Strong But Favorable Winds - 21 Sep 2026

Rain the past two days followed a great Broad-winged Hawk flight on the 18th so today's forecast of NE winds 10-15 mph and partially-clearing skies meant another possibly good raptor flight. Skies were cloudy but it was cool and damp. And yes, the wind was already blowing at 7 am.

My plan was to drive to Roberts Road to look for a Western Sandpiper that Justin Labadie found last evening along the South Causeway, bird the trees for warblers, then drive over to the Detroit River Hawk Watch. 

I arrived at Roberts Road and drove south toward the road closure sign. With windows open I was looking and listening for warblers. A Bay-breasted Warbler popped into view 3 feet off the ground and I managed a couple pics w/ the Sony 600/4 from inside the car.

Parking at the road closure I got out the bike and headed to the South Causeway. The wind was blowing strong enough that I had to lose the hat, and arrived at the causeway only to see waves crashing over the mudflats. No shorebirds.

I did see a pair of egrets that included a Greater Egret,

 

and a nice consolation Snowy Egret. The latter would fly off to the north just moments later.

Scanning the mudflats I did spot a Greater Yellowlegs fly into view, and it was followed by 4 more birds a few minutes later. However, I could not find a Western Sandpiper.

Riding through the parking lot I entered the dike along the SW corner of the Humphries Unit and managed some quick photos of a flock of Blue-winged Teal that flew in. Take care little guys, the hunters will be back out tomorrow!

I continued to the public access dike running parallel to Roberts Road and the Bad Creek Unit and scanned the trees for warblers. Birds were moving but staying inside the vegetation, but I did manage to spot a Red-eyed Vireo foraging along the edges of the phragmites

A few moments later a Tennessee Warbler appeared and attempted to maintain balance in the blowing wind.

Overhead dozens of Tree Swallows were swarming the phragmites and along Roberts Road.

Returning to the road I found an active patch of several Bay-breasted Warblers, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and this Swainson's Thrush that stayed hidden in the shadows of the dense trees.

The silo area quiet except for a chipping Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Overhead a half-dozen Turkey Vultures were soaring just above the tree tops.

I rode Roberts Road north for a quarter-mile and ran into a flock of a dozen warblers, but they were backlit and moving fast across the road. I did manage to see a Magnolia Warbler and this Northern Parula.

It was at this moment that (unbeknownst to me) my camera somehow got switched from ISO-Auto to ISO 100, so it meant shooting at really slow shutter speeds. Still, I managed to see this Eastern Wood-Pewee nearby and get a photo before it flew off.

By now it was close to 10 am so I wanted to get over to hawk watch. Given the strength of the wind I decided I better check out Pt. Mouillee HQ in case the winds are pushing any potential Broad-winged Hawk kettles south of the count site at Lake Erie Metropark.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US
Sep 21, 2026 8:12 AM - 9:55 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.338 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, windy, NE 12-15mph. Western Sandpiper reported yesterday not refound; mudflats washed out.
34 species

Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  14
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  1
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  5
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  26
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  1     South Causeway next to Great Egret. Black bill with yellow lores. Pic
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  36
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  2
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  1
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  5
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  12
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6
Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina)  1
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)  1
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)  1
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea)  4
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S394973748

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

Arriving at the PMSGA HQ I drove to the end of the parking lot near the observation platform and stopped to scan the eastern sky. Winds were blowing in excess of 15 mph and skies were cloudy. But a quick binocular scan through 100's of swarming Tree Swallows revealed a streaming Broad-winged Hawk, followed by 2 more, then dozens more. Sure enough, in the distance I spotted several large kettles of Broad-winged Hawks that quickly began streaming to the west.

With nothing to write down my only discourse was to use Discord to record flocks as they appeared. Counting by 10's I began to report numbers: 340 north of HQ and closer to Cove Point at LEMP, 600, 200, 50, 165, 120, 180, 23, 30, 550,  and 220 more by 10:39 am. I would add another 2000 birds before 11 am for a total of 5335 birds.  A few of the kettles formed overhead and I managed (at ISO 100 and 1/125sec) a few keeper photos of the 4000+ photos I took (grrr).

A couple of Sharp-shinned Hawks were seen, 

as well as a couple American Kestrels.

But the day would belong to the Broad-winged Hawks! I finished the hour's count w/ 5335 Broad-winged Hawks. With a sudden lull in the action I decided to drive over to LEMP and report my numbers to Gracie and the rest of the Detroit River Hawk Watch. They had 13,000 during the hour!

The official count for the day was 32,627 w/ 31,963 consisting of Broad-winged Hawks.

 Across Lake Erie Holiday Beach fared even better with 42,732 BWHA and a Total of 45,126 raptors!

My guess is that multiple flight lines crossing Lake Erie accounted for the lost 10,000 BWHA (including my 5000). Who knows, had I stayed the rest of the day I may have accounted for the remaining 5000.

Good news, though, the winds brought favorable birds today, and tomorrow could see similar results.

Campau Rd. & Pte. Mouillee Headquarters (Wayne County), Wayne, Michigan, US
Sep 21, 2026 10:03 AM - 11:03 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, winds 15 mph from NE prompted big flights of Broad-winged Hawks.
6 species

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  6
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  14
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  2
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)  5335     Large kettles 200 to 850 every few minutes then streaming overhead. Counts by 10’s.
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  600

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S394975783

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