Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch

10/05/2026

We’ve spotted 57 Merlins passing through the region so far this fall.

Slightly larger than the American Kestrel, these small falcons typically fly at 30 mph.

📸 Jack Kew

09/25/2026

Our owl banding program kicked off last week, so we wanted to share the first owl of the Fall 2026 season — a male hatch year Northern Saw-whet owl.

So far all of our birds but one have been aged as hatch years this season, meaning they started out as eggs this spring.

Learn more about our owl banding work by reading our blog at https://www.mackinacraptorwatch.org/fall-owl-banding-week-1-september-15-september-20/

09/15/2026

We counted 464 Monarch butterflies at Point La Barbe last week. 🦋

The tiny, lightweight tags we placed on some of the butterflies will help us and other researchers learn more about their migration patterns so we can better protect them and their habitat.

09/06/2026

Some of our favorite people stopped in yesterday for a visit!

We will be back at it today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 💪

09/04/2026

Heading north for Labor Day weekend? Remember that our count sites are located just minutes from the Mackinac Bridge!

Some count highlights from this past week include:

🪶 62 Bald Eagles
🪶 6 Northern Harriers
🪶 906 Double-crested Cormorants
🪶 7 Spotted Sandpipers
🪶 1,983 Monarch butterflies

Find more information about our count sites at
https://www.mackinacraptorwatch.org/visit/count-sites/

08/27/2026

Meet Jack Kew, our waterbird counter!

Originally from England, he moved to Michigan at a young age before graduating from Michigan State University in 2020. In addition to helping us with waterbird counts, Jack has conducted songbird surveys at the Greenwood Foundation and worked with the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team to monitor and band endangered Piping Plovers.

Jack’s first blog entry for the season is up! You can read it at https://www.mackinacraptorwatch.org/waterbirds-week-1august-20-august-26/

08/26/2026

For many birders, identifying juvenile raptors can be a challenge — can you identify these four species?

08/25/2026

Nine years ago, we were interviewed about the work we do in the Straits and why it matters.

Nine years later, that mission is just as important. 🦅🦉🪶

The Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch (MSRW) is a volunteer-based, nonp...

08/24/2026

Meet John McKay, MSRW’s Fall Lead Owl Ba**er! 🦉🍂

Originally from the Adirondacks, John has spent the past several years working with species ranging from Short-eared and Spotted Owls to Golden-winged Warblers and Marbled Murrelets.

Last year, our final fall total of 340 Northern Saw-whet owls consisted of 221 females (65%), 59 males (17.4%), and 60 categorized as unknown (17.6%).

Read more about last year’s fall season at 👉https://www.mackinacraptorwatch.org/fall-owl-banding-week-8-11-3-11-6/

08/21/2026

Eagles usually lay two to three eggs per clutch, and only one or two survive to fledgling age. Laying more than three eggs is extremely rare — so rare, in fact, that only 12 nests with four eggs have ever been recorded in North America. Out of those 12 nests, only four were confirmed to have produced all four fledglings. That is, until now.

Michigan’s first-ever instance of four bald eagles fledgling from a single nest was just found in Ottawa County. This is the fifth time this has ever been reported in North America.

Learn more about the rare nest at 👉 https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-60/issue-4/jrr2594/Rare-Nest-of-Four-Bald-Eagle-Fledglings-in-Ottawa-County/10.3356/jrr2594.full?tab=ArticleLink