Hotspots
While these locations are known for spectacular numbers or viewing opportunities, we also strongly recommend also using the principles of morning flight to identify new vantage points to further our understanding of waterbird movements in the Great Lakes. There is so much more to discover!
Point Pelee, Ontario
eBird hotspot pages for the entire national park, the tip, the blue heron area and the north end of the park.
Point Pelee is famed as a spring migrant stopover; however, some of the most spectacular days of birding are due to morning flight behaviours. While rare, very large concentrations of birds can amass a the tip during adverse weather reverse migrations where their path further south is halted by the lake. Smaller but more regular flights are observed in the spring involving southward reorienting birds and/or some individuals exhibiting true morning flight behaviours. The very tip is also an excellent "catch point" for reorienting vagrants, with some notable vagrants observed flying to the tip such as Grace's Warbler, Carolina Chickadee and Black Swift as modern examples.
Spring onward migrations are infrequently documented, yet spectacular northward movements have been noted.
Morning flights are much more infrequently documented during the fall; however, they likely occur regularly under all flight-types at different dates and locations. One area of recent study involves the true morning flights of birds going north out of the park, however coverage is still sporadic.
Further notes:
Fish Point, Pelee Island, Ontario
This location receives sporadic coverage in spring and may be untested in fall. The primary flight observed here in spring is southward reorienting migrants (or overshoots), yet the largest flights of birds moving south are more difficult to categorize. It is possible that these large flights involve onward migrants (or even east-west reorientation) who are unable or unwilling to make the lake crossing, and instead switch to a "true morning flight" behaviour and fly south into the wind to assess their surroundings.
Further notes:
Indiana Dunes, Indiana
eBird hotspot for the Green Tower watch site
This is one of the few locations with a dedicated morning flight count in the Great Lakes, occurring annually during the spring months. Counts are frequently uploaded to eBird making it easier to keep track of recent numbers. East-West reorientation and diurnal migration are likely the primary modes of flight here; however, almost all types should be possible.
Be sure to also check out the Hawk Watching hotspots, which can be ideal locations to watch diurnal migrations of songbirds under the right seasonal conditions!