Some New Fall Birds and Challenging ID's - 29 Sep 2026

 

Today brought new birds to the fall list. My walk at Elizabeth Park not only brought the birds, but also challenging ID’s. 

I entered the woods near the Maintenance Yard shortly after 8:30 am. A large hawk flew away from me down the trail and landed 60 yds away. Merlin picked up Red-shouldered Hawk, and my gut feeling was this was the bird in question. However, this hawk lacked markings associated with Red-shouldered Hawks and may have a slight belly band that is more indicative of a Red-tailed Hawk. I’m leaving it unidentified. I did hear two loud Red-shouldered Hawks in the woods but only saw them flying away; one could have been this bird.

The trees were quiet this morning. No warblers to speak of except for a single Bay-breasted Warbler high in the canopy. I did pick up White-throated Sparrow and Golden-crowned Kinglet, and later see a distant Brown Creeper. I’d then stumble upon a Tufted Titmouse, but that was the end of potential photo opps.

Near the maintenance yard I heard the loud “KIP” “KIP” “KIP” of a Hairy Woodpecker, and managed to get the camera on it as it pecked at the top of a snag 50’ up.

Near the main road a Cooper’s Hawk flew across the oak-covered lawn and landed 100’ away. From my distance it appeared to be small like a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but photos indicate that it is a Cooper’s Hawk, perhaps a male? Dark cap and thick white terminal tail band helped ID.

My loop around the south end of the woodlot generated nothing, so I made one last walk past the maintenance yard and back down the center trail toward the car. As I was on my way out a single warbler popped into view. Being yellowis/gray w/ and eye-ring and eyeline I thought perhaps it was an Orange-crowned Warbler (as it had no wing bars and appeared to have a yellow undertail). It would turn out to be a female Black-throated Blue Warbler (note the strong lower eye-arc and upper eye stripe). At ISO 64,000 I had to wait until I was home to Denoise and verify ID.

With another day of heavy yard work I did not stick around. I'm off to Lowes to buy more dirt and mulch...

Elizabeth Park (Trenton), Wayne, Michigan, US
Sep 29, 2026 8:33 AM - 9:06 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.698 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, calm, 55F
14 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  80
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  1
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  46
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S397448327

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