United States bird observatory
Whitefish Point Bird Observatory
340 bird species recorded; the most in May.
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
This month here
51 species in January.43 species in February.97 species in March.193 species in April.301 species in May.214 species in June.164 species in July.215 species in August.267 species in September.260 species in October.175 species in November.68 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
VUVU
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
NTNT
NT
NTNT
NT
NTNT
NTNT
NT
VU
VU
VU- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
340 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 340Speciesrecorded more than once
- 242Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 16ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 430,126Recordsopen records within 2 km
- 184 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 20Raptors
- 8Owls
- 36Waders
- 26Gulls & seabirds
- 36Ducks & geese
- 14Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Storks & cranes
- 168Songbirds
- 31Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 340 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors20 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Accipiter striatusAccipiter striatus
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Falco sparveriusFalco sparverius
- Rough-legged BuzzardButeo lagopus
- Falco atricapillusFalco atricapillus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Swainson's HawkButeo swainsoni
- Mississippi KiteIctinia mississippiensis
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Short-tailed HawkButeo brachyurus
- Eurasian GoshawkAccipiter gentilis
- Prairie FalconFalco mexicanus
Owls8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern Saw-Whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacusVU
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia
- Tengmalm's OwlAegolius funereus
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- American Barn OwlTyto furcata
Waders36 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferusNT
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Piping PloverCharadrius melodusNT
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusillaNT
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaNT
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
- American golden ploverPluvialis dominica
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdii
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleucaNT
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
- Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Solitary SandpiperTringa solitaria
- White-rumped SandpiperCalidris fuscicollisVU
- Buff-breasted SandpiperCalidris subruficollisVU
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseusVU
- Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
- WilletTringa semipalmata
- Grey (Red) PhalaropePhalaropus fulicarius
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusNT
- Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
- Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemasticaVU
- RuffCalidris pugnax
- Bartram's SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoaVU
- Purple SandpiperCalidris maritima
- American AvocetRecurvirostra americana
- Long-billed dowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceusNT
- Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolor
- Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
Gulls & seabirds26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- American Herring GullLarus smithsonianus
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Arctic SkuaStercorarius parasiticus
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- Sabine's GullXema sabini
- Iceland GullLarus glaucoides
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Pacific LoonGavia pacifica
- Black-legged kittiwakeRissa tridactylaVU
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Long-tailed SkuaStercorarius longicaudus
- Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcan
- Northern gannetMorus bassanus
- Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Ancient MurreletSynthliboramphus antiquus
- Pomarine SkuaStercorarius pomarinus
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
Ducks & geese36 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- GoosanderMergus merganser
- White-winged ScoterMelanitta deglandi
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisVU
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- American WigeonMareca americana
- Surf ScoterMelanitta perspicillata
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- BuffleheadBucephala albeola
- RedheadAythya americana
- American ScoterMelanitta americanaNT
- Blue-winged TealSpatula discors
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- GadwallMareca strepera
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Snow gooseAnser caerulescens
- Bewick's SwanCygnus columbianus
- Harlequin DuckHistrionicus histrionicus
- Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii
- Trumpeter SwanCygnus buccinator
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- Mute SwanCygnus olor
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Brent GooseBranta bernicla
- King EiderSomateria spectabilis
- Common EiderSomateria mollissimaNT
- Ross's GooseAnser rossii
Herons, ibises & grebes14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-necked GrebePodiceps grisegena
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritusVU
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- American White PelicanPelecanus erythrorhynchos
- American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Eared GrebePodiceps nigricollis
- Western GrebeAechmophorus occidentalis
- Phalacrocorax brasilianusPhalacrocorax brasilianus
- Plegadis chihiPlegadis chihi
Storks & cranes1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Sandhill CraneGrus canadensis
Songbirds168 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Pine SiskinSpinus pinus
- Myrtle WarblerSetophaga coronata
- Junco hyemalisJunco hyemalis
- American GoldfinchSpinus tristis
- Purple FinchHaemorhous purpureus
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- White-crowned sparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- Buff-bellied PipitAnthus rubescens
- Palm WarblerSetophaga palmarum
- Shore LarkEremophila alpestris
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Agelaius phoeniceusAgelaius phoeniceus
- American Tree SparrowSpizelloides arborea
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quisculaNT
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Nashville WarblerLeiothlypis ruficapilla
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Common crossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Black-throated Green WarblerSetophaga virens
- Evening GrosbeakHesperiphona vespertinaVU
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinusVU
- Magnolia WarblerSetophaga magnolia
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Red-eyed VireoVireo olivaceus
- Pine WarblerSetophaga pinus
- Cape May WarblerSetophaga tigrina
- Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus
- American Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Wilson's WarblerCardellina pusilla
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Pine GrosbeakPinicola enucleator
- Blackburnian WarblerSetophaga fusca
- Winter WrenTroglodytes hiemalis
- Tennessee WarblerLeiothlypis peregrina
- Black-and-white WarblerMniotilta varia
- Red Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Northern ParulaSetophaga americana
- Blackpoll WarblerSetophaga striataNT
- Chestnut-sided WarblerSetophaga pensylvanica
- Mangrove WarblerSetophaga petechia
- Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulus
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Toxostoma rufumToxostoma rufum
- Clay-colored SparrowSpizella pallida
- Grey CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Eastern phoebeSayornis phoebe
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Black-throated Blue WarblerSetophaga caerulescens
- Yellow-bellied FlycatcherEmpidonax flaviventris
- Bay-breasted WarblerSetophaga castanea
- Orange-crowned WarblerLeiothlypis celata
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Philadelphia VireoVireo philadelphicus
- Canada warblerCardellina canadensis
- Boreal ChickadeePoecile hudsonicus
- Grey-cheeked ThrushCatharus minimus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Northern ShrikeLanius borealis
- Harris's SparrowZonotrichia querulaNT
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorusNT
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Eastern Wood-PeweeContopus virens
- Townsend's SolitaireMyadestes townsendi
- Northern WaterthrushParkesia noveboracensis
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Mourning WarblerGeothlypis philadelphia
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern MeadowlarkSturnella magnaNT
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- House finchHaemorhous mexicanus
- Northern House WrenTroglodytes aedon
- Lazuli BuntingPasserina amoena
- Pipilo maculatusPipilo maculatus
- Golden-crowned SparrowZonotrichia atricapilla
- Smith's LongspurCalcarius pictus
- LeConte's SparrowAmmospiza leconteii
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Quiscalus mexicanusQuiscalus mexicanus
- Warbling VireoVireo gilvus
- Olive-Sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Sturnella neglectaSturnella neglecta
- Shiny CowbirdMolothrus bonariensis
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Sagebrush SparrowArtemisiospiza nevadensis
- Yellow-headed BlackbirdXanthocephalus xanthocephalus
- Canada JayPerisoreus canadensis
- Connecticut WarblerOporornis agilis
- Sprague's PipitAnthus spragueiiVU
- Chestnut-collared LongspurCalcarius ornatusVU
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalusNT
- Western KingbirdTyrannus verticalis
- Lark BuntingCalamospiza melanocorys
- Ash-throated FlycatcherMyiarchus cinerascens
- Yellow-throated WarblerSetophaga dominica
- Say's phoebeSayornis saya
- Scissor-tailed FlycatcherTyrannus forficatus
- Prairie WarblerSetophaga discolor
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Grass WrenCistothorus platensis
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysopteraNT
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Black-billed MagpiePica hudsonia
- Orchard orioleIcterus spurius
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Cave SwallowPetrochelidon fulva
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- Scarlet FlycatcherPyrocephalus rubinus
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianusNT
- Nelson's SparrowAmmospiza nelsoni
- Green-tailed TowheePipilo chlorurus
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Painted BuntingPasserina ciris
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Sage ThrasherOreoscoptes montanus
- Rock WrenSalpinctes obsoletus
- Kirtland's WarblerSetophaga kirtlandiiNT
- Yellow-throated VireoVireo flavifrons
- Red TanagerPiranga flava
- Cerulean WarblerSetophaga ceruleaNT
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Brewer's SparrowSpizella breweri
- Tropical KingbirdTyrannus melancholicus
- Lucy's WarblerLeiothlypis luciae
- Western TanagerPiranga ludoviciana
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Mountain BluebirdSialia currucoides
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
- Blue-winged warblerVermivora cyanoptera
Other birds31 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescens
- Yellow-shafted FlickerColaptes auratus
- Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagicaVU
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Tsįįłkaałii bitłʼaaʼ halchíʼígííMelanerpes carolinus
- Sharp-tailed GrouseTympanuchus phasianellus
- Black-backed WoodpeckerPicoides arcticus
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Spruce GrouseCanachites canadensis
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Black-billed cuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Eastern Whip-poor-willAntrostomus vociferusNT
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Common Ground-DoveColumbina passerina
- Lewis's WoodpeckerMelanerpes lewis
- Inca DoveColumbina inca
- American CootFulica americana
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Picoides dorsalisPicoides dorsalis
- Yellow RailCoturnicops noveboracensis
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in May.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan-4°/-8°56 mm
- Feb-4°/-9°48 mm
- Mar-1°/-6°47 mm
- Apr4°/-1°67 mm
- May8°/4°73 mm
- Jun12°/7°80 mm
- Jul16°/12°77 mm
- Aug18°/15°71 mm
- Sep16°/13°95 mm
- Oct10°/7°114 mm
- Nov5°/2°80 mm
- Dec0°/-4°69 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Whitefish Point Bird Observatory.
Observatory in Michigan, US
Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is a bird observatory in United States.
340 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 430,126 open records.
The most recorded are the American Herring Gull, the Black-capped Chickadee and the Ring-billed Gull.
163 species come for the summer, 55 for the winter and 24 only pass through.
16 are threatened worldwide, including Long-tailed duck, Horned Grebe and Evening Grosbeak.
The most species are recorded in May.
Get there and watch
- Official informationAccess, hours and rules from those who manage the place.Official site↗
- Andrus Lake State Forest Campgroundcampsite · 9.8 km · 2 within 10 km
- 1923 USCG Crew’s Quartersplace to stay · 0.1 km · 1 within 10 km
- Sault Ste Marie Airport (YAM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 47 km in a straight lineCar hire in Sault Ste. MarieDiscover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 3bird hides within 6 kmBird Feeding Station, Hawk Observation Tower, Waterbird Counter's Shack
- 1observation towers within 6 kmLookout Tower
- 2viewpoints within 5 km
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 2campsites within 10 kmAndrus Lake State Forest Campground, Shelldrake Dam State Forest Campground
- 1places to stay within 10 km1923 USCG Crew’s Quarters
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Whitefish Point Bird Observatory.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmHawkins Lake2.3 km² · 10 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Whitefish Point Bird Observatory
United States
- 91Birdyas Score
- 340Species
- 242Migrants
- 16Threatened
The Ridges Sanctuary
United States · 252 km
- 87Birdyas Score
- 248Species
- 185Migrants
- 11Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q7995886) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 430,126 open bird records within 2 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Lakeyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
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Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit