March 10, 2010 by skyehaas
Joe Youngman and Max Henschell were at Brockway today to finish up preparations for the start of the count season (to begin this Monday 3/15!).
While only there for two hours, they tallied in:
Bald Eagle- 5
Northern Goshawk- 1
Golden Eagle- 2
A very exciting start for the season! Stay tuned, Max will be posting regular updates to the website every week of what is being seen at Brockway.
See you all on the Mountain.
Common Ravens make excellent watchdogs at Brockway. While most other species of raptors are generally ignored by the nesting pair of Ravens, they have a particular dislike for Golden Eagles. Often they spot a incoming Golden Eagle long before a birder does, and with a couple of harsh croaks, they fly up to "escort" the Golden past the bluff. This can be an excellent way to find a Golden Eagle on busy flight days!This photograph was taken by M.J. Shupe
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March 1, 2010 by skyehaas
KRS committee members Joe Youngman and Greg Cleary headed up Brockway on February 28th to assemble the hawk counter’s shack on West Bluff.
Joe Youngman & Greg Cleary
A note from Joe….
The Shack is in place on Brockway ready for the 15th of March. Thanks to Clyde Westcoat for the storage and permission, thanks to Greg Cleary, Zach Gayk, Ken Stigers and the snowmobile groomer and last but not least, the two snowmobilers who helped Greg and I lift the two ton roof onto that sucker.
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February 24, 2010 by skyehaas
Hawk Watch Site Listings for Michigan
The Keweenaw Raptor Survey is pleased to announce that the Brockway Mountain Count is now registered with HMANA and the spring 2010 counts will be available on HawkCount.org. The season will be starting soon (March 15th!), and a blog chronicling the day’s sightings will be posted here at Keweenawraptorsurvey.org
Golden Eagle by Alec Lindsay
Posted in Brockway Mountain, HMANA, raptor migration, spring migration | Tagged Brockway Mountain, HMANA, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, raptor migration | Leave a Comment »
February 13, 2010 by skyehaas
Skye Haas from the managing committee of Keweenaw Raptor Survey will be giving a presentation about the activities and goals of the KRS at this years MiBCI Ornithological Congress. The presentation will be at 1PM on Friday April 9th.
For more information about this years Ornithological Congress visit http://www.mibci.org/index.php?id=199
Posted in Events, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, Michigan Bird Conservation Initiative, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
January 18, 2010 by michiganaudubon
Audubon's Warbler - Photo: Joe Kaplan
The month of December was mild, and many bodies of water remained open, allowing a number of lingering waterbirds including ducks and grebes to be recorded later than usual this season. It has been a decent winter for over-wintering hawks in the UP. More Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks than typical have been reported in recent weeks, mostly concentrated along Lake Michigan and the eastern Soo area. Northern Goshawks have been regularly seen, and there have been 3 Red-shouldered Hawk sightings in January! Surprising, Rough-legged Hawk sightings are average, if not a little low this winter.
Yellow-billed Loon - Photo: Skye Haas
Read the full UP Rare Bird Report for January 15 HERE.
Posted in Keweenaw Raptor Survey, UP Rare Bird Reports | Tagged birding, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, rare bird report, Upper Peninsula | Comments Off
January 13, 2010 by michiganaudubon
In December, the Keweenaw Raptor Survey hired a counter for the 2010 spring season. Max Henschell is a recently completed his graduate studies at Michigan Technological University; he is an experienced–and hardy–field biologist.
It is through donations to the KRS that we have been able to fund our first field season, and encourage further support to ensure the completion of this project.
MAX HENSCHELL
Max Henschell will count raptors at Brockway Mountain in 2010
Max Henschell grew up in northern lower Michigan along the Lake Michigan coast. Though always interested in the outdoors and nature, his interest in birding was sparked 6 years ago by a single Magnolia Warbler. While working on Isle Royale, Max came across the bird in the middle of the trail. With little knowledge and an entire field guide to look through, it took him nearly an hour to identify. Throughout the summer his interest in birds grew. But since that summer, Max’s interest in birds and birding has become a passion. Max has been an active birder in the Keweenaw and Upper Peninsula for the last 5 years. He has had the opportunity to bird in many birding “hotspots” across the country including the Rio Grande Valley and Southeast Arizona, with a life list of over 500 birds in just a few short years. Max has worked as the waterbird counter at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory and at Seney National Wildlife Refuge as a marsh-bird surveyor as well as volunteering at Patagonia Lake State Park in Arizona as a bird walk leader and with the Manitou Island Bird Survey. Max will be completing his master’s degree from Michigan Technological University in grassland bird ecology in March before joining the KRS.
Posted in Brockway Mountain, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, raptor migration | Tagged Brockway Mountain, Keweenaw Peninsula, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, raptor migration, spring migration, Upper Peninsula, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory | Comments Off
December 8, 2009 by michiganaudubon
Northern Hawk Owl - Skye Haas
KRS encourages you to attend the following events in 2010:
- The 2010 Ornithological Congress, April 7 – 10. MiBCI
- Spring Fling 2010, a celebration of Spring migration at Whitefish Point, April 23 – 25. Whitefish Point Bird Observatory
- Keweenaw Peninsula International Migratory Bird Day celebration, mid-April through mid-May. Keweenaw IMBD
- Michigan Audubon Annual Conference & Tawas Point Birding Festival, May 13 – 16. Michigan Audubon
Posted in Events, Michigan Audubon, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, spring migration | Comments Off
November 23, 2009 by michiganaudubon
Rough-legged Hawk - John Ester, Michigan Audubon
You can contribute to the Keweenaw Raptor Survey in two ways:
- Print a contribution form and mail to Copper Country Audubon
- Make a secure online donation using a credit card through the website of Michigan Audubon (be sure to designate your gift “Keweenaw Raptor Survey”)
Either way, your donation is tax-deductible and helps support a three-year study of raptor migration in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.
Posted in Keweenaw Raptor Survey | Tagged Brockway Mountain, hawks, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, Michigan, raptor migration, Upper Peninsula | Comments Off
November 17, 2009 by michiganaudubon
King Eider near Whitefish Point, Michigan - Chris Neri
Chippewa County
Kirk Zulfelt found a 1st year KING EIDER* at the mouth of the Tahquamenon River on November 6th along with 4 TUNDRA SWANS, as well as a TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE at Whitefish Point and a male SPRUCE GROUSE on Farm Truck Road. The KING EIDER* was seen again on the 7th. Kirk also reported a good selection of gulls from Dafter Dump on the 12th, including THAYER’S, ICELAND, GLAUCOUS and GREAT BLACK-BACKED. Hedi Doman and Craig Robson photographed an adult grey-morph GYRFALCON at the intersection of 9 Mile and Riverside Dr.south of Sault Ste. Marie on the 3rd. I recieved a second-hand report of an additional sighting of this bird along 5 Mile Road. Hedi and Craig also reported 48 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS along 8 Mile Road on the 3rd. Jason Bojczyk reported 100+ TUNDRA SWANS and 150+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS from Dunbar on the 7th, as well as a late BARN SWALLOW south of the Soo.
READ THE FULL REPORT.
Posted in UP Rare Bird Reports | Tagged birding, hawks, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, Michigan, raptor migration, rare bird report, Upper Peninsula | Comments Off
November 13, 2009 by michiganaudubon
Spring Fling is the annual event of the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. Spring Fling 2010 takes place April 23 – 25 at Whitefish Point, near Paradise, Michigan. The following is a biography of the 2010 Keynote Speaker, Norman Smith.
For more information, visit: http://wpbo.org/springfling
Norman Smith, Director
Blue Hills Trailside Museum & Norman Smith Environmental Education Center
Norman Smith with Snowy Owl
Norman Smith is a self-taught naturalist who has worked for the Massachusetts Audubon Society since 1974. His current position is Director of Blue Hills Trailside Museum and Norman Smith Environmental Education Center in Milton, Massachusetts.
Norman has studied birds of prey for over 35 years, including rehabilitating the injured and successfully fostering over 1,000 orphaned hawk and owl chicks into adoptive nests. His ongoing long-term projects include trapping and banding migrating hawks and owls in the Blue Hills Reservation, banding nestling hawks and owls, and doing research on snowy owls and other raptors wintering at Boston’s Logan International Airport. He has also traveled to Alaska to study snowy owls in their native tundra habitat. His research work has been published in National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Yankee, Massachusetts Wildlife, Bird Observer, Birding, Sanctuary, Geo, Nature, Grolier Encyclopedia, Owls of the Northern Hemisphere and Owls of the World.
His mission is to use the information gathered from his research to stimulate a passion in everyone he meets to help us better understand, appreciate and care for this world in which we live.
Posted in Whitefish Point Bird Observatory | Tagged Michigan, raptors, Spring Fling, spring migration, Upper Peninsula, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, WPBO | Comments Off
