Spring Sprung

By Cory Ritter

Whitefish has nearly gone full circle since I last posted. Dominated by wind and snow, Whitefish resembled the Hoth system more than a raptor migration hotspot. In fact, I was counting an average of fewer than ten raptors per day, and the songbirds were nearly non-existent.

Pine Grosbeak, Whitefish Point, 3/18/2013, one of the relatively few seen before a group of 57 were spotted on the 27th

Warming up a bit...

Ahh... Maximum insulation

Common Redpoll, Whitefish Point, 3/25/2013, increasing in numbers over the past 10 days

Common Redpoll, Whitefish Point, 3/25/2013

However, that all changed on Thursday and Friday. The sun was out, snow was melting, and birds were flying. It was glorious. While the season total for raptors after Wednesday sat at a modest 111, the 45 on Thursday and 50 for Friday quickly brought that up to a respectable 206. So, nearly doubling the count in two days provided some welcomed excitement. And as if that wasn't enough, Pine Siskins, Red Crossbills, Snow Buntings, American Robins, and Sandhill Cranes jumped into the mix over the past couple days.

During this push of raptors, Bald Eagle was clearly the dominant species, accounting for 68 of the 95 raptors counted Thursday and Friday. Nevertheless, there were many other highlights including a kettle of goshawks and the arrival of two new species--Red-shouldered Hawk and Turkey Vulture.

One of the many adult Bald Eagles passing by Whitefish this season, 3/26/2013

Bald Eagle staring contest...and...GO

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, 3/28/2013

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, 3/28/2013

Adult Red-tailed Hawk, Whitefish Point, 3/29/2013

Though first-spring may have been short-lived here at Whitefish, as a front is moving through this weekend. It will be bringing rain and snow, and leaving behind colder, sub-freezing temperatures. Hopefully the birds will not retreat in the face of this 'indian-winter', and hopefully spring will soon return once again.

More Winter in Whitefish

By Cory Ritter

This is the forecast for Whitefish Point from Monday night, and it hasn't let us down yet. We had about about 6 inches over Monday night and Tuesday, and there is more on the way!

One can't complain about this weather too much when at a hawk count site, because it is often associated with charismatic birds. And, this time is no exception. While we were limited to three species for the first three days of the count (Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, and Red-tailed Hawk), Monday brought the fourth.

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, MI, 3/18/2013

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, MI, 3/18/2013

Out of focus, but one of the only head-on shots, 3/18/2013

Tuesday wasn't quite as nice as Monday. I awoke to a heavy snow that would deter most from trudging up to the count platform. However, I've learned from some of the best that it has to be some really bad weather to stop all of the birds. So, I headed up to the platform during the peak hours, in the heavy snow, to see what was flying.

Keeping warm and stopping the snow from jabbing me in the eye

As one would expect, there were no signs of life. It was 45 minutes before I saw my first bird--a single Common Raven. So, I stood and searched through my snow covered bins in vain.

Whup..whats that..

My fruitless efforts were no more, as a pair of Golden Eagles became visible off in the distance through the thick snow. I thought my day might just be turning around considering I just came across a new season high golden count; however, the birds we gone as quickly as they had appeared, and just then, the snow picked up. I waited in solitude for another bird to appear, but even the lone raven was nowhere to be seen. As it became near white-out conditions, I decided to head down and try my luck tomorrow.

Gray Ghost

By Cory Ritter

With their clean white underparts and gray upper side, the adult male Northern Harrier makes for a stunning raptor. These birds are certainly crowd pleasers.

Take a look at this adult male Northern Harrier that was caught by Frank Nicoletti at Hawk Ridge's main banding station in late September. Hawk Ridge naturalist, Margie, is displaying this bird for the public.

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN 

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN

Adult male Northern Harrier, 9/24/2012, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN

Here are some photos of an adult male Northern Harrier in flight that I took while counting hawks at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory this spring.

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

This is what I like to call the 'directing traffic' pose of the adult male Northern Harrier

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

adult male Northern Harrier, 5/27/2012, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Paradise, MI

Up Close and Personal: Broad-winged Hawk

By Cory Ritter

It seems that Broad-winged Hawks are often seen in distant kettles, and are just specks to the naked-eye. Well, that isn't the case when you're trapping them. There are some private trappers (not affiliated with WPBO) around here at Whitefish Point, and they're kind enough to bring raptors up to the platform every now and then. The broadwings really started kicking into gear just earlier this month up here in the U.P., and on one of those days, one of the trappers, Bill, was lucky enough to catch two broadwings in his set at once--and nice enough to bring them up for me to take a look.

adult Broad-winged Hawk, in the hand, Paradise, MI

adult Broad-winged Hawk, in the hand, Paradise, MI

banded tail of an adult Broad-winged Hawk, Paradise, MI

adult Broad-winged Hawk, in the hand, Paradise, MI

adult Broad-winged Hawk, in the hand, Paradise, MI

adult Broad-winged Hawks, in the hands, Paradise, MI

Birds in Hand: A Couple of Recent Favorites

I want to share with you all my two favorite birds caught in the last week! 

First is the Black Phoebe. This is a species that we see at Palomarin every single day, but this is the first time I have seen one in the hand.  So, when I heard over the radio that French was bringing a Black Phoebe to the banding station, I was pretty excited and here is what I got to see.

Black Phoebe, a good photo to compare against the Eastern Phoebe in previous posts [Photo by Cory Ritter]

The other highlight was this second year, male Sharp-shinned Hawk.  I saw a lot of these at Hawk Ridge this fall, but it is a nice treat for Palomarin.  Also, a majority of sharpies caught are hatch year males, so it was nice to have a second year bird in the hand!

Luke attempting to make this SSHA look at the camera [Photo by Cory Ritter]

Here is a good look at the orange/red iris of a male second year Sharp-shinned Hawk [Photo by Cory Ritter]

Note the dark cap and nape, and the rufous (horizontal) barring on this second year SSHA, as well as the orange/red iris as seen before [Photo by Cory Ritter]

Here you can see the blue back and upperwing coverts on this second year Sharp-shinned Hawk [Photo by Cory Ritter]

Another look at the orange/red iris, rufous barring on the chest, and overall 'buggy-eyed,' or large eye-size to head-size ratio, appearance of the Sharp-shinned Hawk [Photo by Cory Ritter]

That's all for now, but check back soon for more updates!

By Cory Ritter