First Kettles of Fall 2026 - 06 Sep 2026

After a week of overcast skies, high temperatures and humidity the sky broke and brought clearing skies, rising barometer, and NE winds that are optimum for a hawk migration through SE Michigan.

Yesterday's rains gave way to clearing skies in the afternoon and the Detroit River Hawk Watch managed a respectable 26 birds including 9 Northern Harriers, and our first American Kestrels, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcon, and Broad-winged Hawk. Holiday Beach Hawk Watch in Ontario did much better: 72 Northern Harriers, 123 American Kestrels, and 38 Bald Eagles on their way to 291 raptors, so today looked like it could be productive.

I started with a quick trip to Elizabeth Park in Trenton to look for warblers. Despite another 57 million birds migrating last night through the Great Lakes not a single warbler stopped by. Instead I had to settle for a pair of local Cooper's Hawks (juveniles) chasing each other through the canopy.

 

Elizabeth Park (Trenton), Wayne, Michigan, US
Sep 6, 2026 8:25 AM - 8:55 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.503 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, calm, 64F
9 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  65
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  4
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S390305069

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

I then headed to Lake Erie Metropark and the Boat Launch shortly after 9 am and found Gracie, Rebekah, Andrew, Bill and Michele staring into the morning sunrise. Shortly after 10 am the first Sharp-shinned Hawk appeared, followed by this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk that flew overhead on its way westward.

Within minutes we had our first distant kettle of Broad-winged Hawks that drifted SW due to the stiffer-than-expected NE winds, and by 11 am we had 172 Broad-winged Hawks tallied. A couple birds drifted high overhead (both juveniles).

I'd head home at about 11:30 am after the initial push slowed. 

Lake Erie Metropark, Rockwood US-MI 42.07522, -83.20136, Wayne, Michigan, US
Sep 6, 2026 9:10 AM - 11:27 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.311 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Pt cloudy, breezy, NE 10-15mph, Detroit River Hawk Watch.
28 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  65
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  2
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  5
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  11
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  6
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  2
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  6
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  15
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  5
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  4
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  3
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  4
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  4
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  4
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)  172     Several kettles and birds streaming over lake. Pics. 172 is the official hawk watch tally between 10 - 11 am today.
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  5
Purple Martin (Progne subis)  7
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S390382774

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