Hawkfest 2014
See hawks in the sky and meet a few at Lake Erie Metropark’s “25th 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 20 and 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Members of the Michigan Hawking Club will bring hawks and discuss
falconry.. Kids can play educational games and make crafts.
The “HawkFeast” breakfast will be held from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. Sunday at a cost of $5 per person. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.
“Children and adults typically only see these majestic birds from
afar,” says Gerry Wykes, curator and supervising interpreter at the
Museum. “This event brings a rare opportunity to see everything from a
tiny saw-whet owl to a turkey vulture.”
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.
The event will be held at the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center
of Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township. Registration is not
required. A Metroparks vehicle entry permit is required to enter Lake
Erie Metropark which is only $30 annually for regular admission, $20 annually for seniors, or $7 daily. For more information, contact the
museum at 1-800-477-3189 or locally (734) 379-5020.
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