Some Good Birds This Morning - 18 Sep 2025

 

This late-season Baltimore Oriole was a nice find this morning during an otherwise relatively slow morning. Elizabeth Park had a few warblers like this Magnolia Warbler,

 

Nashville Warbler,

and several Bay-breasted Warblers, 

I'd also see a Wilson's Warbler, several Chestnut-sided Warblers, and several American Redstarts,

but I had to work just to see them. A Swainson's Thrush made a brief-but-obscured appearance overhead.

What I initially thought was a "large" Bay-breasted Warbler turned out to be a late-season Baltimore Oriole.

eBird flagged it as Rare so I was glad to get some pics. Another loop without birds made it an early morning (8:30 am).

Elizabeth Park (Trenton), Wayne, Michigan, US
Sep 18, 2025 7:57 AM - 8:38 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.539 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, calm, 62F
17 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  60
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  4
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  12
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  4
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1     Female. Pics
Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla)  1
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)  2
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)  1
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea)  1
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)  1
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S274025731

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

I drove over to the Refuge and took a quick walk along the short loop. Birds were relatively quiet, but I did hear a Red-headed Woodpecker calling, and managed a photos of this Pearl Crescent butterfly.

Otherwise the highlight of the visit was seeing and talking to Alexa Blankenship (USFW).

Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
Sep 18, 2025 8:47 AM - 9:19 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.461 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, calm, 66F
23 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  2
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  4
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  4
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  8
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  4
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S274032892

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

I then stopped by the Detroit River Hawk Watch and spent the 9 - 11 am shift helping out. Sharp-shinned Hawks were flying, as well as several Northern Harriers and American Kestrels, but the Sharpies were the only ones flying close enough to photograph.

Mark Hainen had reported a Pileated Woodpecker in the woods south of the boat launch, and we were lucky enough to hear it calling from the dead trees west of the parking lot. I managed a photo as it flew to the west.

The Broad-winged Hawks would not start flying until I left...

Lake Erie Metropark--Detroit River Hawk Watch, Wayne, Michigan, US
Sep 18, 2025 10:47 AM - 12:47 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Pt cloudy, calm, west 5 mph, 70F
26 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  2
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  4
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  4
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  8
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  4
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  1
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  1
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  8
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  10
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  5
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  8
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  2
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  2
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  120
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  10
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  4
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  7

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S274052670

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