Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2019
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 10580 18762 19253
Osprey 0 2 32
Bald Eagle 0 1 52
Northern Harrier 9 27 201
Sharp-shinned Hawk 37 506 2584
Cooper's Hawk 12 18 29
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 3 3
Broad-winged Hawk 208 530 64328
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 38 53 168
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 8 62 635
Merlin 1 2 18
Peregrine Falcon 2 8 23
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 1
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 10898 19974 87327
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainan, Patrick Mulawa,
Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
We had visitors today and, as usual, timing was everything. The late
afternoon flight was light except for turkey vultures and they were on a
different flight line in the afternoon that was not as visible and
entertaining as the morning flight.
Weather:
The wind was still fresh from yesterday and lingered in a northern/eastern
quarter which helped the morning flight. Barometer was slower to fall than
predicted although it dropped a tenth and a half by the end of day, seeming
to accelerate later on. The cold wind in our face most of the day brought
thoughts of stews and dumplings; the comfort food cravings of late fall
beginning in earnest as we clad ourselves in more layers than had been
previously required.
Raptor Observations:
The turkey vultures got an early start on the day during he first hour and
never stopped coming. We racked up over 10,500 for the day. Our other
species seem to slow around the middle of the day as the wind went more
easterly and the barometer dropped. A lot of them seemed to be crossing
over the lake which made picking them up difficult. Gull flack was
considerable as they are feasting on probable dragonflies high in the sky.
We did manage over 200 broad-wings, 37 sharp-shins, red-tails came in at
38, kestrels numbered 8, harriers almost made double digits with 9. 2
peregrines were spotted and 1 merlin was called. Cooper's Hawks are
increasing in number with 12. Our first red-shouldered hawks were seen
today but only 3 made the list.
Non-raptor Observations:
Blue jays were on the move early but like most species except the TV's they
took the afternoon off. 2700 were counted. We had two flyovers by a vintage
B-25 aircraft today. The occasional monarch butterfly was noted.
Predictions:
Speaking of timing, the timing of the rain and it's clearing will determine
tomorrow's flight. The barometer should be on the rise and winds should be
from the west. Hopefully, the migration will continue. We had a long wait
the last time the rain passed through and it did not clear till the end of
the day. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
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Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan ([email protected])
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
More site information at hawkcount.org:
http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at:
https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2019
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