SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 313 738 738 Osprey 12 162 162 Bald Eagle 32 84 84 Northern Harrier 43 188 188 Sharp-shinned Hawk 391 2102 2102 Cooper's Hawk 30 79 79 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 13 13 13 Broad-winged Hawk 130126 142777 142777 Red-tailed Hawk 69 125 125 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 76 374 374 Merlin 3 27 27 Peregrine Falcon 6 9 9 Unknown 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 1 2 2 Total: 131115 146680 146680 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 17:30:00 Total observation time: 10.5 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Jeff Schultz, John Elliot, Tim Smart Weather: Today brought remarkably clear conditions for the first day of the annual hawk festival weekend with bright sunshine and cloudless skies. Winds during the day were generally moderate northeast. Observations: Birds began to move early, always a good omen of a large flight, with the first kettles of Broad-wings rising out of the trees in the second hour of the count. The watch was split between the two count areas initially but with the wind from the north, all counters moved to Point Mouillee by late morning. Some 250 people who had come for the hawkfest celebration were awed by the mammoth movement of Broad-wings that went on throughout the day and into the early evening. Many of the groups were right overhead in their swirling masses, a spectacle that will live on in many a mind for a long time Im sure. Some additional counting was done at the boat launch in the early evening to round out the numbers for the day. Other highlights included a new single day record for Bald Eagles with 32 tallied for the day, a dark morph juvenile Swainsons Hawk seen early in the count and the first Red-shouldered Hawks seen so far this season. A fly-over Dickcissel was seen at the boat launch early in the morning. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Calvin Brennan ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.smrr.net/
