Hello everybody! I am incredibly excited to be back on Mackinac for my fifth season counting raptors with MSRW. This month has been a doozy, so let’s catch up on everything that has been happening over here on Mackinac Island.
When I flew over to the island early in the month, we had an insane amount of snow on the ground already, more snow than I have ever seen on the island in my five years here. Over the next few weeks, we were hit with snow storm after snow storm, including a massive, record breaking snowfall that dumped over two feet of snow on us between the 15th and 16th. It felt like we just could not catch a break in the weather. All the snow has made it difficult to get around the island if you don’t have a snowmobile (which, unfortunately, I do not). This has led to some complicated treks up to the fort. For those of you who have been to the island count, you would know that there are multiple ways to get up to the fort. All of them not too bad to get up in the summer, all of them terrible in deep snow. The first clear morning after the massive storm, I climbed over a snow berm left by the snow plows that was as tall as I am, and trudged through knee deep snow the whole way up to the top, sometimes breaking through the center ice layer and sinking down to my hips. Since then, I now have a pair of borrowed snowshoes (thanks Stephanie McGreevy!) which helped to create a solid path through the snow that was much easier to walk on, and now, as of the 30th, the whole road and all around the fort has been plowed. No more trudging through the snow for me! While getting up to the fort during this was difficult, it was incredible to be able to experience Mackinac in this historic winter.
During the first weeks of the count, in between the snow storms, I was up at the fort counting raptors. But, there was not much going on. Because of the storms, the season kicked off to an incredibly slow start. Within the first two and a half weeks of the count, I counted for 8 days and had 9 weather days, with a total raptor count of 44. It is so out of the ordinary to have that many weather days all at once. But, the last storm finally rolled out, and on the morning of the 22nd, things started to feel like normal. Between the 22nd and the 31st, 755 raptors migrated over the island for a final March total of 799 raptors. On the 25th, a new daily high record was set for red-shouldered hawks at 62. The 29th was the biggest day of the season yet with 296 raptors.
For a long time, I thought I would not even hit 100 raptors for this month. Now, sitting at 799, this is the second largest March count on record. Most species seem to be at about average for this time in the season, which is good to see. Red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures had come through in force this last week. There has not been as many rough-legged hawks this month as there have been in previous March counts, but more red-shouldered hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and american kestrels in March than previously recorded.
As I post this update, we are back in another storm. This time, it is not snow, but sleet that is coming down completely sideways in the gale force winds ripping through the straits. The next few days are looking not so great, but once this weekend is over, the forecast is showing clear skies and slightly warmer temps (fingers crossed that does not change). In the meantime, I am looking forward to warmer weather, the snow melting off the roads so I can start biking around every day, and more and more birds arriving to the island. Cannot wait to see what April brings!