The arrival of the short-distance migrants...

Although some of the long distance migrants (vireos, thrushes, most warblers) are still flying by, I would say the migration is now entering the push for the short-distance migrants. We are again seeing 1000s of birds almost every morning along The Shore. This morning's count included Robins, Rusty Blackbirds, American Pipits, Grackles, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and much more. I've also seen Bluebirds and Bohemian Waxwings moving. The raptors continue to be sharp-shinned hawks, kestrels, and Bald Eagles, but now the Goshawks and Red-tailed hawks are also on the move.

Tomorrow (Friday, Oct 1st) a researcher will be on Tofte Peak in Temperance State Park. On Saturday, Oct 2nd, a researcher will be on Pincushion Mountain (up the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais). Please feel free to stop by and watch the migration with these folks! We start around 7am and to see the largest numbers of birds, plan to arrive no later than 7:30am.

MN Public Radio story

Bob Kelleher from MPR did a story on the migration and the possibility of wind turbines on the N. Shore. The day we chose was foggy and rainy. Needless to say, there were only a handful of birds but Bob did a nice job piecing together a story anyway. Here's the link:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/09/29/north-shore-wind-power-birds/

"1000s of dead birds in Lake Superior"

I just found out that beginning on Sept 2nd, fishermen on Lake Superior were reporting "wind rows" of 1000s of dead birds floating in the Lake. The birds were described as being from warbler-size to woodpeckers to gulls. We had a storm come through the evening of Sept 1st that continued through the 2nd with high north winds and heavy rain.

I don't know the magnitude of this event nor do I know why the birds didn't make it. I can speculate exhaustion, inability to find or get to shore, or possibly a downdraft. I'm attempting contact with the fishermen to see if I can get any other information and piece together what may have happened and the possible magnitude of this mortality event. An interesting note is that the morning of Sept 1st, we recorded over 6000 birds flying inland from Lake Superior from a one-mile radius observation area. Assuming ~6000 birds were flying inland at every one-mile radius spot along the North Shore, I would guess that millions of birds were actively migrating during this time and quite possibly during the storm.

Lets hope the magnitude of this mortality event is not newsworthy. I'll post what I find out.

Small birds still moving ... my the thousands

We have begun our second round of surveys moving up the North Shore and still the morning flights are amazing. The birds in the forests have shifted from long distance migrants (warblers, vireos...) to the short-distance migrants (creepers, wrens, sparrows). I'm going to guess those unidentified birds in the mornings coming in off of Lake Superior have probably down the same shift. Although, Swainson's thrushes have still been observed.

Tomorrow (9/19) on of the crew will be at the Lax Lake overlook near Silver Bay. We also hope to survey from Pincushion Mountain in Grand Marais on Monday the 20th depending on weather.

Pincushion Mountain

After some windy cold days between Duluth and Finland, the migration crew is heading up the shore to Grand Marais. One of the best places to watch the migration is from Pincushion Mountain accessed from the ski trails up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais. To join us, park in the Pincushion lot and hike beyond the Pincushion loop to the tip of the ridge. If you are unable to hike out to the tip of Pincushion Mountain, the parklot also offers a good view of birds on a west wind day as they travel down the shoreline. We will be at Pincushion sometime towards the weekend. If you want to join us, email me your contact info and I will let you know the exact day we will be surveying there (apeterson@hawkridge.org).

http://www.pincushiontrails.org/trail_map.htm

WOW

The crew was surveying near Castle Danger, MN this morning and counted 6000+ passerines (mostly warblers) from 6:30am-7:30am flying inland from Lake Superior. This passerine flight continued for about 2.5 hours after sunrise then almost abruptly stopped. The total number of birds was very impressive as well as the number of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks among the warblers. Also, the birds were not in flocks but spread out across the entire sky and flying west. Their flight calls were as one of my crew members put it, "like a chorus of bells" (although none really sound like bells). The raptor flight was fairly light with a few small falcons, sharp-shinneds, and broad-wingeds passing by while the vultures cruised up and down the shore.

We plan to be at the Lax Lake Overlook in Tettegouch S.P. on Friday or Saturday. If you want to see the spectacular numbers, be there at sunrise.