Photo of the Week: Detroit River Hawk Watch

Blue and black horizontal banner with brown and white Sharp-shinned hawk with outstretched wings flying in a blue sky hangs on two poles. In the background is the boat channel to Lake Erie with trees on the shoreline.

Each fall, starting in early September I make almost weekly treks to Lake Erie Metropark on the western shore of Lake Erie to view one of the most impressive fall hawk migrations in North America.

This year marks the 43rd year of the Detroit River Hawk Watch (DRHW), where thousands of raptors can be seen streaming over the Lake Erie Metropark boat launch during fall migration.

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Free Birding Webinar: What’s New in Avian Taxonomy (2025)

Cornell Lab Birds of the World: What's New in Avian Taxonomy 2025 with a collage of colorful birds overlaid on a worldwide map.

With the restructured bird taxonomy released in October 2025, birders around the world have seen bird species changes on eBird, Merlin, and Birds of the World.

For example, all my Yellow Warbler observations have been changed to Northern Yellow Warbler. And my Warbling Vireo observations have changed to Eastern Warbling Vireo.

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Photo of the Week: Juvenile Red-Winged Blackbird

A streaky dark brown bird with pale eyebrow and orange/buff spot on the shoulder perches on the gray-weathered wood of the boardwalk, muted cattail reeds and a blurry male Red-winged Blackbird with bright red epaulet on its shoulder in the background.

When it comes to birding and bird identification, I seem to learn something new every day. It’s one of the things I enjoy most about birding, and it keeps me humble.

I saw this beautiful bird at Kensington Metropark, perched on the boardwalk railing as I was searching for the elusive Virgina Rail in the mass of cattails.

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