Have you experienced that sensation when you step outside on a cool and damp May morning and just know, "Today's going to be an excellent day for birds"? The air is humid from warm south winds and intermittent storms overnight, but yet you can already hear chips from warblers and the liquid notes from thrushes … Continue reading On the Verge of Something Great
With roaring north winds going on now, much of the early spring migration has been put to an abrupt halt. Winds this morning were coming from the NE, with steady winds pushing in excess of 20 mph. It made for a pretty cold day near the beach. But inland sun did warm the areas 10 … Continue reading Predicting Mid-week Movement
Well it's been a quiet week at Lake Michigan, Indiana, our hometown, out on the edge of the migration. Things got a little colder here this last week. While Sunday and Monday brought a mini heat wave and the pulse of migrants, a strong north wind clipper quickly shut off that valve Tuesday morning. Fortunately … Continue reading Stand Still- rarities coming!
It's Wednesday, May 6. The inaugural Indiana Dunes Birding Festival kicks off tomorrow. For some, the weather looks uncertain, for others it looks prime for some great birding opportunities. One thing is for sure, there are a lot of birders converging in the Indiana Dunes for what looks to have the potential for a great … Continue reading A Dunes Birding Festival Primer
It's amazing how fast this winter has passed. Early winter Snowy Owls faded to no major bird irruption to keep birders busy, yet perhaps since this winter wasn't as brutal and bone cold as last winter, we're not as cooped up in cabin fever. And here it is March! The reasons to get out and … Continue reading 2015 Season Fast Approaching!
For folks interested in ringing in the New Year with some birding, here are your options! Indiana Dunes State Park will be offering two separate birding related courses and workshops in 2015. Each workshop is designed to introduce nature enthusiasts to the great birding that is available in the Indiana Dunes area and appeal to … Continue reading New Dunes Birding Workshops coming
He's flown 1,500 miles returning the promise that began 9 months earlier. Migration, the promise to return. For a tiny Piping Plover, completing that promise is no easy task. With only 6,200 of your kind, it's amazing they're all able to avoid predators, find food, dodge weather systems. All of which doesn't acknowledge the countless … Continue reading The Perils for a Little Piper
Today we closed another chapter on another great longshore flight season. It's been a rewarding year all around. Today's flight ended almost like it began, with an Eastern Meadowlark. 5,302 birds went past today, and like it's been lately Cedar Waxwings again made up the vast majority of them (5,143). Best birds of the day … Continue reading 423,874
Ornithological spring is quickly coming to a close. While May 31 will end the official spring count, many lingering migrants can still be found in June. Local dune birders often use June 5 as a better signal of summer. Given the spring we've had, expect many lingering migrants to still be seen after this weekend. … Continue reading Final Checklists
Spring marches on in the dunes. Today, March 29, brought on another longshore flight to record and take note of. Just when things look to thin out, birds typical of other weeks or months are seen migrating past the longshore platform. When will spring migration actually end this year? Today's flight of 11,844 birds was … Continue reading Super Waxwing Flight (and quiz answer)
Indiana Dunes Migration Birding 