Birders flock to Wisconsin Point in Superior for annual ‘Jaeger Fest’ field trip to see rare birds

Birders from around the state will meet up at Wisconsin Point in Superior this weekend with the hopes of seeing some rare birds.

What started as an organized field trip for the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology is now more of an informal gathering of enthusiasts who jokingly coined the event as “Jaeger Fest” due to the volume of parasitic jaegers that frequent the beach area.

Tom Schultz, field trip coordinator for the ornithology society, said the jaegers are the headliner. But the group of birders who gather on the beach sees plenty of gulls, warblers and sparrows, too.

He said the location is prime for bird watching, and it’s a great chance to see the jaegers chase after gulls to steal their food. 

Schultz spoke to WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” about the popularity of the event and the types of birds they hope to see each year.

The following was edited for clarity and brevity.

Rob Ferrett: Can you give us some of the history of this event that you’ve come to call Jaeger Fest? 

Tom Schultz: We run a list of field trips throughout the year. Back in the late 1990s, we had a suggestion to do a field trip up in Superior. We started it in 1999, and it took a number of years until, I think it was 2006, when I made the comment: You know, we’re seeing so many jaegers. We could actually have called this Jaeger Fest. It’s kind of a joke, because it really isn’t a festival at all. It’s just a field trip.

RF: Why do you hold the event at Wisconsin Point?

TS: It’s a great migration location. Because of that geographic location, birds are migrating on Lake Superior and often funneled down toward the west end. And then we have other birds that migrate from the north and come around the western end of Lake Superior and often right along Wisconsin Point. So, it’s not only jaegers, but a whole variety of different birds.

RF: Why is the jaeger the headliner of this particular field trip?

TS: Well, there are actually three species of jaegers that we see in Wisconsin. Most common of the three is the parasitic jaeger. And for bird watchers, it’s actually a pretty rare bird to see. They tend to be found mostly along the Great Lakes, but it’s difficult to observe them in most places along Lake Michigan. They’re moving along and in migration, so you might have a quick fly by. Whereas, where we’re located in western Lake Superior, the birds tend to show up and will often hang around for several days. 

They’re flying back and forth, chasing gulls. They’re known as klepto parasites, which means that they steal food from other birds. And we see that in action quite frequently while we’re there. So, it’s really the best place to go in Wisconsin to see jaegers.

RF: Do you see them steal food from other birds at Jaeger Fest?

TS: Oh, yes, quite commonly. What they do is, they almost fly like a falcon and chase other birds. They notice when a gull has a full crop, which means it has food that it has recently eaten. So, it’ll get on the tail of one of those gulls and chase it relentlessly until that gull coughs up its last meal, which is usually a fish. Then the jaeger will dive down and typically catch that fish before it even hits the water.

RF: Are there any particular rare birds you’re hoping to see up there?

TS: Well, I’ve been birding for a long time, so it’s difficult for me to add new birds anymore. But once in a while they do show up. Often, there’s some correlation with hurricanes, where you get birds that are brought northward by the hurricanes that catch them up in their winds and then get dropped inland. And on occasion, a bird like that will end up in the Great Lakes. If we’re really lucky, we might see one at Jaeger Fest. 

One example of that was a magnificent frigatebird that turned up in Wausau a few years ago, and I think Wisconsin has had maybe three records of magnificent frigatebirds. It’s an ocean-dwelling bird, but they do get caught up in hurricanes and carry northward. Last year, we had a small flock of flamingos that showed up along Lake Michigan and stayed there for several hours. That was quite an amazing spectacle.

Editor’s note: The caption for the third photo has been corrected to reflect that a jaeger is chasing a gull.