Swainson's Hawk on September Field Trip!

Eight and a half of us birded two Ottawa County locations this morning.  

At the Grand Haven north pier we found eleven bird species including Palm Warbler, Sanderling and Semipalmated Plover.

At Ottawa Sands County Park we found 33 34 species including a Red-tailed Hawk, five American Kestrels that may have been migrating, Sandhill Crane, Great Egret, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, several Eastern Bluebirds, Swainson's Thrush, and six Warbler species (Nashville, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Palm, Black-throated Green and American Redstart) and a Swainson's Hawk!

September 29 Update: Yes, the first hawk below is a Swainson's Hawk, not a Red-tailed Hawk as previously thought.  We noticed both hawks flying near each other over the lake at the park.  They separated with the Swainson's flying over the Grand River and continuing south while the redtail soared higher and drifted northward.  Since the day after our field trip I've been away from home without access to my computer and unable to correct the error until now.  Thanks to Chip Francke, Phil Chu, Adam Byre, Ken Sapkowski and others for making the correct identification!  Thanks to Charlie DeWitt for taking such a beautiful picture!

All photos by Charlie DeWitt