1-4 January 2005

The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) is the world's largest falcon, nearly the size of a Red-tailed Hawk.  This Arctic-nesting bird is rarely seen in the United States.  When populations of ptarmigan, chicken-like tundra birds that are a main prey item of Gyrfalcons, fall below certain levels, some Gyrfalcons move into southern Canada and the United States in the winter.  When one is found, many birders will rush to see it.

In Michigan, the most reliable place to see a Gyrfalcon is at Sault Ste. Marie (click here for a more thorough report on the occurrence of this species in the state).  They are very rare in the Lower Peninsula.  In southeast Michigan, the hawk watch run by Southeastern Michigan Raptor Research (SMRR) has three records for Wayne Co.: Nov 9, 1995 at Lake Erie Metropark (not Oct 9, as has been published elsewhere); Nov 9, 1997 at Point Mouille headquarters (perhaps another bird at Lake Erie Metropark); and Nov 19, 1999 at Lake Erie Metropark. 

Thus it was sensational when Kim Hall, Julie Craves, and Darrin O'Brien located a subadult (first year) Gyrfalcon at a Dearborn office complex while participating in the annual Detroit River Christmas Bird Count.  Craves of the Rouge River Bird Observatory (RRBO) coordinates the Dearborn portion of the count.

Initially, the bird puzzled the observers, despite their experience: Hall is an MSU ornithologist, Craves the supervisor of RRBO, and O'Brien is on the SMRR board of directors.  The most likely identification was of an immature Peregrine, which would not be too unusual in the region.  Clearly, however, this bird was very heavily marked, the facial and underwing patterns were not right for Peregrine, and it was really big.  While Craves brought up the possibility of Gyrfalcon early on, the idea was so outrageous that it took them an hour of watching the bird move from a small woodlot to various trees, light posts, and buildings in the Parklane Towers office complex to convince themselves they were actually looking at a Gyrfalcon. 

They quickly got the word out via cell phone and the Internet, and by the end of the afternoon over 20 birders had ignored their hangovers, abandoned the Rose Bowl, or otherwise dropped their New Year's Day plans to see this rare visitor. Gyrfalcons come in three color types, or morphs: white, gray, or dark.  This bird is a dark morph. In the Arctic, Gyrfalcons feed on large birds and small mammals.  Here, this bird will likely feed on rabbits, squirrels, pigeons, and ducks.

See the article on the Wildlife Habitat Council web site.

The bird was still being seen the next day.  You can keep up-to-date on the bird's whereabouts by visiting the RRBO latest sightings page.  A map of the location is also available (the complex is just north of the large "A" on the map).  Some photos of the area are below.

Like many other Arctic birds, this Gyrfalcon is not very afraid of humans.  With little patience, you can get great looks at it without approaching it closely.  Please respect this bird!  Please also respect the hundreds of people who work in these buildings by not blocking traffic or parked cars, and parking in designated areas only.  Do not trespass in the woodlot behind the medical building.

According to The Birds of Michigan, 40% of the state's records are from Sault Ste. Marie, 20% from Whitefish Point in the U.P., and 10% from the Muskegon area. I have located only 8 records from southeast Michigan: 

Thus, the Dearborn bird represents the fifth or sixth record from Wayne County, and the first reliable record away from Lake Erie in southeastern Michigan.