I recently got back from vacation, that included a trip to Michigan's Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. Whitefish Point is a peninsula on Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, roughly 75 miles north of the Mackinac Bridge that connects the two peninsulas of Michigan.
The peninsula juts far north into Lake Superior providing a very popular stopping and starting point for migrating birds before and after they make the long flight across Lake Superior.
We spent a couple of days in the area, and on both days the sky was filled with sharp shinned hawks. It was an amazing sight to see up to ten or twelve of the flying overhead at any given time. The second day got quite interesting as the sharpies had to share the area with a huge cloud of blue jays. The jays didn't seem the least bit intimidated by the hawks.
On one of the evenings we were lucky enough to see a northern silhouette owl that the researchers had caught and were measuring and tagging. It was such a cute little thing. Full grown and not any bigger than a beer can. Petting the owl was a thrill!
Unfortunately, we didn't see any eagles during this trip. One of these years we'll get up there in March/April when the eagle migration is heaviest, and also when the snow melt is peaking putting the waterfall flows at their peak.
http://www.wpbo.org/ http://www.exploringthenorth.com/birds/birds.htmlhttp://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/wildlife/viewingguide/up/33Whitefish/index.htm"Whitefish Point is a phenomenal concentration point for migrating birds. During spring and fall it is one of the best birding sites in Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Spring migration begins in mid-March and peaks in mid-May. During this time, up to 25,000 raptors pass by the Point–as many as 3,000 in a single day! Sharp-shinned, broad-winged, and red-tailed hawks are most common. Whitefish Point is also one of the best sites in the country for springtime owl viewing. Watch for boreal, great gray, great-horned, short-eared, and long-eared owls. The warmer days of May bring huge concentrations of small birds such as warblers, blue jays, grosbeaks, plus many species of shorebirds and waterfowl. Red-throated and common loons, scoters, and whimbrels are commonly seen. After about six weeks of little activity in June and July, the fall migration begins in early August. For sheer numbers of birds, the fall is unrivaled as huge flights of waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds push southward ahead of the freezing weather. The fall migration generally brings 50,000 to 100,000 water birds, with single day counts often reaching several thousand loons, grebes, geese, and ducks. In 1991, there were 10,000 red-necked grebes alone! A few other interesting species seen here are the boreal chickadee, spruce grouse, and bald and golden eagles. If the weather holds, viewing often remains good until mid-November. Birds are much less abundant in the winter, but the chances of finding northern species are relatively good. Regular winter visitors include the Bohemian waxwing, pine grosbeak, white-winged crossbill, and redpolls. Gyrfalcon, great gray owl, northern hawk owl, snowy owl, and gray jay are also found here although they are more often found in the Sault Ste. Marie area."
The Seney national wildlife refuge is not far from the area, and provides another excellent bird/wildlife viewing area. I've seen Sandhill Cranes and ospreys there.
http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/wildlife/viewingguide/up/29Seney/index.htm
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