Peregrine Falcon Power! I took these photographs a few days ago at Stony Point which is about 1/2 way between Duluth and Two Harbors. The weather overnight had been fine with a decent northwest wind. I knew this meant migration was most likely in progress.

Stony Point juts out into Lake Superior. Thus the North Shore which is a local migration highway sees lots of migrating songbirds. Raptors like this Peregrine time their migration to hunt those same migrating birds. This falcon was perched on the highest White Pine Tree in the vicinity, and it was hunting shortly after sunrise.

If you have a local migration highway (river, very large lake, decent sized hills, etc), head out birding during the Fall Migration after an overnight with a strong North or Northwest wind. Often the number of songbirds you see will be amazing, but also watch for raptors hunting those tweety birds!

If you maximize the first image, you will see the migration. The black smudges were blue jays way up high. The falcon was looking for easier, unsuspecting prey.

If you are near the North Shore, tonight’s weather and winds look like a strong burst of birds should migrate south overnight.

For the past two days there has been a decent NW wind, which after all the south winds giving NE Minnesota unseasonably warm weather, meant that migration finally resumed. A NW wind is actually the best migration wind (opposed to a North wind). A strong NW blow pushes birds against Lake Superior, and then migration picks up down the North Shore (most birds do not want to head out over the big lake).

Over the past few days I have seen large flocks (50+ birds each) of Robins, Northern Flickers, and Yellow-Rumped Warblers. The first juncos are also appearing … a certain sign that the songbird migration will soon be in its finally phase. Snow Buntings seem to be the past songbird to come down from the Arctic.

Here are a few pics from the past two days …

A pair of Eagles guard Stoney Point

A Northern Flicker watches the local crows that harass many migration species.

While there were not a lot of different species of birds migrating down the North Shore yesterday, there were hundreds and hundreds of Cedar Waxwings. While inland from the big lake the wind was out of the south (poor for fall migration), as is often the case down at Lake Superior the wind was from the NE. Birds understand these weather patterns and one will often see migration next to the lake, but almost no birds 3 to 5 miles inland where the winds are not favorable.

Apparently some crows that were also at Stoney Point (about midway between Duluth and Two Harbors) took major umbrage with all the waxwings … see these first set of images. Other crows had started their dive bomb runs, which is why the waxwings are scattering.

Stoney Point (GPS Coordinates) is a most excellent spot for birding during the fall migration. The point (lava lows from ancient volcanoes) sticks out into Lake Superior, which means birds tend to fly by the point. Make certain you spend significant time on Alseth Road (dirt road between Stoney Point Drive and Scenic 61). This road tends to get most of the bird action.

More Stoney Point Cedar Waxwings

A Broad-Winged Hawk Hunts Early in the Morning (just uphill from Two Harbors)