Well it was a blustery, cold day on Brockway- migration was a bit on the light side though not without a few surprises. Most shocking of all was a fly-over of 2 COMMON REDPOLLS, a bird that has been all but absent in the UP this last winter and spring. To have my first redpolls since January on May 8th was certainly unexpected!
Raptors moving today included 6 TURKEY VULTURES, 12 BALD EAGLES, 5 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 4 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, 2 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 1 MERLIN and 1 adult GOLDEN EAGLE. 26 COMMON LOONS flew by, and there was a nice mixed flock of sparrows at the feeder including WHITE-THROATED, SAVANNAH & DARK-EYED JUNCO.
After the count, I poked around Westcoat’s field and came up with RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, NASHVILLE WARBLER & 1 LE CONTE’S SPARROW.
Le Conte's Sparrow
The weather does not look encouraging for tomorrow with up to 6 inches of snow down in Marquette, and at the very least, screaming north winds here in the Keweenaw. Good times!
~Skye Haas
