SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 20, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 34 185 185 Osprey 11 120 120 Bald Eagle 7 70 70 Northern Harrier 9 313 313 Sharp-shinned Hawk 142 2445 2445 Cooper's Hawk 6 71 71 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 3 3 Broad-winged Hawk 6326 24870 24870 Red-tailed Hawk 15 88 88 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 33 1055 1055 Merlin 0 17 17 Peregrine Falcon 1 13 13 Unknown Swainson's Hawk 0 2 2 Total: 6585 29252 29252 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:15:00 Observation end time: 16:45:00 Total observation time: 9.5 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Darlene Friedman, Jeff Loughman, Jeff Schultz, Paul Cypher Visitors: 35-40 people including Bruce Glick et al. from Holmes County, Ohio Weather: Today saw a mix of sunny and cloudy conditions that persisted throughout the day. Winds were moderate west-northwest early, becoming fairly strong to strong as the day progressed. Raptor Observations: The flight today was moderate and steady for much of the day but certainly not as large as I believe many of us were anticipating. As is typical on west dominated winds, birds were scattered over a wide area, with no strong flight line ever developing. This fact could also be contributed to the instability of thermals given the considerable wind today. Many of the Broad-wing kettles were relatively modest in nature and it wasnt until mid afternoon when large groups were recorded, the largest of which were perhaps 4-500 birds. Non-raptor Observations: At one point today in one of the larger kettles, a visiting birder from Ohio spotted a dark ibis circling amidst the Broad-wing group. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Calvin Brennan ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.smrr.net/
