Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 163 163 Osprey 0 5 5 Bald Eagle 1 17 17 Northern Harrier 0 66 66 Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 500 500 Cooper's Hawk 0 8 8 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 325 325 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 30 30 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 27 126 126 Merlin 3 6 6 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 5 5 Total: 44 1253 1253 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Don Sherwood Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Dustin Brewer Visitors: Thanks to Paul and Jim for stopping by! Weather: Today was mostly cloudy with some very brief showers. Even when sunny at the count site, it was often cloudy and/or rainy to the west over Canada, which may have deterred many birds from migrating. Flying without thermals (which are uprising air columns caused by solar energy) and being wet make for less than ideal traveling conditions. Raptor Observations: Falcons (birds in the taxonomic genus Falco) were most common today. Specifically, the erratically-flapping American Kestrels were moving in greater numbers, with the solitary and fast Merlins moving through in smaller numbers. 'Sharpies' (Sharp-shinned Hawks) were also relatively common today. These bird species were probably better-suited to fly in today's weather conditions than Broad-winged Hawks, which depend more on soaring. Non-raptor Observations: Don spotted at least four Ruby-throated Hummingbirds today, likely headed southwards to ultimately cross the Gulf of Mexico, where they will overwinter in Central America. These ~4 gram birds can travel up to 600 miles without re-fueling, according to one study, after packing on fat before migration. Talk about fuel efficient! We also saw a group of five American Wigeons migrating through the area. Predictions: Tomorrow is predicted to be clear and sunny, so hopefully the birds that did not fly today will move through tomorrow! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Detroit River Hawk Watch ([email protected]) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.drhawkwatch.org _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
