Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for November, 2009

UP Rare Bird Report for November 15

Posted in UP Rare Bird Reports, tagged , , , , , , on November 17, 2009 |

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.

Read Full Post »

Keynote speaker announced for WPBO Spring Fling 2010

Posted in Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, tagged , , , , , , on November 13, 2009 |

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

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.

Read Full Post »

Michigan Hawk Watch sites

Posted in Fall Migration, HMANA, Keweenaw Raptor Survey, raptor migration, spring migration, tagged , , , on November 12, 2009 |

Hawk Watch in Michigan

Hawk Watch Site Listings for Michigan

Zoom in on this map from HMANA to see the variety of registered Hawk Watch sites in Michigan.  Note that Brockway Mountain is not currently registered, but will be for the Spring 2010 migration season.  Also, noteworthy is the density of sites in Southeast Lower Michigan, where the annual hawk counts receive strong support.

Read Full Post »

Spring 2009 raptor summary for Whitefish Point

Posted in Fall Migration, raptor migration, spring migration, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2009 |

WPBO Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk at Whitefish Point - John van Dort, Spring 2009

The Spring raptor count conducted by the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory always yields impressive results.  As one of North America’s most traveled migratory funnels, the Point has been home to WPBO bird counts for over 30 years.  Here are the totals for Spring 2009:

Turkey Vulture: 370
Osprey: 56
Bald Eagle: 400
Northern Harrier: 522
Sharp-shinned Hawk (pictured above): 8,499
Cooper’s Hawk: 51
Northern Goshawk: 69
Red-shouldered Hawk: 57
Broad-winged Hawk: 2,366
Red-tailed Hawk: 1,308
Rough-leged Hawk: 798
Golden Eagle: 89
American Kestrel: 322
Merlin: 64
Peregrine Falcon: 59
Swainson’s Hawk: 2
Unidentified raptors: 10

Read notes from the entire Spring 2009 season at the WPBO Hawk Count blog.

Read Full Post »

2010 MiBCI Ornithological Congress

Posted in Michigan Audubon, Michigan Bird Conservation Initiative, tagged , , , , on November 5, 2009 |

Michigan Bird Conservation Initiative

2010 Ornithological Congress, April 7-10 - Petoskey, MI

Mark your calendars for the 2010 Ornithological Congress, organized by the Michigan Bird Conservation Initiative.  The 2010 Congress will be held April 7 – 10 at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, Michigan.

Planning for the 2010 Ornithological Congress is underway with an agenda that will include a wildlife art fair and symposia on bird monitoring, tree diseases, the economics of outdoor recreation, and fostering diversity in conservation. Keep watching this page for updates as they become available.

2010 Ornithological Congress Details

Sponsorship Opportunities

Read Full Post »

HMANA Winter Raptor Survey

Posted in HMANA, tagged , , , , on November 3, 2009 |

Join the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) in an effort to survey raptors during Winter 2009-2010.

Birders are invited to participate in this citizen science effort by downloading directions and field data sheets via the links below.

Results will be published in Hawk Migration Studies, the publication of HMANA.

Forms and directions:
Directions (PDF)
Data form (.xls)

The HMANA Winter Raptor Survey committee may be contacted by email at wrs@hmana.org.

Read Full Post »

UP Rare Bird Report for October 31

Posted in UP Rare Bird Reports, tagged , , , , , , on November 2, 2009 |

Common Redpoll - Chris Neri

Common Redpoll at Whitefish Point, MI - Chris Neri

 Another autumn is drawing to a close in the northwoods. Sparrows and shorebirds are almost gone, and warblers have become but a memory of good times past. Late migrants and wintering species have begun to arrive, but for many species, particularly finches, numbers have been low so far. WPBO reported the first Common Redpolls of the season on the 28th, and there have been no reports yet of Pine Grosbeaks. Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Siskins have been present, but only scattered small flocks. Both Red and White-winged Crossbills have had recent incursions into our area, with flocks of White-winged Crossbills reported from the upper Keweenaw, northern Marquette and Delta Counties. READ THE FULL REPORT.

Read Full Post »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.