Whitefish Point: The last land, the end of the road, a windswept distal extremity of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula--and--a natural site to check the vitals of bird populations that use the Great Lakes. Here, the unique location allows us to gain insight about bird species that spend most of their lives in places that humans don't and for decades, Whitefish Point Bird Observatory has operated to document avian distribution and abundance. For the last three migrations, I have been privileged to conduct its waterbird count; the place has captured me to a degree few things have. Out at my station are unescapable, visceral tokens of the struggle between life and death. They manifest in the wingbeats of a tiny, shorebound Winter Wren running the hungry gull gauntlet, in the urgency transporting a pack of Bonaparte’s Gulls north, where they will breed in the brevity of boreal summer, in the loons that defy the headwind and press north over Superior’s troubled waters.

Struggle over troubled waters is a powerful theme that has emerged from my time at WPBO: while I watch it outside, I’m often feeling it inside. Securing funding for conservation endeavors and research requires our constant energy, for we are 100% donor-funded. Because of the COVID-19 virus, we have lost many of our fundraising channels. However, at the end of this month, when migration here is in its fullest swing, WPBO field staff will still hold the annual birdathon. This event, a 24-hour birding blitz, is a huge boost towards keeping our mission-critical programs alive.

While I hesitate at the right way to ask for monetary sponsorship during the upheaval we all are enduring, I am unhesitant--and maybe even unrepentant--in my belief of the importance of WPBO’s continued research. If everyone who read this donated $10, we could likely fund a season’s worth of field crew salaries. But if the better option for you is to propagate our reach through social media, email, or your preferred medium, we solicit and are grateful for your effort on our behalf.

It’s that time of year again, and our skilled team of bird counters and volunteers set out on a mission to count as many bird species as possible in one day on May 25, 2020, — all to support the amazing work happening here at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory — and boy was it a success! A new record was set with a total of 166 species counted this year!

Your support of Birdathon helps us continue more than forty years of avian monitoring, habitat preservation, and educational programs and engagement at Whitefish Point. Your donation goes entirely to supporting the signature research and conservation programs at WPBO that contribute to greater knowledge and appreciation of migratory birds and their habitat at this Important Bird Area and program site of Michigan Audubon.

Please consider basing your donation on a per-species amount: 

• $5 per species = $830

• $2 per species = $332

• $1 per species = $166

• $.50 per species = $83.00

• $.25 per species = $41.50

Because our work is 100% donor-funded, Birdathon provides all of our supporters with an opportunity to make a significant impact on our work and help connect birds and people for the benefit of both.

We would like to thank all of the field staff and volunteers who took part in counting for the cause: Michael Kielb, Susan Kielb, Darrell Lawson, Kathy Lawson, Nova Mackentley, Elliot Nelson, Chris Neri, Alec Olivier, and Alison Vilag. This event would not be the success it is without people like you.

For more information about Birdathon, please visit wpbo.org/birdathon.