DRHW- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1360 11232 11749 Osprey 0 5 74 Bald Eagle 5 40 137 Northern Harrier 17 48 150 Sharp-shinned Hawk 251 1074 3485 Cooper's Hawk 45 177 276 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 6 8 Broad-winged Hawk 27 616 195832 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 5 Red-tailed Hawk 42 181 259 Rough-legged Hawk 1 1 1 Golden Eagle 1 1 1 American Kestrel 21 176 580 Merlin 0 0 11 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 14 Unknown Accipiter 1 6 20 Unknown Buteo 1 7 7 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 6 Total: 1774 13573 212617 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jonathan Stein Observers: Jim Lynch, John Elliott, Patrick Mulawa, Rodney Laura Visitors: Another good group of spotters today with Andrew Sturgess and Jim Maki helping out greatly in addition to our regular observers. Also on hand were Craig Roberts, Calvin Pietila and Margart Van Buren. Thanks to Denise Ward and Frank Kitakis for helping out with outreach. Weather: Another bright and clear day at the park, though a tad bit cooler than yesterday. The wind was out of the northwest for the first couple hours before shifting south for the rest of the day. Raptor Observations: Two early October showstoppers today: the season's first golden eagle and rough-legged hawk. The golden eagle, a subadult that came plodding into view around 1130 am, gave us all a lasting, memorable look, circling high up over the flag pole for a good five minutes before moving on out. The rough-legged hawk, a dark morph that showed up right as we were packing up at the end of the day, hit the trees to our right and was picked up again behind us for a nice look before it disappeared from view. An early October day with either of these species is a grand occurrence but having both on the same day was something special. The day also featured lots more turkey vulture movement, a solid sharpie showing, two more red-shouldered hawks and a new northern harrier season-high daily total. Non-raptor Observations: Not too much besides a big flock of yellow-rumped warblers that was hanging around in the trees near the watch site for a lot of the day. A red-breasted nuthatch was again heard. Killdeers were loud and noticeable. Predictions: It's going to be sunny and clear again. Winds will be out of the east and southeast. Not ideal but neither were the south winds today and we still wound up with a great day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jonathan Stein ([email protected]) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.drhawkwatch.org Site Description: The primary site used by the Detroit River Hawk Watch (a joint venture of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and it's Friends group, the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance) is the Boat Launch at Lake Erie Metropark located approximately 20 miles south of Detroit, Michigan. A secondary site, the Headquarters of Pointe Mouillee State Game Area is used during certain wind conditions. When staffing is available, both sites can be used at the same time. The season begins on the first day of September and concludes on the final day of November. For details and directions, log on to www.drhawkwatch.org Directions to site: Lake Erie Metropark: >From I-75, exit at Huron River Drive (exit 27). Continue east on Huron River Drive. Turn left on West Jefferson and proceed a few hundred yards to the entrance of Lake Erie Metropark. After paying the entrance fee, follow the signs to the Boat Launch. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
