DRHW- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 15, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 91 14390 14907 Osprey 4 11 80 Bald Eagle 1 56 153 Northern Harrier 0 75 177 Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 1475 3886 Cooper's Hawk 3 337 436 Northern Goshawk 1 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 23 25 Broad-winged Hawk 0 641 195857 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 5 Red-tailed Hawk 1 249 327 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 5 5 American Kestrel 1 193 597 Merlin 4 4 15 Peregrine Falcon 1 3 16 Unknown Accipiter 0 16 30 Unknown Buteo 0 10 10 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 7 11 Total: 118 17498 216542 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Jonathan Stein Observers: Don Sherwood, Frank Kitakis, Rodney Laura Visitors: Down from Lansing, Loren Snyder spent most of the day by the picnic tables. Also dropping by were Jerry Sniderman, Mike Mencotti, Herb Riedner and Will Weber. Weather: The clouds were many and the winds strong on this day. An early morning shower led to a late start but after that there was no more wet stuff to worry about. Cloud cover was close to 100 percent for much of the day. The gusting wind was mostly out of the west, shifting more northwest late. Raptor Observations: Not much quantity but a whole lot of quality today. First things first: one northern goshawk, our first of the season. The goshawk, a juvenile, powered past quickly during the 1 o'clock hour, handling the strong winds with relative ease. Not a great look but there will be plenty more moving through in due time. Besides the goshawk, osprey were up and active as were merlins, three of whom came in quite close. Late in the day, a juvenile peregrine falcon decided to terrorize the channel, diving repeatedly at one unlucky forster's tern then moving onto an annoyed sharp-shinned hawk and finally finishing up with a few lunges at an osprey before flying off and away. Non-raptor Observations: Tree swallows, by the thousands, swarmed the sky during the midday hours. Mixed in with them were two northern rough-winged swallows and four chimney swifts. A juvenile black-crowned night heron flew by during the 9 o'clock hour. A lone brown-headed cowbird flew overhead during the last hour. Predictions: Moderate southwest winds and partly cloudy skies with a 50 percent chance of rain. If the rain stays away, it could be a very good 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/
