As an owl bander, I don’t have luxury of birding all day during the spring season. However, when I woke up this afternoon there were several messages on the phone from our local birders about a passerine fallout going on. A fallout happens when birds are crossing the lake and the weather conditions become suddenly treacherous for them and they have to turn back and land on the shore. Sometime around noon, there was apparently a cold front that came in with a huge blast of wind, plunging the temperature down by 28 degrees within a very short time. Even getting my coffee, I noticed there were birds everywhere in the yard, mostly thrushes, warblers and grosbeaks.

This is my 21st year as a spring owl bander at Whitefish Point, and I’ve seen some good fallouts. However, they are few and far between especially as the number of birds has declined over the last 20 years. This fallout was pretty different from others I’ve experienced, because it was in the evening instead of the morning. Walking around the point, there were warblers and thrushes all over the place, feeding voraciously. There was even a LeConte’s Sparrow spotted by some other birders, which was a lovely treat. Watching one of these sparrows is like a game. There is a lot of “oh, its gone to the left”, “it’s just behind that piece of grass”, “oh now it’s still gone to the left”. I really have no idea how it is possible for a gorgeous sparrow like that to hide so well in 2-inch bits of grass and sandy cobble.

Chris and I have some previous Whitefish Point owl banders/close friends visiting, and it was really special that they had a chance to see this event. As with other fallout events I’ve experienced at the Point, the birds were really feeding on the ground instead of in the trees. There seemed to be plenty of small insects for them. Cape May warblers were present in large numbers, almost directly at our feet. One Black-throated Blue warbler kept feeding within 2-3 feet of us for almost a half hour. It was an absolutely lovely evening and was a reminder of how this place stole my heart over 20 years ago.

Ovenbird with Blue Jay feathers stuck to its head from a pile of them nearby.

Just a few nights left this season to visit the owl banding. Registration is still open for May 22, 23 and 30. Click on the photo for the link or register here.

This year, the Friends of Whitefish Point is part of the Aldo Leopold Festival in Hessel, MI. This is a really fun event with lots of field trips and workshops all week long. We will have a booth at the Hessel Schoolhouse on Saturday May 30 and two owl banding events are included on the schedule. More information can be found here.

Warbler fallout

First Transmitter and Birdathon