A poor March?

Hawk migration over Whitefish Point remained slow on this last day of March. A total of 9 birds was tallied, including this immature Northern Goshawk.

So how is the season progressing so far? Well, for a couple of species - Northern Goshawk and Golden Eagle - not so bad actually. Goshawks are somewhat irruptive migrants, western populations more so than eastern. Their numbers tend to fluctuate between years, and this year is shaping up to be a good year for them, with more than double the March total for last year, for example, and even three times the March total for 2007. With today's birds, both immatures, the March 2009 total comes to 15.

Golden Eagle - also seen today - reached 22 this March, one better than last year's March total, and double the number for March '06. March '07 was better, with 33. Best days for this species so far were March 18 and 30, both with 5 Golden Eagles.

For all other species, March 2009 was low.

Most abundant raptor this month was Bald Eagle, with 82. This is the first time in four years that the March total for this species stayed below 100 (although March 2001 was worse, with 59). Only 7 redtails for March 2009 is also decidedly low; in recent years March redtail counts have fluctuated between 41 ('08) and 368 ('07). Both species have long, protracted migration periods and their numbers will surely be augmented by counts in April and May.

For practically all other species, it is really too early in the season to say anything meaningful about the running migration count. With April about to start, daily numbers should be going up pretty quickly now!

Eagles

Yesterday it snowed all day, and consequently no count was conducted.

Today, partly cloudy weather gave way to blue skies in the afternoon, with a fairly brisk NW wind blowing. Raptor migration remains slow at Whitefish Point, and today was limited to eagles only.

Still, five Golden Eagles wasn't bad - a tie with March 18 for daily high count for this species. (Last year, the daily total for Golden Eagles never reached higher than 4.) Despite the wind, all birds were quite high.

Also seen were two Bald Eagles: an adult and this 'sub-adult II' bird.

A single Snow Bunting flew over the point a couple of times, and around the lighthouse buildings was an Eastern Meadowlark.

Afternoon flight

Light winds and mostly sunny weather is what we got Saturday afternoon, and as expected, this resulted in some hawk movement over Whitefish Point. The only raptor seen during the morning was a Cooper's Hawk doing a courtship display flight. It will be interesting to see if a pair will establish a territory on Whitefish Point.

On the stroke of noon, the first migrating raptor of the day was a juvenile Golden Eagle, going high across the bay in a straight line. One of the last birds today was also a Golden Eagle, this time an adult, which did not succeed in crossing and may show up again sometime in the next few days. Other raptors counted as migrants included an adult male Northern Goshawk, an adult female Sharp-shinned Hawk, an adult Red-shouldered Hawk, two Red-tailed Hawks and six Bald Eagles. Almost all birds were high, as is common on light winds.

Both Red and White-winged Crossbills were again seen from the platform. The bird pictured above is a female White-winged Crossbill, photographed there today.

Snow

Snow today held things in check as far as raptor migration is concerned. Only five raptors were added to the count, including the first American Kestrel of the season. Interestingly, this species also showed up at several other (mostly northeastern) spring hawk watches today. Apparently, a first small wave of migrants is pushing through. Other sightings today included an adult male Northern Goshawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, two Bald Eagles and a Sandhill Crane.

Weather-wise, the next few days don't look particularly good for hawk migration. More snow is expected for Sunday, but for Saturday afternoon there are light winds and some breaks in the clouds forecast, which means there will probably be some birds.

First modest hawk flight of the season

Light SSW winds today brought raptors to Whitefish Point, in decent numbers and variety. Bald Eagles ('sub-adult I' pictured above) dominated the flight, with a total of 25 counted, while Red-shouldered Hawk came in second with 5 - all adults - and Golden Eagle was third with three.

Other diurnal raptors counted as migrants today were one Northern Harrier, one Sharp-shinned Hawk, two adult Northern Goshawks (a male and female, seemingly traveling together), two Red-tailed Hawks and a Merlin. These birds, plus a distant, unidentified raptor, brought today's tally to 41.

In the first hour of the count, a single hoot from a Long-eared Owl was heard not far from the platform. This represents the earliest record (by just one day) for Whitefish Point. Also seen today was a Brown-headed Cowbird in a Red-winged Blackbird flock, and around the feeders today three Song Sparrows.

Things are picking up

It was cold and blustery out there today, with rippin' SE winds and a high of only 34°F. Still, some raptor migration was visible, with a couple of Northern Goshawks, a sub-adult Golden Eagle and a total of 7 Bald Eagles. Only the Bald Eagles were seen crossing the water.

Wednesday and Thursday could both be good days for hawk migration, depending on how the weather plays out. If most of the rain falls overnight and things start clearing up Wednesday around midday or earlier, this could set the stage for the first bigger flight of the season. Thursday the wind is supposed to turn SW, the best wind for a hawk flight at Whitefish Point. The way things look right now (Tuesday evening), Thursday has the better cards but Wednesday could hold a surprise.

Crossbills, redpolls, a shrike and two eagles

Here's one of the 20 or so White-winged Crossbills that were seen near the hawk platform today. The smaller flock of Red Crossbills was also still there.

Near the feeders around the Gift Shop today was this Northern Shrike. In the Common Redpoll flock at the feeders was a beautiful adult male Hoary.

Raptor numbers remain low: only two Golden Eagles today. A single adult showed up around 11:50 AM, cruising low in easterly direction. Seven minutes later, two adults were seen on the same trajectory. One of them briefly landed in a tall pine not far from the platform, but was almost immediately accosted and escorted out of the area by two American Crows. The counter assumed that one of these two eagles was the same individual seen minutes earlier, but there may have been three birds - who knows?