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Rouge River Bird Observatory |
Jan 2005:30 Jan: The Northern Mockingbird was back at the sumac tree next to the boathouse at the Estate today. The wintering male Bufflehead in the vicinity of the Ford Rouge plant was still present (this bird is the second wintering record), along with a Ruddy Duck (occasional winter visitor).
29 Jan: A male Northern Harrier was cruising the south sunflower field off of Hubbard today. We have only one other winter record of harrier in Dearborn.
21 Jan: Our regular Northern Mockingbird was seen today in a sumac tree next to the boathouse at the Estate. It was seen last year at this location, although it spends most of its time in the brush dump.
20 Jan: The Northern Shrike was seen at the west end of the field on the south side of Hubbard ("A" on map link above) at around noon today.
15 Jan: The field on the south side of Hubbard ("A" on map link above) had three White-crowned Sparrows along with around a small group of White-throated Sparrows, a hundred Dark-eyed Juncos, and 40 American Tree Sparrows, and many House Sparrows, House Finches, etc. The field on the north side of Hubbard ("E") had about 200 Red-winged Blackbirds, only about a half dozen females, and one Brown-headed Cowbird. House Finches were in the hundreds. A single Bufflehead was at the Ford Rouge Plant.
10 Jan: There have been no further sightings of the Gyrfalcon, despite many people looking over the weekend. It appears to have moved on, as there are very few ducks in the immediate area.
9 Jan: A Merlin was reported at the Gyrfalcon site; a Merlin spent about two weeks at the sunflower field along Michigan Avenue (less than a half-mile south of the Gyrfalcon location) last January. In the fields south of Hubbard, a Northern Shrike was observed in the tree line.
7 Jan: A search of the channelized portion of the Rouge River channel did turn up a light morph Rough-legged Hawk near where the river goes under the Southfield service drive.
6 Jan: Another probable sighting of the Gyrfalcon at about 5 PM today, near the woodlot near Parklane Towers. I have had several other reports and even a photograph, including a couple from prior to New Year's Day, that were of raptors other than the Gyrfalcon. There are a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, and an American Kestrel at the site that have all been mistaken for the falcon. Use caution.
As I will not be able to post to the web site over the weekend, check the archives of two listservs: the Birders@umich list, or the Mich-listers list for updates.
4 Jan: The Gyrfalcon was found about 5 PM today, the only sighting reported despite being searched for by a number of people. It flew into the tree line of the sunflower field south of Hubbard Drive, approaching from the south. It is most likely hunting and spending more time along the Rouge River. Currently, the entire river is open. With prolonged cold, most of it may freeze except for the portion at and downstream from the Ford Rouge Plant, at which time this area will concentrate the ducks.
Full results of the Dearborn portion of the Detroit River CBC have now been posted. Forty-six species were tallied, which is exactly average for this count, plus four species found during count week. Three species were new: the famous Gyrfalcon, Bufflehead, and Peregrine Falcon (count week). The total number of individuals (6133) was high, and high counts were set for a dozen species. The high count (20) for Hairy Woodpecker may be tied to the many dying ash trees on campus, where most were counted. Most of the species with increased numbers -- European Starling, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and House Sparrow -- were observed at the only one of five Ford sunflower fields that had flowers that set seed, the one on the north side of Hubbard Drive near where the Gyrfalcon was found.
Crows, jays, chickadees, and titmice are still experiencing depressed numbers. The corvids are probably due to West Nile virus, but the reasons for low numbers of the parids are undetermined.
The most mysterious find was 17 lemons in an area near the Lower Rouge where there are no trails.
3 Jan: The Gyrfalcon was seen again around 9 AM, from 11-noon, and 1-3 PM. It was seen at one point in the line of trees to the south Hubbard, between the sunflower fields and Ford parking lots. There have been mallards in this field that are attractive prey to the falcon. I've received two reports that this bird may have been present since around Christmas.
Now that folks are back to work at this office complex, PLEASE do not block parked cars or traffic, park only in designated areas, and do not trespass in the fields or woodlot near the medical building.
2 Jan: The Gyrfalcon was seen by many birders at the same location today. I have posted a page with a photo and information on the original sighting.
Although pale in comparision, other highlights of the Dearborn portion of the bird count included a single Yellow-rumped Warbler, two Winter Wrens, six Brown Creepers and high counts for Hairy Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird (the last two species mostly at the sunflower fields near the Gyrfalcon), House Finch, American Goldfinch, and, regretably, House Sparrow. There were 46 species total, and final results will be posted within several days on the Dearborn CBC web page.
1 Jan: The Detroit River Christmas Count was held today, and the biggest hit was Dearborn's first Gyrfalcon, a dark immature bird found at the Parklane Towers office complex on the north side of Hubbard Drive between the Southfield Freeway service drive and Mercury Drive. From 11:30 AM until dusk, the bird was in trees, on light posts, or perched on one of the Parklane Towers or the large blue-and-gray striped Ford building to the north of the towers. If you look at the map of the Ford sunflower fields, the location is just to the north of the large "A" on the map. There is also a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds foraging in the sunflower fields on both sides of Hubbard Drive.
More details on the count results for Dearborn, as well as photos of the Gyrfalcon, will be posted Sunday or Monday.