Current Activity

The west end drive is accessible by car and the east end drive (Copper Harbor) is no problem for a 4-wheel but could be a bit tricky for a car. Proceed at your own risk 🙂

Hi all,

Seems like this year is shaping up in a similar fashion as last year in terms of weather, snow cover, etc. After a week of unseasonable cold we are finally getting some warmer weather and as a result, a sharp increase in migration. First-of-the-season raptors just in the last few days have been Osprey, Cooper’s Hawk and Broad-winged Hawk. Bald Eagles no longer dominate the data sheet but rather Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture hold that distinction with Rough-legged Hawks and Sharp-shins also hitting their stride in recent days as well. Overall I think we are just a little ahead of last year’s pace but these things have a way of evening out as the season progresses. A bit of a cool-down is forecast for later in the week so we’ll see how that affects the advance of migration.

Non-raptor arrivals on the Mountain the last number of days have included Killdeer, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe and Tree Swallow. Large numbers of Canada Geese are migrating right now and Sandhill Cranes have been coming over the Mountain in small groups too.

Calvin

Hello all,

After last week’s snow storm, I was thinking maybe we were having a repeat of last spring’s late arrival. But since that time the weather has been seasonable and the birds have been flying. Most notable has been the pick-up in diversity with Harrier, Merlin and Rough-legged Hawk all added to the species list in the last few days.The largest numbers of the season so far for Bald Eagle have been seen recently with 152 recorded on Monday (7th) of this week followed by 85 the next day. According to what I see on the hawkcount.org site, the 152 is the second highest single day count for Brockway! The season overall total is several hundred ahead of last year’s pace for that species. Red-tail and Goshawk numbers are somewhat ahead of last year while most other species are about the same as a year ago. All in all, a nice start to the season.

Most notable among other migrants was a Western Meadowlark on Monday. Snow Buntings continue to be seen and there have been some small groups of Bohemian Waxwings around as well.

For those curious about snow conditions and access to the site by car, it will be awhile yet before the road is open but hopefully our weather will remain spring-like enough to hasten this possibility.

Calvin 

Hi all,

After a bit of a cold first couple of weeks to the count, some warmer weather and south winds have brought some bigger numbers and more diversity to the count the last few days. While the omnipresent Bald Eagles dominate the count each day, we have added Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon and Turkey Vulture to the watch summary this week. To date, the Bald Eagle tally stands at 332, a bit ahead of last year at the same point of the season, as is the Northern Goshawk total of 12. Golden Eagle numbers are about on pace with last year with 19 seen so far.

Not too many other migrants have been seen this spring so far and waterfowl in particularly are absent, not too surprising given the abundance of ice still on Lake Superior and in all the harbors. A single Sandhill Crane was seen on the 28th and a few Herring Gulls are moving into the area. A few small groups of Snow Buntings are around most days on the few bare patches on the ridge.

Calvin

Greetings!

I am back again for another season of counting on West Bluff and looking forward to the season ahead with much anticipation. As expressed by others, hopefully the weather is more cooperative this year and folks are able to more easily make it to the mountain to see some of the better flights, particularly in April and early May when the peak for many of the species occurs. Hope to see some of you up there soon!

 Its been a bit of a cold start to the count these first couple of days, perhaps not surprising given the severity of this winter. So far I’ve had a dozen Bald Eagles along with a Golden Eagle and a Northern Goshawk. Not too many other birds around so far other than the omnipresent Ravens. Here’s to warmer days ahead!

Calvin

We are very pleased to announce that Calvin Brennan will be joining us again this spring as the BMHW counter! Calvin braved last years “spring” with snow through the middle of May. With any luck this year will be more springy and he won’t have to ride the snowmobile up the mountain for 2 of the 3 months. Welcome back Calvin!

The hawk watch will continue next spring ~ same time, same place! It’s a great project and will contribute more data to the expanding knowledge about raptors in the great lakes region.

Remember, most of the study is paid for with donations by folks like you. If you would like to support the BMHW, please go to the Please & Thank You page for more info.

http://brockwayhawkwatch.org/please-thank-you/

Thank You!!

Hi all,

Here are the final tallies for the spring at Brockway Mountain. Most species were seen in record numbers; exceptions were the totals for Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk and Swainson’s Hawk which were all in about typical numbers. Some totals were impressively above the previous highs, especially Osprey, Golden Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk. The Black Vulture was the second one seen on the count; the other was two seasons ago in 2011. So despite the lateness of the spring, there were some large movements of hawks when we did get the right wind and weather conditions. It was unfortunate that the road up the mountain did not open a bit sooner so a few more folks could see some of the bigger flights.

A great big thank you to everyone associated with the count and who helped out in some capacity, particularly Bill & Bonnie Degowski for all their help and generosity during the season, Vicki & Ken Stigers for being great hosts at the Pines, Karen Karl for all her friendly help and facilitation, and to my enthusiastic sub-counters Louie Dombroski, Joe Youngman and Debra Mues.

Calvin

Turkey Vulture 2,163

Black Vulture 1

Osprey 175

Bald Eagle 1,441

Northern Harrier 134

Sharp-shinned Hawk 2,987

Cooper’s Hawk 21

Northern Goshawk 40

Red-shouldered Hawk 21

Broad-winged Hawk 15,653

Swainson’s Hawk 5

Red-tailed Hawk 2,182

Rough-legged Hawk 385

Golden Eagle 81

American Kestrel 259

Merlin 52

Peregrine Falcon 70

unid. 95

Total 25,765