Birdin' at Brockway

Above: Lynn Lanala flaps her arms like a bird while Tiffany Bond, Megan Goodrich, and Stephanie Rose look on. What are they teaching these kids!? Ornithology?

Brockway Mountain Information

        "Brockway Mountain has been known as a migratory hot spot for raptors for many years. Migrating hawks and other raptors are found in large number near Brockway Mountain because the Keweenaw Peninsula and a few high ridges near the tip act as funnels that concentrate the flight paths of spring migrants. Many of these birds would rather go around Lake Superior than attempt to cross it, and so they follow the Keweenaw Peninsula and take advantage of updrafts created by favorable winds and steep ridges. Past experience has shown that when weather conditions are favorable (principally when the winds are out of the south), hundreds or even thousand of migrating raptors can be seen in a single day.
        Brockway Mountain is the northernmost ridge on the Keweenaw Peninsula and runs east-west, parallel to the north shore. The West Bluff (1328 feet above sea level; 600 feet above Lake Superior) of Brockway Mountain, where most of the haw watching has historically taken place, is approximately 6.5 km west of Copper Harbor, and about 1.5 km south of the shore of Lake Superior. The nearest land across Lake Superior is Isle Royale, about 75 km to the northwest.
        In April and May (57 days) of 1992, 15, 034 eastbound raptors of 16 species were counted and 7,206 westbound raptors were counted. The eastbound count translates into an average of 264 haws per day or 37.2 per hour. On May 10, 1585 hawks were seen heading east, toward the tip of the peninsula. The most common migrants in May are the Broad-winged Hawk (59.7% of total) and the Sharp-shinned Hawk (23.6%)." -Justin Compton, Michigan Tech Graduate Student

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