No Gyrfalcon, But Still a Good Day - 24 Nov 2019



The Gyrfalcon was seen this morning at Willow Run Airport. It then flew north and disappeared. No reports since. Since the afternoon was sunny and mild I decided to drive out to Grace Lake and see if it might make an afternoon showing. It didn't.


As I drove around Grace Lake I noticed that there were no gulls on the water, or in the air. The place was quiet. But, I spotted a tiny raptor perched in a tree at the top of the hill. Severely backlit it looked like a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but as I approached it revealed itself to be a Merlin!

I parked the car and walked toward it, shooting away with the Sony a9 and 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3. Curiously, the Merlin did not seem to notice me, or just didn't care.



It gave me a chance to casually walk up the side of the hill and around to the back where the Sun was now behind me. What a difference good lighting makes.




After a short bit the Merlin took off, and I could not keep up with it as it blasted off. But, I managed a few flight shots and happily returned to the car.




Grace Lake (Visteon Pond), Wayne, Michigan, US
Nov 24, 2019 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
1 species

Merlin (Falco columbarius)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S160521057

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

I then drove over to Willow Run Airport. A loop around Ecorse Rd. to the north of the airport yielded no Gyrfalcon, so I drove down Tyler Rd. to the S. Service Drive. As I approached the landfill to the south I spotted a large falcon atop the black-tarp hill and noticed Phil Odom up ahead with his scope on the bird.


Again, the bird was severely backlit, so my immediate reaction was Gyrfalcon! However, it would be short-lived excitement as a few head-turns would reveal a large black mask and face of a Peregrine Falcon. "Just a Peregrine Falcon". When would anyone ever type those words???


banded bird w/ dark band on left tarsus and light band on right




Dave Amamoto drove by and we confirmed our suspicions. Despite the distance and lighting I still managed a few captures that I really liked of this bird. Especially when it decided to lift off and fly across the hillside before disappearing over the top.


With the wind blowing the birds tended to spend some time kiting. This would work to my advantage today. As I drove around the corner of the service drive I spotted a young Red-tailed Hawk perched on the fence to my left. Again, it was backlit, so I waited until I drove past it so the Sun was a bit more behind me.




Again, the bird didn't seem to mind my presence, so I shot away from inside the car and managed to get quite a few sharp images despite the convection currents from the car's engine (I'd been driving with the heat off and windows open).











The young Red-tail lifted off a few time and floated down along the fence line, so I followed in the car trying to get flight shots as it floated to perch after perch. Finally, it would lift off one last time and drift over the hillside.



The Gyrfalcon would remain elusive today, but the photo opps did not. I am actually glad I left the 1.4X Teleconverter home today.

Willow Run Airport (restricted access), Wayne, Michigan, US
Nov 24, 2019 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
2 species

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S160521315

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