A Couple Hours at Hawk Watch - 06 Oct 2019

After yesterday's 10,000+ Turkey Vulture day at the Detroit River Hawk Watch I came down for a few hours with the hopes of seeing a few more. Bummer, though, the rains were waiting. They would end by 10 am, and it would take another 2 hours for the clouds to start breaking before the birds started flying. In the meantime I took a short walk along the trails behind the Marshland Museum and enjoyed horrible views of American Robin flocks and two dozen Rusty Blackbirds. While waiting for the rain to stop I spent a few minutes with a resting Gray Catbird.

While waiting for raptors, I turned my attention toward the Forster's Terns and Caspian Terns that were diving for minnows. Lighting was poor, so tracking was tough. I couldn't get any pics of them hitting the water, so I had to settle on flight shots.

The highlight of the morning was a pair of Peregrine Falcons that buzzed the watch between the 15 Sharp-shinned Hawks that passed by before noon.

I'm betting that the afternoon was awesome, because skies cleared, and I left.

Lake Erie Metropark--Detroit River Hawk Watch, Wayne, Michigan, US
Oct 6, 2019 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Marshland Museum trail and Hawk Watch
7 species

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  3
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  5
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  15
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)  2
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  12
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)  24

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S160534902

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)