Eagle Fest

Today's raptor flight was dominated by Golden Eagles: at least five adults were seen at Whitefish Point today, while yesterday's sub-adult was also still there, at least in the morning.

During the first two hours of the count, the wind was blowing from the WSW. That's a favorable wind direction for raptor migration over Whitefish Point, and during this time, there was constant action. The first two Golden Eagles of the day made it across the bay on these tail winds on the first attempt, as did two Bald Eagles. Then, as the wind shifted slightly to W, eagle crossing attempts became futile, and for a while it was back and forth, back and forth, with great viewing opportunities of these beautiful raptors.

In the afternoon the already stiff wind picked up some more and turned further to NW, effectively shutting things down migration-wise.

The feeders at the Gift Shop still had one male Evening Grosbeak today, while two White-winged Crossbills were seen from the hawk platform in the morning.

The weather forecast for the next few days seems unfavorable for raptor migration. It's possible that the eagles will remain on the peninsula and will show up every once in a while. Another possibility is that they continue their journey northward some other way. With lots of snow still on the ground, conditions are great for photographing hawks and eagles from the Point, as they are all beautifully lit up from below.