Northern Harrier - 07 Nov 2026

I drove down to Lake Erie Metropark this morning to look for shorebirds. A Hudsonian Godwit was seen yesterday by Scott Jennex and I was curious if it was still around. It wasn't. In fact, 3 Killdeer were the total shorebird count from visits to the Marina, the Service Road Bridge, and marsh west of the road to Cove Point. It didn't help that NW winds pushed all of the water out of the marshes and left only puddles.

It was cloudy, cool (40ºF) and breezy (NW 13 mph) this morning with a hint of drizzle in the air. I arrived at 8:30 am and was done by 9:25 am due to lack of activity. It was only after I got into the car and started leaving the parking lot at the Wave Pool that I saw a Cooper's Hawk and Northern Harrier circling over the marsh just west of the parking lot and bike path. 

With the car still running I jumped out with the camera and spent a couple minutes photographing the juvenile/immature Northern Harrier as it circled closer and closer overhead. Dark clouds were not my friend, but luckily the camera was overexposing from my last trip to the Detroit River Hawk Watch.

After circling several times it drifted to the west.

I'd leave the park, but not before seeing a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos and my first American Tree Sparrows of the season foraging next to the road. 

Lake Erie Metropark, Wayne, Michigan, US
Nov 7, 2026 8:28 AM - 9:11 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.849 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, 40F, winds 13 mph from NW. water in marsh gone from W winds.
13 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  60
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  80
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  3
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  1
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  160
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)  12
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  18
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S408626186

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