Yellow-rumps and Hawks - 17 Oct 2020
Skies were clear and calm this morning with temps barely breaking 50F. Two Golden Eagles yesterday at Detroit River Hawk Watch were the first for the year, so it prompted me to finish the housework early and take a ride to Lake Erie Metropark.
Arriving at 9 am traffic was stopping to enjoy a large gathering of 56 Great Egrets in the pond just west of the Marshland Museum. Three Greater Yellowlegs were with them, and I completely failed to get a single image of them. But I did get a few digiscoped images in the gorgeous fall colors.
Parking at the boat launch I took a short walk along the trail south of the hawk watch site and enjoyed a small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers. The birds were mostly along the shoreline so horribly backlit by the rising Sun.
A Song Sparrow made an appearance along the rocky shoreline and posed nicely in the morning light.
A Brown Creeper alerted me with its high-pitched "Tsiip". I managed a couple pics before it disappeared around the back of the tree.
Hawk watch was slow this morning. The air was still, and even the Sharp-shinned Hawks were reluctant to cross the narrow channel. So, we watched a juvenile Bonaparte's Gull, resident Ring-billed Gulls, and a Forster's Tern make passes nearby.
I spent a few minutes digiscoping a Ring-billed Gull that was swimming in the foreground of one of the channel markers.
Finally, a few Sharp-shinned Hawks started flying. I captured one directly overhead.
The afternoon would pick w/ 3000+ Turkey Vultures and a couple hundred each Sharp-shinned Hawk and Red-tailed Hawks.
Lake Erie Metropark, Wayne, Michigan, US
Oct 17, 2020 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: 50F; Clear; Calm
9 species
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 3
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 6
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 56
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 3
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 6
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
