44-772: The Whitefish Point Bird Observatory (WPBO) is located in Chippewa County, Michigan , USA, adjacent to the Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge . It operates as a non-profit, 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
88-547: A Marquette, Michigan vertical launch site. 46°19′N 84°31′W / 46.32°N 84.52°W / 46.32; -84.52 Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae . They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks , sparrowhawks , sharp-shinned hawks , and others. This subfamily are mainly woodland birds with short broad wings, long tails, and high visual acuity. They hunt by dashing suddenly from
132-555: A concealed perch. In America , members of the Buteo group are also called hawks, though birds of this group are called buzzards in other parts of the world. Generally, buteos have broad wings and sturdy builds. They are relatively larger-winged and shorter-tailed than accipiters, and fly further distances in open areas. Buteos descend or pounce on their prey rather than engaging in fast, horizontal pursuit. The terms accipitrine hawk and buteonine hawk are used to distinguish between
176-441: A mating pair build their nest before mating season then improve it throughout nesting season. They usually do this before mating. Hawks have a striking mating ritual. First, a male and a female fly together in a circular motion . Once they reach a certain height, the male dives toward the female before ascending back to that height. The two birds repeat this until the male latches onto the female, and they begin to free-fall towards
220-498: A method of measuring avian " IQ " by measuring their innovation in feeding habits. Based on this scale, hawks were named among the most intelligent birds. The hawk is very intelligent towards humans and other hawks. Hawks, like most birds, are tetrachromats with four types of colour receptors in the eye. Unlike some birds, but similar to other diurnal raptors, most hawk species are violet-sensitive but cannot perceive ultraviolet light. Hawks also have relatively high visual acuity –
264-596: 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 , merlins , 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
308-578: 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." 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
352-537: Is Sault Ste. Marie . The county is named for the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people , and was set off and organized in 1826. Chippewa County comprises the Sault Ste. Marie, MI micropolitan statistical area . With shorelines on Lake Huron and Lake Superior , Chippewa County is one of two U.S. counties to contain shorelines on two Great Lakes, the other being neighboring Mackinac County . The county's irregular shape follows
396-568: Is a citizen scientist activity that monitors hawk migration and provides data to the scientific community. The red-tailed hawk is probably the most common hawk in North America . Past observations have indicated that, while hawks can easily adapt to most environments, they prefer open habitats such as deserts and fields, likely because it is easier to spot prey. As they are able to live anywhere, they can also be found in mountainous plains and tropical, moist areas such as Central America ,
440-443: Is an important spot for documenting and monitoring waterbird movements in the upper Great Lakes . The Audubon Society reports, "Between 18,000 and 21,000 red-necked grebes pass by the point each fall, representing approximately 25–40% of the estimated North American Population." Other significant counts at Whitefish Point include the common loon , red-breasted merganser , common tern , and Bonaparte's gull . The waterbird count
484-406: Is better for a hawk to arrive at its destination as early as possible to have first pick of mates, territory, food, and other resources. There are a variety of factors impacting the strategy and success of a hawk's migration. Kerlinger states that a bird has more body fat when it begins its migration than when it arrives at its destination. Thus, the more fat a bird has when it begins its migration,
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#1732780829103528-542: 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. For the first time in twenty three years, piping plovers nested at Whitefish Point and successfully fledged offspring in 2009. By 2012, three nesting pairs were confirmed at Whitefish Point that successfully fledged eleven young. In 2010,
572-982: Is not an eagle. The common names of some birds include the term "hawk", reflecting traditional usage rather than taxonomy. For example, some people may call an osprey a " fish hawk " or a peregrine falcon a " duck hawk ". Falconry was once called "hawking", and any bird used for falconry could be referred to as a hawk. Aristotle listed eleven types of ἱέρακες ( hierakes , hawks; singular ἱέραξ , hierax ): aisalōn (merlin), asterias, hypotriorchēs, kirkos, leios, perkos, phassophonos, phrynologos, pternis, spizias, and triorchēs. Pliny numbered sixteen kinds of hawks, but named only aigithos, epileios, kenchrēïs (kestrel), kybindis, and triorchēs (buzzard). Accipitrine hawks generally hunt other birds as their primary prey and thus are sometimes called "hen-hawks". Similarly, they are sometimes called "wood-hawks" because of their woodland habitat .Though they are also known as "True Hawks" With most being called Sparrowhawks or Goshawks with
616-521: Is traditionally included in Accipitridae, but is possibly a convergent genus from an unrelated group (see red goshawk taxonomy ). The " Buteonine group " includes genera Buteo , Parabuteo , Geranoetus , and most of Leucopternis . Members of this group have also been called "hawk-buzzards". The proposed new genera Morphnarchus , Rupornis , and Pseudastur would be formed from members of Buteo and Leucopternis . Members of
660-717: Is used in politics to describe someone perceived as favoring war. The term reportedly originated in the United States during the 1810 debates in Congress over a possible war with Great Britain. Congressman John Randolph is said to have referred to Henry Clay 's pro-war faction as the "war-hawks". Numerous sporting clubs, such as the Atlanta Hawks , the Hawthorn Hawks , and the Malmö Redhawks , use
704-578: The Atlantic to the Pacific to show the "'big picture' of what birds populations are doing across the northern half of the North America." Chippewa County, Michigan Chippewa County ( / ˈ tʃ ɪ p ə w ɑː / CHIH -pə-wah ) is a county in the eastern Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan . As of the 2020 census , the population was 36,785. The county seat
748-614: The Canadian border , itself following the St. Marys River . Drummond Island is part of Chippewa County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 2,698 square miles (6,990 km ), of which 1,558 square miles (4,040 km ) is land and 1,140 square miles (3,000 km ) (42%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Michigan by land area and fifth-largest by total area. The Michigan Meridian runs through
792-607: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded a $ 150,000 grant to Lake Superior State University to intensely monitor nesting piping plovers at Vermilion , Whitefish Point, and other shoreline areas in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. The USFWS designated the shoreline from Whitefish Point to Grand Marais, Michigan as critical habitat for the piping plover. The Great Lakes population of piping plover are isolated and extremely vulnerable to extirpation from
836-416: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) "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
880-629: The West Indies , and Jamaica . Parents feed young hawks from early in their lives until they leave the nest. Young hawks, while still in the fledgling phase, will leave their nests as early as six weeks old, but they do not hunt until they are older. Like most birds of prey , hawks kill their prey with their talons. Hawks usually prefer hunting just before nightfall when daylight lessens. Although hawks are known for being violent predators , some are gentle and quiet. Hawks fly by flapping their wings rapidly then relying on momentum to glide through
924-518: The " Buteogallus group" are also called hawks, with the exception of solitary eagle species. Buteo is the type genus of the subfamily Buteoninae. This subfamily traditionally includes eagles and sea-eagles, but Lerner and Mindell (2005) proposed placing them into separate the subfamilies Aquilinae and Haliaaetinae. This would leave only the buteonine hawks/buzzards in Buteoninae. In February 2005, Canadian ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced
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#1732780829103968-539: The "Spring Fling" celebrates bird migration at Whitefish Point. 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
1012-649: The Canadian Migration Monitoring Network, the WPBO documents the bird population of the Great Lakes region through bird banding , data collection, and research studies. Birders from the Ontario Bird Banding Association and the Cranbrook 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 to 1971 and
1056-532: The County-Designated Highway System. The Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association announced that Chippewa County will house its new command and control center. In last year, this is the third major announcement from the organization — guiding Michigan's aerospace and defense manufacturing community within the global industry. Previously, MAMA announced plans for a Oscoda, Michigan Wurtsmith Airport horizontal launch site at and
1100-730: The Great Lakes region. On August 30, 2012, the USFWS added 19.85 acres (8.03 ha) acres and more than 1,000 feet (300 m) of Lake Superior shoreline as critical piping plover habitat to Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The observatory conducts a census program to document migrant passerines at the Point, as well as songbird populations throughout the Upper Peninsula, with
1144-401: The air. Like other birds, they are known to form flocks when migrating, which improves survival rates over traveling alone. Flocks of birds, especially hawks, are sometimes called "kettles" in the United States. Hawks are known for their unique mating season and means of reproduction . Some species of hawk are monogamous and have one partner their whole lives. The male and female of
1188-546: The better its chances of making the trip safely. Flight path is another important factor in migration because a bird's route can greatly affect the conditions it encounters during its journey. For example, wind direction and speed can either throw the bird off course or push it in the right direction. Due to the relative variability of air conditions over large bodies of water and the resulting impact on safety, hawks tend to avoid any large bodies of water while migrating by detouring around lakes or flying along coasts. Hawkwatching
1232-483: The both being named such because of them hunting small birds (like sparrow) and large water-fowl (like goose) respectively The subfamily Accipitrinae contains the genus Accipiter as well as the genera Micronisus (Gabar goshawk), Urotriorchis (long-tailed hawk), and Megatriorchis (Doria's goshawk). Melierax (chanting goshawk) may be included in the subfamily or given a subfamily of its own. Erythrotriorchis (red- and chestnut-shouldered goshawk)
1276-498: The county was $ 19,334. About 2.3% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.0% of those under the age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over. Chippewa County voters have been reliably Republican from the start. Since 1876, they have selected the Republican Party nominee in 86% of national elections (31 of 36). The county government operates the jail , maintains rural roads, operates
1320-516: The distance at which they can resolve an image – with red-tailed hawks reported to have 16.8 cycles per degree. This is due to the large number of photoreceptors in the retina (up to 1,000,000 per square mm in Buteo , compared to 200,000 in humans ), a high number of nerves connecting these receptors to the brain, and an indented fovea , which magnifies the central portion of the visual field . Hawks additionally have two foveae (depressions in
1364-532: The eastern portion of the county. South of Nine Mile Road, M-129 (Meridian Road) overlays the meridian. In Sault Ste. Marie, Meridian Street north of 12th Avenue overlays the meridian. By land By water The Munuscong Bay is open for hunting, boating and bird watching. The area is known for its duck hunting, including mallards, divers and green-winged teal ducks. The Bay is most known for its icefishing and duck hunting. During opening weekend of duck season (late September), hundreds of hunters come from all over
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1408-514: The ground. In one year, a female hawk will lay about five eggs. Both the male and the female guard and care for the eggs for about a month until they hatch. Hawks feed on a variety of smaller animals such as snakes , lizards , fish , mice , rabbits , squirrels , birds , or any other type of small game that is found on the ground. As an example, red-shouldered hawks eat smaller birds like doves as well as bugs like grasshoppers and crickets . The term war hawk , or simply hawk ,
1452-527: 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 returned annually at Whitefish Point for the first time in twenty three years when a pair of nesting plovers fledged three chicks at Whitefish Point in 2009. By 2012, three piping plover nests were confirmed at Whitefish Point. The sparsely vegetated, sand-cobblestone beaches at Whitefish are ideal breeding grounds for
1496-422: The major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records , administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are
1540-528: The merlins had come back (after the ban on the pesticide DDT)." WPBO conducts the spring and fall banding of migrating owls using mist nests, as well as summer study of juvenile northern saw-whet owl dispersal at Whitefish Point 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
1584-512: The monitoring of fall migrations and additional interpretative and research activities. In 1998, Michigan Audubon received a federal land patent for 2.69 acres (0.0109 km; 0.00420 sq mi) of the old light station property, which is now managed by the WPBO for research and educational activities. Due to the researchers' exposure to extreme weather, WPBO adopted the procedures of observatories in Britain that use small buildings along
1628-617: 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 has a paid staff during migration that includes a field ornithologist, two owl banders, a waterbird counter, a hawk counter, and a gift shop manager. Experienced birders lead field trips to some of "Michigan's best birding 'hot spots'". An annual fund raiser called
1672-680: The responsibility of individual cities and townships. (Current as of July 30, 2024) All Interstate and US Highways in Michigan are all state-maintained highways and part of the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System . The following highways are maintained by the Chippewa County Road Commission as part of the county road system. They are assigned numbers by the Michigan Department of Transportation as part of
1716-682: The retina with high photoreceptor density) in each eye, one centrally-placed and the other temporally-placed. Finally, the eyeball is elongated, placing the lens far from the retina and giving a long focal length . Like most birds, hawks migrate in the autumn and the spring. The autumn migration season begins in August and ends mid-December, and different types of hawk choose different times in each season to migrate. Some migration distances are longer than others, and birds traveling longer distances tend to depart in early autumn while those traveling shorter distances start much later. Studies have shown that it
1760-402: The rocky points of the coast where people can stay to monitor migrating birds and keep records and report observations at the stations during migration. The WPBO has collaborated with Michigan Audubon to record over 300 species of birds at Whitefish Point. The American Bird Conservancy designated Whitefish Point a Globally Important Bird Area . Whitefish Point's land and water features create
1804-492: The state to begin their season on the Bay. This area has many types of waterfowl pass through it on their annual migrations. In 2020, the county had a population of 36,785. The 2010 American Community Survey 3-year estimate indicated the median income for a household in the county was $ 39,351 and the median income for a family was $ 54,625. Males had a median income of $ 25,760 versus $ 16,782 for females. The per capita income for
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1848-476: 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." Whitefish Point
1892-426: The types in regions where hawk applies to both. The term "true hawk" is sometimes used for the accipitrine hawks in regions where buzzard is preferred for the buteonine hawks. All these groups are members of the family Accipitridae , which includes hawks and buzzards as well as kites , harriers , and eagles . To confuse things further, some authors use "hawk" generally for any small to medium Accipitrid that
1936-516: Was the forerunner of the WPBO. Michigan Audubon 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 as a non-profit organization supported by membership fees, donations and gifts, voluntary service, and grants from private and government institutions. WPBO began annual monitoring of spring migrations beginning in 1979. By 1989 it expanded to include
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