Detroit River Hawkwatch 2012 - Summary

On September 14, we saw very few Broad-wings. On September 15, the birds seemed to know that the HawkFest was in full swing. We saw over 2000 in 2 different locations! It was very exciting and worth the wait! Quite a spectacle. Kenn Kaufmann (a celebrity in the birding world) was there with a group from Ohio and I was introduced to him; he actually sort of birded with our group for awhile. Although I'm not really into the celebrity thing, I have to admit it was rather exciting.

In addition to the Broad-wings I saw a Kingfisher, Green Heron and Northern Harrier during the next few days.

One "slow" day, we drove to Holiday Beach, Canada and visited the Hawkwatch there. It is across Lake Erie, 11 miles as the crow flies. They have a 3 story tower for viewing, which affords wonderful views of the surrounding wetlands and Lake Erie.

Mute Swans in Canada



Viewing Tower At Holiday Beach, Canada

Wetlands at Holiday Beach, Canada

The trip was a lot of fun and a great experience. I enjoyed socializing with the group I was traveling with; we had lots of laughs and I learned a lot from them. The weather was great and the locale beautiful. Can't wait for my next birding vacation! More pics below. Thanks for sharing this with me.

The "Group"

Broad-winged Hawks!

Today I finally saw Broad-winged Hawks migrating! We saw just a few today, but tomorrow's weather conditions are ideal for a major migration. We are all keeping our fingers crossed. We went to a second location this afternoon called Point Mouillee and saw a LOT of shorebirds, and several soaring Bald Eagles, masquerading as Broad-winged Hawks (haha). This location is beautiful and a lot more natural; no boaters or jet skis. Back at the Boat Ramp location I saw over 200 Cormorants skimming along the water. Other new species for the day included Merlin and Red-tails.

I took a walk on the boardwalk to the Nature Center in Lake Erie Metropark and saw Red-winged Blackbirds, Frogs and Deer.

It rained this a.m., so we got a late start, but it still turned out to be a beautiful, mild fall day.

Fellow Hawkwatchers Joanne, Hal and Wes

Lake Erie Metropark Boardwalk

Frog

Deer

Point Mouillee

Detroit Hawkwatch Day 2



Beautiful Sky but no Broad-winged Hawks Today

 Thursday, September 13

Today was a beautiful day and our first day as a complete group - Borrego hawkwatchers together in Michigan. The weather was still not conducive to Broad-winged migration. But we did see: Gull, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's, Cedar Waxwing, Great Blue Heron, Caspian Tern, Egret, Harrier and Peregrine. This was the first recorded migrating Peregrine  for the Hawkwatch this year!(I've learned how to add links, so if you are interested, click on blue type). The Peregrine flew by very close and we got a great look at this beautiful bird. In addition to the birds we also saw several species of Dragonflies and Butterflies. And a very cute Woodchuck!

Rain is predicted for tomorrow and we are hopeful that the wind and weather conditions will encourage our much anticipated Broad-winged Hawks to migrate and fly right overhead!

We ended the day with a great dinner in a Middle Eastern restaurant in Dearborn and also delicious homemade ice cream!

Detroit River Hawkwatch - 2012

View Toward Lake Erie and Canada

Hawkwatch Site

Great Blue Heron

Mallards in a "Conga Line:

Greetings from Michigan! I arrived on September 11. I'm meeting friends here from the Borrego Hawkwatch to spend a week watching Broad-winged Hawks migrate south. It is interesting to be in the Midwest again. It's been many years since my college days in Indiana and I had forgotten how different it is here. Lots of green, water bodies, and brick houses with big lawns. The weather has been pleasant and no bugs! Today I was at the watch site from about 10:30am to 3:30pm. The site is at a boat ramp at the Lake Erie Metropark. It's a beautiful location. Unfortunately we didn't see ANY Broad-winged Hawks today. We did however see the following: Great Blue Heron, Caspian Tern, Mallard, Cormorant, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Swallows, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Canada Goose, Pied-billed Grebe, and  Ring-billed Gull.
I'm having a great time already, hanging out with my friends, meeting new people and enjoying nature!

Borrego Valley Hawkwatch 2012 - Part III

The last few days have been kind of slow as far as Swainson's Hawk numbers go, but last night made up for that. The evening sky was full of hawks; estimates ranged from 300 to 600. It was a spectacular sight. There were also 5 Coyotes near the evening site that put on quite a show greeting and jostling each other while howling. It was quite a wildlife moment.

I've added 2 new birds to my list: Black-throated Gray Warbler and Lark Sparrow. Both birds have beautiful coloring and markings. Some day when I get more savvy I will add links and/or photos of the birds I mention.

Well, 2 more "Hawkwatches" and then I'm headed home tomorrow. Wade follows on Monday. It has been a fabulous trip, can't wait for next year! Thanks for sharing it with me!

Hawkwatch 2012 was a great experience

Borrego Valley Hawkwatch 2012 - Part II



(Very) Happy Campers

The last week has been great, watching hawks morning and night; enjoying time with friends old and new. I saw a "new bird" recently - a Lesser Nighthawk. Look it up, it has very distinctive white wing bars. Yesterday I also saw a Great Egret fly across the valley; an unusual sight in the desert. Counts for the last week (for me, not the Hawkwatch official total) are as follows:

3/21 - 46 SWs and 8 TVs
3/22 - 465 SWs
3/23 - 711 SWs and 42 TVs
3/24 - 270 SWs and 60 TVs
3/25 - 165 SWs 0 TVs
3/26 - 26 SWs and 1 TV
3/27 - 294 SWs and 12 TVs

As you can see the numbers vary greatly from day to day, as do the viewing conditions. Sometimes they fly right overhead and sometimes they are 1-2+ miles away. I am really appreciating my new binoculars. It makes it much easier to see/count and I can also more readily distinguish hawks from vultures.

In addition to the hawks, I have also seen an assortment of other birds, including Quail, Verdin, Cactus Wren, Kingbird and Kestrel. There is also a pack of 4 Coyotes that we see and hear almost daily at the evening sight. They come fairly close to us and are so beautiful.

I've been lucky enough to do some hawk "chasing" with some of the leaders, going where the hawks are and learning a lot about their behavior and migration. This has provided me with several "up close" views of the hawks. They are so majestic and interesting to watch. I'm hopelessly addicted to this experience!

View from evening site

A beautiful desert sunset and a kettle of Swainson's
(ok, black specks high in the sky)

Borrego Valley Hawkwatch 2012 - Part I

Swainson's Hawk
 (photo taken through scope)

We've been camping at Palm Canyon Resort since Saturday. We "survived" the huge storm that passed through over the weekend. Lots of rain and wind, plus COLD temperatures. The storm left a lot of snow on the surrounding mountains and made for beautiful vistas.

Despite the weather, I've been out at the Hawkwatch, morning and evening. It's so great to be here. Also my long-time friend Jane is visiting us from Alaska and has joined us out here in Borrego. Yesterday her sister Janice also joined us. We have all been friends since Jr. High so it is very special to be together again and share this experience.

I will list Swainson's totals below, but want to specifically talk about Monday morning. It was Jane's first day here and we headed out to the morning site. Along the way we saw a group of parked cars so we stopped to see what was going on. There were 200+ Swainson's in the trees very near the road. In the bare branches they were very easy to observe. Over the next couple of hours we saw nearly 300 SWs. Overall the count for the day was over 550! The birds rose up and kettled right overhead and we were treated to spectacular views of the hawks. Jane and I were overwhelmed; it was amazing. I had to give Jane a hard time about her beginner's luck and explained how I had paid my dues over the last 5 years!

Below are the birds I've seen, not overall totals. If you are interested there is now a blog at borregohawkwatch.blogspot.com that lists all the totals and gives lots of detailed information about the Swainson's and the Hawkwatch.

3/16 - 4 SWs, 12 TVs, Anna's, White Crown Sparrow, Ravens, Flicker and Kestrel
3/17 - 0 SWs, Kingbird, Kestrel, Raven
3/18 - 250 SWs, Red Tail Hawk, Raven
3/19 - 300 SWs, 35 TVs.
3/20 - 115 SWs, Kestrel, Raven, Wilson's Warbler, Cactus Wren, White Crown Sparrow, Anna's and
Costa's, Say's Phoebe
3/21 - In campground, saw a YELLOW house finch. A first for me. Evidently it is a dietary issue that causes the birds to be yellow.

Stormy weather

Beautiful Mountains

Snow the day after the storm.

 

Swainson's in trees!