Fun Afternoon At Hawk Watch - 11 Oct 2025

 

I arrived at Lake Erie Metropark shortly before 1 pm and joined the group at the Detroit River Hawk Watch (Jo, Andy, Don, Bill, Michele, Mark, Johannes). Paul and Natalie would join us a bit later.

The bird of the morning was an American Goshawk that Andy was able to photograph just as it passed into the trees to the south, but the large tail on the Accipiter was diagnostic. Otherwise, several thousand Turkey Vultures had already passed to the south over Lake Erie on North winds.

Kettles of Turkey Vultures were forming over Canada and Celeron Island and passing over the lake while little action was observed to the north. In the meantime a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers flew into the maples next to us and prompted a quick visit with the camera.

Early afternoon highlight was a fly-over Peregrine Falcon that came overhead.

As the afternoon wore on the north winds gradually started shifting to the south and the kettles of Turkey Vultures started drifting closer to us, then finally overhead. 

American White Pelicans continue to hang out in the area with several dozen birds flying back and forth among the Turkey Vulture kettles making counting challenging.

Accipiters were scarce today. A Cooper's Hawk flew in range of the camera.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk circled overhead. 

The excitement of the day came when Natalie announced a Golden Eagle overhead. Really high overhead. In the dark gray clouds a speck was visible through the binoculars and the 600mm lens was needed to verify ID. But, the small head and long tail were diagnostic, and we were soon able to see the white wing patches from below.

Moments later a 2nd Golden Eagle floated by in the same spot. This one circled a bit lower and allowed better views (and pics). Somehow my camera's ISO got switched to 50 that resulted in many blurry pics taken at 1/125 sec. But, I managed a few enough keepers.

We would finish the day with 4320 Turkey Vultures, a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks, a couple dozen Red-tailed Hawks, and the 2 Golden Eagles and American Goshawk. Fun day!

Lake Erie Metropark--Detroit River Hawk Watch, Wayne, Michigan, US
Oct 11, 2025 9:10 PM - 12:10 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Detroit River Hawk Watch. Mostly cloudy, winds 5-15mph from N, 62F
27 species

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  12
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  40
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  10
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  2
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  12
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2300     4320 was official count for Detroit River Hawk Watch. Most birds stayed to the south over Lake Erie until late afternoon when they came overhead. By the 100’s.
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)  2     Directly overhead late afternoon. High up but white patches, small head, large tail diagnostic. Pics.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  6
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  5
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  4
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  2
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  2
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  4
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  3
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  12

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S278776723

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