. on...

May 9, 2019

may 8

Today with the approaching front bought 7 Golden Eagles 4 in the air at one time with 4 Rough-legged Hawks. 678 Broad-winged hawks were seen today bringing the total so far at 25831,the count for Golden Eagles are 168 with 325 Rough-legged Hawks. AlsoEd Pike spotted a dark-morph Broad-winded Hawk a few days ago being...

May 8, 2019

Tricolored returns!

5/2: Finally a more productive morning, with strong movements West. Slightly lighter winds than yesterday, but still out of the ESE, with light periodic rain and rolling banks of fog—essentially ideal duck conditions this season. Mysteriously, though, this wind direction meant that today essentially all fliers were riding with the wind—the opposite of most other...

May 5, 2019

Dour weather holds back waterbirds

4/29: Decent morning, finally with some lateral winds through the straits. These seemed to get the long-tails into more purposeful motion, with several hundred flying East through the morning, along with a few small white-winged scoter flocks, and the ever-present loons. Other species and all non-waterbirds in short supply. eBird list: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55564621 Evening count dogged...

May 2, 2019

May 2

The last several day have been slow due to the weather. The last big day was on 4-27 during that day had a dark morph Broad-winged Hawk. So far this year the total number of raptors is 49066.

May 2, 2019

OWlTASTIC: Owl update x4

Hello everyone! If you have just finished reading my above blog on the diurnal raptor banding update and enjoyed it then you will for sure be interested in this blog post regarding what has been going on during the owl surveys/banding in Cheboygan State Park over the past week or so. Since I last left...

May 1, 2019

Trap City aka Mackinaw City: Hawk Update X2

Greetings yet again MSRW followers and supporters! It has been just over a week since my last blog regarding our raptor trapping side project and I thought now would be the perfect time to give everyone an update. Since the 23rd we have been able to make it over to Mackinaw on a few occasions...

May 1, 2019

Trails End Bay produces another rarity!

4/26: Another slow morning, with minimal breezes and periodic fog. A handful of ducks moved through, but the vast majority were loafing and calling on the still water—primarily long-tails and red-breasted mergs. Loons continued to move (they seem to be flying West every single day, regardless of wind and weather conditions), though in much smaller...

April 29, 2019

Foggy fallouts, eared grebe continues

4/23 Bumper morning, as dawn fog caused fallouts among early fliers, many of which ended up loafing relatively close in the straits. For the first time, movements were strong among all waterfowl groups, with multiple dabbler species, several bay ducks, and loons and grebes moving in the double figures. Nearly all were headed West, with...

April 26, 2019

Hawk Mania 2K19!

Greetings yet again fellow MSRW supporters and followers! Now I know what you may be thinking after reading the title to this blog and let me assure that YES we have started trapping diurnal raptors this past week as a side project apart from our regular owl banding duties! With the number of hawks that...

April 25, 2019

April 24, 13444

13444 Broad-winged Hawks came past the watch today, highest total for a single day this early! 7 Golden Eagles all young birds and 10 Rough-legged Hawks bringing the total so far this season to 307.

April 24, 2019

April 23

21146 red-tailed hawks seen so far with a record high of 7218 on 4-19. Also 134 Golden Eagles seen this year with most being immature this last few days. 297 Rough-legged Hawks were seen this year a high for this site.

April 24, 2019

Eared Grebe continues! (still here as of 4/23)

4/20: Slow morning, with light winds tamping down migration. White-winged scoters and cormorants appeared to be the only waterbird species on the move, with large rafts of several hundred long-tails and red-breasted mergs waiting on the water’s surface a few miles out. Flickers again made a big Northward push, with 49 making the journey, and...

April 24, 2019

Waterbird Fallout

4/18: Densely foggy morning, with absolutely no breaks in the weather. Barely any birds besides a FOY (for the point) pied-billed grebe fishing briefly just offshore. eBird list: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55088998 It appears most were waiting around Cheboygan, as around lunchtime I noticed that a good number of birds were moving just offshore of where we’re staying...

April 21, 2019

Spring of the Recaptures

S Hello once again followers and supporters of MSRW! I’m back again to give all you fine folks an update on what has been going on at the banding station this past week. I have to start by mentioning that it is starting to feel like spring at the park. That is because 95% of...

April 18, 2019

Slower days at McGulpin

4/16: Decent morning count. Mild breeze out of the Southeast had things feeling almost springlike—despite the remaining foot or so of snow up against the cedars! A good array of species, but not that much apparent migratory movement. Six loons, a redhead pair, a male wood duck, and quite a few small flocks of white-winged...

April 18, 2019

April 17

Today at Darrow’s there were 2651 Red-tails today with one immature Golden Eagle that flew right over head giving great looks also had 28 Rough-legged hawks . Day started out foggy but cleared in the afternoon opening the flood gates truely awesome.

April 17, 2019

Trails End Bay Open!

4/13: Well, apparently the birding powers-that-be heard yesterday’s lament that numbers were low, because today was a bumper day! Activity picked up just before sunrise, and waterfowl began to absolutely stream past. Red-breasted mergs and long-tails were by far the two most common ducks, with the mergs coming by within a mile in pairs or...

April 17, 2019

Duckinaw City: winds bring big species total

4/11: Startled up a woodcock upon driving in—county bird! Strong East-Southeast wind throughout the morning, which hovered around freezing. Bitter day, with depressed waterfowl migration probably due to wind and variable ice cover in the straits (at times around 50% as sheets were blown in). A few nice birds, though: another loon, all 14 cormorants...

April 14, 2019

April 10

1672 Red-tailed Hawks and 8 Golden eagles and also 32 Rough-legged Hawks were seen.The first Broad-winged and Peregrine came thru. 7136 Hawks were seen so far this season.

April 11, 2019

Passerines steal the show at Waterbird Count

4/9: Decent day. Fog continuing in the morning, but it lifted for a couple brief periods and activity picked up. Aythya ducks were on the move, with several flocks of greater scaup and redhead flying both East and West, as well as some more distant unidentified flocks. Some flocks of white-winged scoters and a couple...

April 11, 2019

If Birds are Business then Business is Good!

If Birds are Business then Business is Good! Greetings yet again fellow MSRW followers and supporters! Now usually I would not post a blog so soon after just recently publishing one based on the fact that I like to leave a little time in-between to keep the readers wanting more, however there has been a...

April 10, 2019

Ducks in the Fog

4/6: Morning began in dense fog, and provided essentially a study in waterbirding by ear: a large raft of long-tails was calling, goldeneye could be heard in flight, common merg males were giving their breeding grunts, and a FOY male loon was calling, though his yodel call was repeatedly cut short. Visibility improved shortly, to...

April 10, 2019

And….. We’re off! Owl Mania 2k19

Greetings once again fellow MSRW supporters and followers! Since my last blog there has been a lot going on out here in Cheboygan and I’m here to catch all you fine folks up on the latest news. Brace yourself there is quite a lot… which is a good thing trust me! After starting off the...

April 8, 2019

Straits are clear!

Greetings, all! Figured now that I’m starting official waterbird counts at McGulpin, I should briefly introduce myself: I’m Jonah, a 22-yo bird nerd from Maine, and am hoping to bring my love of the sea-watch to bear on a season of inland-sea-watches! Find me on eBird here: https://ebird.org/profile/NjMzOTUy/US-MEor on any morning or evening in person...

April 6, 2019

Slow days continue for waterfowl at Cheboygan SP

3/31. Another day of almost nonexistent migration at Cheboygan SP. A bitter wind was roaring out of the North, only picking up after sunrise. What few birds were flying were visibly struggling—both gull species flew close to shore, and a pair of adult bald eagles looked almost like black vultures with their labored wingbeats. One...

April 1, 2019

Waterbirds slowed by wind and weather (Cheboygan SP)

3/29: A slow day off Cheboygan State Park, as a persistent NW wind offshore was working against migrants, and had additionally driven a large mass of ice sheets into the channel. Numbers were good in the first hour, especially among gulls, which turned up in the hundreds in the hour around sunrise, when the wind...

March 31, 2019

Migrants abound at Cheboygan SP (still waiting on straits)

3/27: First full morning at Cheboygan SP, and conditions were optimal, with considerable numbers and diversity of migrating waterfowl, raptors, and passerines, with some other surprises, too! Started at 7:15 to a rosy sunrise, glassy inshore waters now completely clear of ice floes, and a steady Southeasterly breeze scalloping the waters further out. Waterbirds were...

March 29, 2019

Spring is Here... Owl Style

Spring is here! Hello once again fellow MSRW supporters and followers! My name is Nick Alioto and I will be the lead owl bander for the spring 2019 season. For those of you who do not know me let me give you a rundown of my experience here with MSRW as this is not my...

March 27, 2019

Straits Still Frozen

3/26: Recap of Days 1-9. Winter continues for Mackinaw waterfowl, as the straits remain locked beneath a foot of ice—in fact, the only waterfowl in Emmet County so far was a single Canada goose in a wet depression off of the road to Wilderness S.P. Hence, we’ve had to be a bit creative about finding...

March 26, 2019

19 Golden Eagles

19 Golden Eagles were seen today along with first of the season Kestrel,Goshawk and Cooper’s Hawk 23 Bald Eagles were also counted along with 2 light-morph Rough-legged Hawks also had a Northern Loggerhead Shrike

March 25, 2019

Spring migration trickles along

Spring migration has been trickling along. On March 17 we had a good day with 40 Bald Eagles and 28 Golden Eagles and a few other Hawks for a total of 74 for the day. Other days there have been just a few Raptors migrating. On March 19 the first Turkey Vulture appeared. Daily numbers...

March 24, 2019

Another quiet day at the Hawk Watch

A couple more days with mostly sunny skies and moderate winds. However the raptors have not made it this far north and the skies are mostly empty. A couple of local Bald Eagles make an appearance during the day and then move back to the south. Maybe there will be some migration in front of...

March 8, 2019

2019 Hawk Count begins

The spring 2019 Hawk Count officially began March 5. With partly sunny skies we had hoped for a few raptors, especially a Golden Eagle or 2 and some Red-tails. It seems migration is somewhat behind this year. With 1 to 2 feet of snow on the ground and daytime temperatures in the teens and nights...

March 7, 2019

Waterbird Count 11/6-11/10, plus season totals.

There was a pretty decent selection of birds for the last week of the count. Redpolls have been around the area frequently, there have still been a few grebes to count, and the recent duck species are definitely more of the “winter duck” species. A Great Black-backed Gull was seen on the 8th. Some noteworthy numbers...

November 20, 2018

Owl update: November 05-07

Owl banding at MSRW this fall has come to a close. Since running the station from September 19 through November 07, we captured a total of 115 northern saw whet owls, 2 barred owls, and 1 long eared owl. 8 of the saw whet owls were already banded at other stations. These are called foreign...

November 17, 2018

Waterbird Count November 1st-5th.

There still have been a few decent days for Long-tailed Duck movement, the 3rd in particular had a total of 205 of them. There has now been an increase in the number of Bufflehead on the move; 98 of them were counted on the 4th. In the past few days Horned and Red-necked Grebes have...

November 5, 2018

Owl update: October 31 - November 4

The season is coming to a close, with tonight potentially being the last night I open as cold rain and snowfall seem to be on the weather’s agenda until November 10, the official end date for owl banding at Point la Barbe. I’m not expecting to encounter any saw whet owl travelers tonight. For the...

November 5, 2018

Waterbird count 10/27-10/31

The Long-tailed Ducks are still migrating through the area. On the 27th there was another impressive day total of 1,178! Only 6 were counted on the 29th, 57 on the 30th, and 157 on the 31st. After kind of a low period, species diversity went back up today. Today 8 Greater Scaup, 1 Black &...

October 31, 2018

Owl update: October 27 - 30

What could be under the handkerchief? It’s a big, beautiful red-tailed hawk! Such fluff and prominent markings. Recently, Ed and I set up a special trapping set designed to lure and safely net diurnal raptors. Right now, diurnal raptor trapping isn’t a dedicated operation with MSRW but perhaps it will be someday! Even still, it’s...

October 31, 2018

Hawk Count-October 25th-30th-Golden Eagles

Raptors have slowed down quite a bit during the period, with the first half of it once again impacted by poor weather. The 29th was by far the best day for raptors. Thanks to Steve and Ed for covering on the 27th and 28th. 10-25: A drizzle in the morning gradually turned into rain at 1:00,...

October 30, 2018

Owl update: October 21 - 26

The night of the 21st was windy and extra no good with a southwest wind. Not only is the southwest wind non-conducive to owl movement, it exposes my nets particularly well, rendering them less effective. Regardless, 4 saw whets flew into the nets anyway! Below is a noble cutie-pie. The night of the 22nd was...

October 27, 2018

Hello!

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I am Richard Couse, the new, and first, Executive Director here at the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch. I’m incredibly humbled and honored to have the opportunity to advance MSRW’s mission to conduct scientific studies of hawks and owls and waterfowl migrating through this region of northern...

October 26, 2018

Waterbird Count 10/25 & 10/26

The past two days have been rather slow. This is however an interesting time of year when even on the unfavorable days Long-tailed Ducks and Rough-legged Hawks are found daily. 30 Long-tailed Ducks were counted yesterday and 91 today. Whenever these birds think conditions are more to their liking again (probably any day now) there...

October 26, 2018

Hawk Count-October 20th-24th

The past 5 days has been rather nice for raptor migration, with no weather significantly impacting the count. In fact, more than 1,000 raptors have passed through, or 15% of the season’s count. The typical late-season raptors have been picking up quite a bit, especially Red-shouldered Hawks. Seventy-four have been tallied in the last 5 days, with...

October 25, 2018

Recent sightings at the Waterbird Count.

In the past week, the main highlight would have to be the Long-tailed Ducks. On the 20th, 172 were counted. On the 21st, an amazing flight of 1,833 were counted. 18 of them flew east and all the rest were flying west. In just the 3rd counting hour alone, 845 flew by. It really was...

October 24, 2018

Owl update: October 16 - 20

Tuesday night, October 16, saw quite a bit of action at the set with 8 unbanded owls, as well as a hatchyear female who was banded at Hilliardton, Ont. It’s wonderful that this bird is so inclined to get caught, because it tells us a great deal about her stop-by-stop pathway as she heads south....

October 21, 2018

Waterbird Count October 18th & 19th

Winter ducks are moving in. The Long-tailed Duck numbers have been going up every day. LTDU’s and scoters are passing McGulpin Point daily. Also there has been an increase in Common Goldeneye & Buffleheads. Highlights from the 18th include some Sanderlings, a total of 31 American Pipits that crossed the strait, and 7 Red-necked Grebes...

October 20, 2018

Hawk Count-October 15th-19th

The weather has continued to be rather neat and interesting for October, but not very conducive for raptor migration. Despite these adverse conditions, raptors have still been attempting to migrate through the straits. On the 15th there was rain until 11:45. From 11:45 until 12:45 there was no form of precipitation, and this was when...

October 20, 2018

Waterbird Count updates.

Numbers of ducks especially Scoters and Mergansers are on the rise. Today in particular with the strong northwest wind, 1040 ducks were counted. Of those, 418 were Red-breasted Mergansers, 97 Redhead, 106 White-winged Scoters, 1 for sure Black Scoter, & 39 Surf/Black Scoters. Other recent highlights include a Bonaparte’s Gull on 10/11, a Long-tailed Duck...

October 17, 2018

Owl update: October 13 - 15

On the night of the 13th, our fellow owl banding neighbors from Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Ceeanna and Tori, joined Ed and me for an evening around the fire. As has been the trend this week, it was super windy; yet, throughout the night, the nets yielded 6 unbanded saw whet owls. Half of these...

October 16, 2018

Hawk Count-October 9th-14th

The first half of October has continued to be plagued by bad weather for hawk migration. On the 9th there was heavy fog till noon. On the 10th there was heavy fog throughout the day and rain in the afternoon. On the 11th there were steady 25 mph SW winds, frequently gusting to 35 mph,...

October 14, 2018

Owl update: October 12

Greetings All, On the night of the 12th, we once again had the pleasure of hosting a batch of wildlife techniques students from Sault College, but sadly the weather got fickle and slushy on us so we couldn’t open the nets. Such is the tragic condition of weather-contingent field work, alas! Regardless, I don’t think...

October 13, 2018

Update on the waterbird count.

As we have now entered October some species have become more common now and others seem to have tapered off. White-winged Scoters are now found almost daily and Horned Grebes are now pretty regular. Scaup numbers have also gone up recently. As far as passerines go, American Pipits now roam the beach daily and will...

October 10, 2018

Owl update: October 2 - October 7

This past week, the weather has been most dreary and unconducive to saw-whet movement. But movement does seem to be picking up, on the clear nights at least. For the last three nights of opening the nets, I’ve caught an average of 8 owls, which is great considering how slow the first two weeks have...

October 8, 2018

Hawk Count-Past Few Weeks

Turkey Vultures have been by far the predominant raptor the past few weeks, with Sharpies in moderate numbers some days, and Peregrines putting on a nice show. Highlights will be gone over on an individual species basis, except for those on October 2nd, which will be more detailed. Turkey Vulture-Notable counts include 161 on the...

October 8, 2018

Owl update: September 28 - October 1

September 28 Friday night was a real treat. Members of local Straits Area and Petoskey Regional Audobon Societies visited the station for a banding demonstration. Much fun and good company was had around the fire, and best yet, we got to see and learn about three saw-whet owls! I hope everyone went home dreaming of...

October 6, 2018

Waterbird Count - September 30, 2018 - Late Report

Hi Everyone, I filled in for Kyle last Sunday, but due to some website issues, I have not been able to type up this report until now. It was an interesting day. The weather was very dull and dreary and rainy in the morning, as will be evident in the photographs. The rain died down...

October 6, 2018

Skunks everywhere... but then?!

After a few nights of nothing but skunks, wind, and rain in the net, the weather turned favorable and finally elicited saw-whet owl movement. I caught 7 birds on the night of the 26th, with a solid mix of hatch year, second year, and after second year birds. Apparently this off-and-on stormy weather isn’t usual...

September 28, 2018

Waterbird Count 9/25-9/27

The 26th was the best of the last 3 days. Highlights lately include the first Surf Scoter and Lincoln’s Sparrow of the season on the 25th, the highest duck count of the season so far on the 26th, and the first Horned Grebes of the season today. 968 ducks were counted on the 26th, however...

September 27, 2018

3883

Alas, the storm fronts never did fizzle out, but despite the less-than-ideal conditions, we did catch one saw-whet owl on the night of September 22nd. After examining old and new flight feathers on her wings, I aged this saw-whet to be an after second year (ASY), meaning she is at least 2.5 years old. Every...

September 25, 2018

Waterbird count 9/21-9/24

In the past 4 days there was a good turn out of terns, a day of decent duck diversity, and a day with winds that made 8 foot tall waves. Some species have been new for the season, and others are becoming more numerous. Nice to see the fall start to increase in action. Here...

September 24, 2018

Hawk Count Sept. 23

On Sunday Ed Pike and Steve Baker conducted the count; the weather was nice in the morning with light to moderate winds from the southwest, which switched to the southeast and east in the afternoon and increased. It started cool, then with the sun coming out became quite warm; the winds switched to the east...

September 24, 2018

Hawk Count and Other Goodies-September 18th-22nd

Raptors: The forecast was incorrect for most of the last 5 days, but the raptor migration has continued to be great, with nearly 800 raptors in the last 5 days. September 18th: Rather than having moderate NE winds, it was variable winds to light to west winds. Raptors remained good though, with 175 tallied. The biggest highlight was a...

September 23, 2018

And the first of the fall is...

A hatchyear female! Despite not being able to operate in full capacity due to high winds and only one net location established, two saw whets visited me at the station last night. Equipped with their unique band number, hopefully these birds will get caught by other banding stations as they migrate south, thereby continuing to...

September 22, 2018

Waterbird Count 9/18-9/20

On the 18th, things with wings of all categories were on the move, waterbirds, raptors, and the highest count of Monarch Butterflies I’ve had in a few weeks now. The 19th was not as productive as the 18th, and today, a rainy and foggy day, even less so. Friday afternoon into Saturday the winds are predicted to come...

September 20, 2018

Another saw whet season begins

Greetings all! My name is Maycee and I’ll be the owl bander on Point la Barbe for MSRW this fall. It’s been a long haul from my natal homeland of northern California to get here, and boy am I so, so excited to experience all the new sights and critters of the upper peninsula! The...

September 20, 2018

Hawk Count-September 15th-17th

Raptors: Raptors have continued to be steady these past 3 days. Hardly any wind on the 15th and 16th resulted in nearly every raptor being high, while the moderate SW winds today resulted in nearly every raptor low. The 15th had another nice day of diversity, with 10 raptor species recorded. The bulk of these were Sharp-shinned Hawks...

September 18, 2018

Waterbird Count 9/17/2018 - Prequel of tomorrow?

Birds were moving today, and the winds still aren’t from the north like they are predicted to be starting tonight. Based on how many birds were found today, tomorrow, as well as some of the other days this week might have the highest counts of this season so far. Here are today’s totals… Canada Goose –...

September 17, 2018

Waterbird Count 9/14 & 9/15

Not many birds were seen from McGulpin Point in the past 2 days that I would say were definitely migrating. There have been a decent amount of warblers (especially Yellow-rumped), and other passerines moving around the woods south of McGulpin Point, but from this angle it’s hard to tell which ones are really on the...

September 16, 2018

Hawk Count and Woodpeckers-September 12th-14th

Raptors: Raptors have been rather good the last 2 days and slowish on the 12th. Highlights on the 12th included a lone Osprey, and a Peregrine Falcon that remained in the general area for most of the day, including making a really nice pass over the count site. Yesterday’s 202 raptors were dominated by 4 species: 58 Turkey Vultures, 21...

September 15, 2018

Waterbird Count September 11th-13th.

Wednesday had the highest count of Common Loons for a day this season so far. The winds have predominately been southerly lately though making for some slow days. Today came from the northeast for a while, and I noticed a good number of vultures and eagles flying south over McGulpin Point. Counts of migrants are below....

September 13, 2018

Hawk Count and Western Kingbird-September 11th

Raptors: It was a decent day for raptors, with Sharp-shinned Hawks saving the count. 49 of the 55 raptors were Sharpies. A fair amount of Sharpies were milling around during the last hour of the count, so there may be a nice, small push of them early tomorrow morning, and a good day for them overall. Non-raptors: A Western Kingbird was...

September 12, 2018

Hawk Count-September 2nd through 10th

Thanks to Ed and Steve for covering for me, while I was downstate for several days. Raptors: Raptors have been fairly good for the first third of September and rather great the last 2 days, considering the east winds. Most noteworthy were 122 raptors on the 2nd, 225 raptors on the 9th, and 119 raptors today. The 1,000th raptor of the season flew by...

September 11, 2018

Waterbird Count 9/8-9/10

The winds have been easterly in the past few days, which seems to have put the grebes on hold. I have noticed more raptor movement from the McGulpin point side in the past few days, this includes large kettles of Turkey Vultures over the U.P. but only a small amount were detected flying across on...

September 10, 2018

Hawk count, Friday, Sept. 7

Friday was a nice day with light winds from the NW switching to the west, mostly sunny with bright blue skies making it difficult to spot high flying Raptors. It was a slow day with a few Raptors moving around and few crossing to the south. At one time there were 10 Bald Eagles in...

September 9, 2018

Waterbird Count September 5th, 6th, & 7th.

Well, if the cormorants weren’t truly on the move as of yet, they certainly were on the 6th as many flocks flew by. The Red-necked Grebe numbers have gone up the past few days as well. Typically in fall, the Red-necked Grebes pass this area going east. Interestingly, most of the ones I’ve seen here...

September 7, 2018

Waterbird count 9/2 & 9/3

The past two days have been the best so far for Monarchs (at least from the McGulpin Point side) and September 3rd proved to be a decent Red-necked Grebe day. Duck movement also was up on the 3rd due to northwest winds yesterday morning. Here are the totals of migrants counted… 9/2 Canada Goose –...

September 4, 2018

Hawk Count Sept. 3

The weather was good with cloudy to partly cloudy skies, temps in the 70s and light winds from the west, then switching to the southwest in the afternoon. A beautiful day to spend at Point LaBarbe. Raptors were seen scattered through the day in small numbers: Broad-winged Hawk 2 Turkey Vulture 28 Bald Eagle 9...

September 4, 2018

Hawk Count-September 1st

Raptors: Scattered rain throughout most of the day led to only one raptor being tallied-a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Non-raptors: A Solitary Sandpiper was the most interesting bird of the day. Monarchs: A total of 12 were tallied for the day. Best of the next 5 days: Thursday looks like the best of the next 5 days, although Monday may be good as well. Lots of rain...

September 2, 2018

Waterbird count 8/31/2018 & 9/1/2018

September 2, 2018

Hawk Count-August 31st

Raptors: An unexpected push of 44 Bald Eagles was rather nice to see. It was quite interesting the way they crossed the straits. Most migrant Bald Eagles at hawk watches are direct in their flight and usually not accompanied by more than one eagle in the same field of view when crossing the hawk counting site...

September 1, 2018

Hawk Count and More Monarchs-August 30th

Raptors: Raptors were quite high to start the day and remained so throughout the rest of the day. It was another nice day though, with 100 raptors recorded. Today was dominated by three species: Turkey Vulture (21), Sharp-shinned Hawk (22), and Broad-winged Hawk (40). Non-raptors: The focus was on the Monarchs lifting off today, so non-raptors didn’t receive too much attention,...

August 31, 2018

Waterbird count 8/29/2018 & 8/30/2018

Yesterday morning was rainy with quickly decreasing visibility, later the rain stopped, but it remained cloudy all day. I went out to count in the first and last few hours of daylight, but apparently the best time yesterday was the middle of the day. Migrants counted yesterday were… Red-breasted Merganser – 3 Common Loon –...

August 31, 2018

Hawk Count and Tons of Monarchs-August 29th

Once again rain started off the day and much longer than the forecast called for. In fact, much of the forecasts for today were mostly wrong. The rain showers lasted until 11:00, the winds were light, mostly with a westerly component to them, and there was a fog in the morning. Despite the differences in...

August 30, 2018

Waterbird Count 8/28/2018

The highlight species from today would definitely be the 4 White-winged Scoters or the 3 Red-necked Grebes. Although not migrating, another neat find was a family of 3 juvenile Common Mergansers with their mother that swam by. Migrating species counted… Canada Goose – 6 White-winged Scoter – 4 Common Loon – 10 Red-necked Grebe – 3 Double-crested...

August 29, 2018

Hawk Count-August 28th

Raptors: Another day of rain and moderate SW winds to start off hampered the raptor migration for most of today. However, there was a brief period where the wind switched to the WNW and the sun peaked out for a bit. The raptors took advantage of this weather change and a nice diversity of 6 species went through...

August 29, 2018

Hawk Count-August 27th

Raptors: Scattered rain showers in the morning, followed by strong southwest winds throughout the afternoon led to a low yield in the raptor department today. Highlights included an Osprey and Northern Harrier cruising over the straits as low as possible against the 17 mph winds. The first Turkey Vultures were seen from the count site albeit not countable birds....

August 28, 2018

Waterbird Count 8/25/2018-8/27/2018

Hello everyone, My name is Kyle Wiktor, I will be the Waterbird counter for the Fall 2018 season at the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch. I am from Illinois, and I’m looking forward to witnessing the fall migration here in northern Michigan. Here are the total counts of migrating species from this survey from the past 3...

August 27, 2018

Hawk Count-August 26th

Raptors: It was an interesting day for raptors. Sometimes raptors can have a pulse or series of pulses of migration within a day of counting, but the pulse today was rather unique among my experience. The first 4 hours of the count didn’t really have much moving in the raptor department, but all of a sudden,...

August 27, 2018

Hawk Count-Opening Day at Pointe LaBarbe-August 25th

Raptors: The weather didn’t exactly cooperate for the first day of the season, with frequent rain throughout most of the day and southerly winds. Nonetheless, 6 raptor species were recorded, but only one bird was determined to be a migrant-a lone Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew south across the straits. All of the expected falcons were recorded and...

August 26, 2018

Another slow day at the waterbird count

It seems the Red-necked Grebes moved on through last night. Apparently they stopped for the day and moved on; today I only found a group of 3 in flight mid-morning. More D.C. Cormorants were seen today with a couple of flocks in a V headed south. Still a trickle of C. Loons. Otherwise a slow...

August 24, 2018

Increased activity at McGulpin

Things picked up at the waterbird count today, Wed., Aug. 22. It was a cool 61, with strong winds from the north switching to the northwest and laying down slowly as the morning passed. Right after sunrise there were Red-necked Grebes flying all around on the horizon. They did not seem to be migrating, but...

August 22, 2018

Waterbird Count off to a slow start

The Waterbird count started yesterday on Aug. 20 with little fan fare. One nice thing about the fall start is the temperatures are warm. It started at 65 degrees rising to 76 around noon. The winds were light and variable under mostly cloudy conditions. The only problem was the hazy conditions that reduce visibility to...

August 21, 2018

Fall Surveys

Hello all Summer is almost gone and the fall bird migration is starting. We will be conducting our usual fall surveys for Waterbirds, diurnal Raptors and Owls. The Waterbird count starts August 20 at McGulpin Point, outside Mackinaw City continuing till Nov. 10. This count is done for 8 hours starting at sunrise everyday, except...

August 14, 2018

Banding Am. Kestrel chicks

Again this summer Ed Pike has been working with Little Traverse Conservancy (LTC), Arnie Pokorzynski, and a couple of individuals with Kestrel nesting boxes. We have been checking nest boxes and when the young are old enough, they are banded with USGS numbered bird bands. LTC has placed nest boxes on their properties in the...

July 12, 2018

last day of the season

The season is over, but what a season ! 227 Golden Eagles, 44036 Broad-winged Hawks, 13091 Red-tailed Hawks 242 Rough-legged Hawks 1 Black Vulture, 1 Gyrfalcon, 1 Swainson’s Hawk and 1 Mississippi Kite! THANKS TO everybody who help out this year especially to Ed Pike and Steve Baker and to the rest of the gang...

June 7, 2018

Press Release, Birds Set Spring Records, June 2018

BIRDS SET RECORDS THIS SPRING The Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch (MSRW) hawk count set two records this year in tallying migrating birds in the Straits. The large tally is attributed to a delayed migration from bouts of poor flying conditions that stalled migration for many days. On May 22, counter Kevin Georg from Johnston, Pennsylvania...

June 7, 2018

one mississippi kite

On Saturday around 11:50 I saw an adult Mississippi Kite with 3 Broad-winged Hawks. Over 64,000 hawks so far,two days left to go!

June 4, 2018

Snowy Owl on Little Traverse Bay

On the morning of May 29, 2018 I received a call that a Snowy Owl was on the Beach of Little Traverse Bay near Page Hill Rd. (Another report of a very late Snowy Owl that should be in the Arctic.) The Owl reportedly had something tangled around one foot. The Snowy was observed being...

June 1, 2018

over 60

With todays count it brought the count so far to over 60000 raptors one young golden eagle today brings the total at 226. With east winds tomorrow could be another good day.

May 18, 2018

2018 Waterbird Count Season Totals

Season Total Snow/ Ross’s Goose – 1 Canada Goose – 1135 goose sp. – 28 Trumpeter Swan – 5 Mute Swan – 3 Wood Duck – 8 Gadwall – 0 American Wigeon – 2 American Black Duck – 14 Mallard – 139 Blue-winged Teal – 2 Northern Shoveler – 10 Northern Pintail – 17 Green-winged...

May 18, 2018

May 14th Summary

The May 14th Summary is here.

May 15, 2018

May 13th Summary

The May 13th checklist is here.

May 13, 2018

2018 Spring Owl Banding Update

Welcome back raptor enthusiasts to another update for the spring owl banding blog! The saw-whet migration is definitely coming to an end. Our recent nights of banding have been relatively slow, but we’ve continued to have pleasant weather most nights. May 6th – 2 saw-whets May 7th – 1 saw-whet. We also had some guests...

May 12, 2018

Matthew Hanneman

May 12th Checklist

May 12th checklist is here.

May 12, 2018

May 11th Checklist

May 11th checklist is here.

May 12, 2018

May 9th Summary

Today’s tally is posted on eBird here.

May 11, 2018

May 8th Waterbird Count Summary

Weather – Awesome conditions to observe waterbirds today. Completely calm and no wave action to the start of the count. Heat shimmer was on hand early though. 5C at the start of the count and I was able to work with my bare hands for the first time this season. Waterbird Notes – Todays flight...

May 10, 2018

May 7th Waterbird Count Summary

Weather – 1.7C at the start of the count today at 6:00AM. Superb waterbird observation weather today at McGulpin Point. Virtually no wind for the entire day, no wave action and heat shimmer didn’t become an issue until the last 1.5 hours of the count. Waterbird Notes – Surprisingly it wasn’t a busy flight as...

May 7, 2018

May 6th Waterbird Count Summary

Weather – Low nimbo – stratus clouds hung in the straits this morning. Temperature of 6.7C with no wind or wave action. Visibility was superb. It actually tried to rain a little and it seemed quite cold. It didn’t start to warm up until 9:30AM. By the end of the count it had warmed to...

2018 Spring Owl Banding Update

Good afternoon raptor enthusiasts! Welcome back to another quick update for the spring owl banding blog. Last night (May 5) was mostly clear with little to no wind. The spring peepers, wood frogs and leopard frogs were out in force as they have been for a good week now. We caught 5 new saw-whets bringing...

Matthew Hanneman

May 5th Waterbird Count Summary

Weather – A little haze to the start of the morning and a temperature of 5C. 12-19kph winds out of the north west. Visibility to both the east and the west was severely limited to 8k on the east and less than 5k on the west. Winds were out of the west in the afternoon...

May 4th Waterbird Count Summary

Weather – Heavy rain started early this morning. Upon arrival at McGulpin Point I was able to make out the bridge and its lights in the distance. By dawn fog had rolled in and visibility was limited to 500 meters in any direction. I waited in the car until 8:30AM hoping the visibility would improve...

Swainson's Hawk

Today we had our first Swainson’s Hawk Steve Baker found it among hundreds of Broad-winged Hawks! Had 19 Golden Eagles all young birds! 16 Rough-legged Hawks ! And over 17000 Broad-winged Hawks! Thanks to everybody who help today ! We had over 24 visitors today which is awesome! Tomorrow looks like another good day