Golden Afternoon at Hawk Watch - 26 Oct 2026

Winds were expected to be out of the NW at 5-8 mph today with a rising barometer, so there was hope that some Golden Eagles might show at the Detroit River Hawk Watch at Lake Erie Metropark. They did.

Between the hour of noon and 1 pm NINE Golden Eagles were counted. I arrived at 1 pm just as #9 appeared but was unable to get the scope on it (guess who forgot his binoculars). But I would get credit for spotting Golden Eagle #10, and we'd see another 4 before the end of the day. 

Most of the Golden Eagles were spotted at scope distance, but the last 5 of the day came close enough to photograph.

Turkey Vultures were kettling and streaming to the north. Red-tailed Hawks were scattered among them and put our scoping skills to the test. We'd not see any Red-shouldered Hawks until Rosemary Brady showed up, and then they started to appear. 

A couple of Red-tailed Hawks.

Our best Golden Eagle appeared over the channel and circled a couple of times. 

Below are hourly totals from 1 - 4 pm while I was at the hawk watch. Day's Total and eBird list follows.

Shout-out to Gracie, Rebekkah, Don, Rosemary and especially Bill Peregord, who let borrow binoculars after I'd forgotten mine...

Lake Erie Metropark--Detroit River Hawk Watch, Wayne, Michigan, US
Oct 26, 2026 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Detroit River Hawk Watch. Gracie Sangmeister, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Rebekkah Graham counters; Clear, mild, 68F, winds WNW-NE 5-12 mph
13 species

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  680
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  5     Swimming on Lake Erie south of hawk watch site at Lake Erie Metropark boat launch. Among hundreds of DC Cormorants.
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  966     Official DRHW totals during 1pm - 4pm (133+279+554). Large kettles over Canada and Celeron Island drifted north then streamed across channel north of boat launch.
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)  5     GOEA numbers 10 - 14 (1 - 9 were seen during 12 - 1 pm hour). Adults to sub-adults. Pics.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  2
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  4
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)  11
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  65     Official DRHW counts during 1 - 2 pm (31) + 2 - 3pm (16) + 3 - 4 pm (18). Most adults with scattered juveniles. Pics.
Merlin (Falco columbarius)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  45
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  365
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S405712570
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)