Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 538 2173 2173
Osprey 0 51 51
Bald Eagle 5 72 72
Northern Harrier 21 355 355
Sharp-shinned Hawk 157 3757 3757
Cooper's Hawk 3 11 11
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 73 107584 107584
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 13 86 86
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 68 985 985
Merlin 2 31 31
Peregrine Falcon 1 20 20
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 1 1
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 881 115127 115127
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood,
Michelle Peregord
Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site and are very willing to share migration
information, photography and ID tips with them. We have cards and
pamphlets, so come and talk to us. However, during times of high traffic,
requiring extra focus and concentration, we would respectfully ask that
everyone use their indoor voices and allow us to fulfill our mission to the
best of our abilities. Thank you.
Weather:
Well, the weather curse on us has apparently lifted enough to give us hope
for the future. I fear for the Philadelphia Phillies however, as a patron
accompanied by his service alligator was denied entry to the ballpark the
other day. Baseball aficionados can see clear parallels to the Goat Curse
that kept the Cubs out of the World Series for many decades. The Phillies
may be punished with having Ãngel Hernández behind the plate calling
balls and strikes for eternity. But I digress. Due to foggy conditions, we
started the watch an hour later today. The wind turned southerly much
earlier than predicted, but at a moderate strength so most of the birds not
as sensitive to the wind direction kept on coming, When the wind, reached
its top speed of eight mph after settling in the S, all traffic slowed
considerably in the last hour. Temperatures were moderate as well, topping
out at just over seventy degrees. The barometer was high at over 30.2
inches. The skies were mostly blue but later in the day we had accumulated
enough cumulus clouds to use as markers to help locate birds.
Raptor Observations:
We had much more turkey vulture traffic in the morning hours, but the
southern wind may have pushed them to the north, making their appearances
more infrequent. We managed to tally 538 but had a feeling that there were
on the wing today. Sharp-shins were back in their customary second place
with 157 showing up. A nice rebound from the last few days when they were
voting with absentee ballots. Broad-winged hawks are still moving through,
sometimes kettling with the TVs. Most of the birds seem to be juveniles
when we can see to ID them. Seventy-three were noted today. Kestrels were
also frequent fliers today with sixty-eight of them racing by. The falcon
hat trick was completed with two merlins and one peregrine who was seen
kettling with turkey vultures and stooping on one of them with no harm
done. Northern harriers were also active today with twenty-one counted,
some of them coming in ménage à trois arrangements. Bald eagles were in a
moving mood today with five of them counted. The red-tailed hawks have seen
an uptick in numbers on our best day yet with thirteen birds, that number
will soon be eclipsed as we get further into October. Three Cooperâs
hawks were also counted today.
Non-raptor Observations:
Our little flock of shoveler ducks were flying back and forth today making
their presence known. Blue jays were not as plentiful in the morning hours
and were not really seen during the afternoon hours. Monarchs were on the
MIA list with only forty-six showing up. Most of the day we were kept busy
with looking for sharpies and kestrels so not much time to devote to
âother observationsâ.
Predictions:
Tomorrow will be a virtual repeat of today. Very low winds are predicted,
NE pre-watch, turning southerly around midday. Of course, mere zephyrs are
hard to predict so expect light and variable winds with no real push to
force birds away. It will rise in strength in the afternoon but only to
five mph, again from the south. Temperatures will be very similar and a
partly cloudy sky is predicted. The barometer will be high again. Our
fortunes, now that the curse has been lifted, remain tied to the winds. The
winds will probably bear no resemblance to the forecast, but hope springs
eternal and we should see some more traffic tomorrow. Turkey vultures are
getting antsy and want to move, especially the premature evacuators.
Sharpies, kestrels and harriers should be moving as well.
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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess ([email protected])
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
More site information at hawkcount.org:
https://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-2023
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