Lake Erie Metropark's Hawkfest

This is must see fall action. The raptors migrate south and Lake Erie funnels them west, right over LEMP. Hopefully the timing is right so many kettles will be seen drifting south on the drafts of warm air, drafts aren't found on the lake as much so the birds stick to the warmer land. All that's needed is a pass to the park, binoculars, food for a picnic and the need for having a fun time.

See hawks in the sky and meet a few at Lake Erie Metropark’s “24th Annual Hawkfest,” a two-day celebration of the annual fall migration of birds of prey - hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures - on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, from 10 am to 5 pm each day at the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center of Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown.

Programs include talks on birds of prey, including an osprey update, raptor rehabilitation and the Oak Openings Raptor Project. Members of the Michigan Hawking Club will bring hawks and discuss falconry. Live birds of prey will be brought out during special programs by Joe Rogers on Saturday at 10 am and 3 pm, and the Howell Nature Center on Sunday at 11 am and 3 pm. Also, on Sunday, Reg Pettibone’s Native American Hawk Dancers will perform traditional “eagle dances” at 4 pm. Kids can play educational games and make crafts.

Each September, tens of thousands of broad-winged hawks pass over the park, which is designated as an Important Bird Area and one of the premier hawk watching sites in North America. All together, about 16 or 17 different species of migrating birds of prey fly overhead during the fall migration season. Hawk watchers will be counting migrating raptors, and their spotting scopes can be used to take a peek at birds in the sky. Typically, 200,000 birds of prey migrate over Lake Erie Metropark from September through November on their southward journey.

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