Whitefish Point Bird Observatory

Whitefish Point Bird Observatory

Waterbird count at Whitefish Point
Organization	Michigan Audubon Society
Location	Chippewa County, Michigan USA
Coordinates	46°46′14″N 84°57′24″W
Established	1978
Website	www.wpbo.org
Location of Whitefish Point Bird Observatory

The Whitefish Point Bird Observatory (WPBO) is located adjacent to the Whitefish Point National Wildlife Refuge in Chippewa County, Michigan, USA. It operates as an affiliate education and research facility of the Michigan Audubon Society. The Society and the WPBO together have recorded over 300 species of birds at Whitefish Point. As one of a network of bird observatories in the Canadian Monitoring Migration Network, the WPBO documents the bird population of the Great Lakes region through bird banding, data collection, and research studies.

WPBO history

Birders from the Ontario Bird Banding Association and the Canbrook Institute of Science established a spring hawk banding project in 1966 at Whitefish Point that was later expanded to survey migrating owls. This project lasted from 1966-1971 and was the forerunner of the WPBO.

The Michigan Audubon Society formed a Whitefish Point Committee in 1976 to secure a license for access to the U.S. Coast Guard Whitefish Point Light Station except for the automated light and foghorn. The WPBO was established in 1978, with annual monitoring of spring migrations beginning in 1979. By 1989 it expanded to include the monitoring of fall migrations and additional interpretative and research activities. In 1998 the Michigan Audubon Society received a federal land patent for 2.69 acres (0.0109 km²; 0.00420 sq mi) of the old light station property, which is now managed by the WPBO for research and educational activities.

The WPBO adopted the procedures of observatories in Britain that use small buildings along the coast to monitor migrating birds. Volunteers and paid staff keep records and report observations at the stations during migration.

Whitefish Point features

Whitefish Point dunes and sand-cobble beach

The American Bird Conservancy designated Whitefish Point an internationally Important Bird Area. Whitefish Point’s land and water features create a natural corridor that funnels thousands of birds during spring and fall migrations, providing unique opportunities for research, education, and conservation programs. Golden eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Merlin (bird), Boreal Owls, Great Gray Owls, Red-throated Loons, Red-necked Grebes, Scoters, and Jaegers (also known as Skuas) are just some of the birds that can be seen during migration.

Thousands of birds use Whitefish Point as critical stopover habitat to replenish energy reserves before venturing across Lake Superior during spring and fall migrations. A WPBO study found the highest density of migrant landbirds within 1.5 kilometres (4,900 ft) of Whitefish Point, with higher densities along the shore than at inland locations.

The federally endangered Piping Plover is seen annually at Whitefish Point—the last nesting attempt occurred in 1985. The sparsely vegetated, sand-cobblestone beaches at Whitefish are ideal breeding grounds for the Piping Plover. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated approximately 2.5 kilometres (8,200 ft) of Whitefish Point shoreline as critical habitat for the bird, giving it protection under the Federal Endangered Species Act at Whitefish Point.

WPBO research programs

Diurnal raptor census

Professional staff document the migration of hawks, falcons and eagles that provides comparative data for long-term monitoring of raptor populations. The daily Raptor Census is conducted from the "Hawk Dune," which is about 200 metres (660 ft) west of the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and about 20 metres (66 ft) above Lake Superior's water level.

Raptor banders licensed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "lure the birds from the sky into nearly invisible nets. Each bird is immediately released after it is banded and the details are recorded on an official log sheet which includes the date, time, location, and the bird’s species, age and sex." Researchers report that the increased capture of Merlin falcons at Whitefish Point in 2004 was "an environmental indicator that the merlins had come back (after the ban on the pesticide DDT)."

Owls

WPBO conducts the spring and fall banding of migrating owls, as well as a study of juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl dispersal at Whitefish Point using nesting boxes and DNA analysis. The 20-year owl banding project has recently increased the number of owls banded by as much as eightfold by the addition of audio lures that are used to broadcast owl calls. Owls are captured in 10 feet (3.0 m) high by 25 feet (7.6 m) wide specialty nets strung along clearings in the trees. Data are recorded with each banding and the owls are then released. Researchers report that "nearly one-third of the Boreal Owls banded in North America have been banded by WPBO.... The recent success of all three owl research seasons has begun to document that, on annual basis, Whitefish Point may very well play host to the largest and most diverse owl migration in North America."

Waterbirds

Whitefish Point is an important spot for documenting and monitoring waterbird movements in the upper Great Lakes. The waterbird count is conducted during both spring and fall migrations from the beach near the tip of Whitefish Point. The daily eight-hour count starts at sunrise with some the highest numbers occurring on inclement days, but Whitefish Point's frequent fog makes it difficult to count during this weather condition.

Songbirds

The Observatory conducts a census program to document migrant passerines at the Point, as well as songbird populations throughout the Upper Peninsula, with a special emphasis on rare species and Neotropical migrants. The daily songbird census is combined with the hawk and waterbird counts "to produce a Daily Estimated Total for all species migrating through Whitefish Point."

Canadian Monitoring Migration Network

Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is the only U.S.-based bird observatory in the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network. This North American network of observatories studies, tracks, processes, and shares enormous volumes of data about migrating birds from the Atlantic to the Pacific to show the "'big picture' of what birds populations are doing across the northern half of the North America."

See also

• Whitefish Point lighthouse

External links

• Michigan Audubon Society
• Whitefish Point Bird Observatory
• Whitefish Point National Wildlife Refuge
• Audubon – Whitefish Point Important Bird Area
• Canadian Migration Monitoring Network
• Owl Banding at Whitefish Point