Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch
March 1 @ 10:00 am – May 31 @ 2:00 pm
Learn About Raptors and See Them Counted as They Cross the Straits
Bring your folding chair and powerful binoculars to Mackinaw City to see raptors migrating back to their breeding grounds north of the Straits. These birds of prey, meat-eating raptors that cross the Straits, include hawks, eagles, owls, and vultures, which are counted by professionals as they migrate north. The migration generally takes place from early March to early June.
The Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch conducts research in the Straits to support raptor conservation and to inform and inspire people about these majestic creatures. The group includes scientists, birders, conservationists, all who care about the Mackinac Straits, and all MSRW (Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch) supporters.
Scott Davis, the Executive director of MSRW, explains that migrating raptors coming through Michigan to reach northern breeding grounds often fly along the east or west side of the mitten. They reach a choke point at the Straits, as these birds like to see land on the other side of a body of water. Their crossing is weather-dependent. In the spring the water and air in the Straits are colder than that on land, and as birds head north, they tend to sink as they come across the Straits. So, they wait for sunny weather to create rising thermals over the land, and then ride those thermals across the Straits. At that time, they rise and mass together in a group, called a “kettle,” and stream across. The groups can be from 20 birds to hundreds at a time.
“It’s a natural phenomenon that gives you goosebumps,” Davis says. “When you see this–it’s a repeat of what has happened for thousands of years.” Fall is much different, he says, as the water is warmer than the air, and radiates heat upward. Raptors cross individually throughout the day to migrate south.
MSRW has hired a professional bird counter to collect data that is fed into a national data base. The birds are identified by species and number.
The counter is unable to engage with the public or give information while he is working. A Raptor Naturalist, Sarah Reding, has been hired to help people identify birds and answer questions. She will be available at count sites during nice weekends starting at the end of March through May.
There are two count sites, both off Central Avenue in Mackinaw City.
The site that is used most often early in the spring is behind the Mackinaw City Recreation Complex, near the Baseball Field, off Central Avenue at the corner of S. Askins and Pond Street. The secondary site is a gravel pit/field about 1 mile west of the Recreation Complex on the south side of Central Ave. Look for a Hawk Watch sign near the location to turn off West Central Ave. (There are also counts going on at Mackinac Island, supported by the Mackinac Island Community Foundation.)
Specialty Weekends are coming up! Celebrate the first species to migrate north.
Golden Eagle Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, March 15, 16. Scott Davis says the optimum watch time is 10:00 – 2:00. Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch holds the nationwide record for the largest seasonal count of Golden Eagles seen east of the Mississippi, as they migrated through the Straits of Mackinac (381 in 2024)
Red-Tailed Hawk Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 12, 13, 10:00 – 2:00. In 2019 MSRW set the nationwide record for the largest seasonal count of Red-tailed Hawks at 22,420 migrating through the Straits.
Broad-winged Bonanza Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 26, 27, 10:00 – 2:00. See the kettles form and learn more from Sarah Reding, the Raptor Naturalist.
Mackinaw Straits Raptor Watch is a program endorsed by Earth Week Plus. All programs are appropriate for all ages, free, and open to the public. To learn more about MSRW, visit mackinacraptorwatch.org.