Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 1728 69372 71493
Osprey 0 2 53
Bald Eagle 1 19 91
Northern Harrier 2 90 445
Sharp-shinned Hawk 168 2339 6036
Cooper's Hawk 4 35 46
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 19 120 120
Broad-winged Hawk 2 101 107382
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 83 411 497
Rough-legged Hawk 1 3 3
Golden Eagle 1 1 1
American Kestrel 9 279 1249
Merlin 1 7 37
Peregrine Falcon 2 19 39
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 1
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 2021 72798 187494
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen,
Michelle Peregord, Rosemary Brady
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:
A pleasant looking day to start, with sunshine easily passing through the
wispy cirrus clouds and providing heat for the crew. This changed
throughout the day and we ended with a dark and dreary day with apocalyptic
overtones as mammatus-like clouds and rain approached from the west. It
arrived at the end of the watch. The temperature barely broke the
fifty-degree mark and without the sun it felt cool. The winds waffled in
both direction and strength, generally from some combination of north and
west, ranging between five and thirteen mph with no apparent rhyme or
reason. The barometer stayed in the 29.6â range but will soon start to
climb as high pressure moves in tomorrow bringing sunnier skies.
Raptor Observations:
The turkey vultures kept a slow pace today, seemingly in no hurry to move
on. There were no large communes, more like a small stream with
intermittent gaps. We totaled 1,728 by dayâs end. Hopefully, we will get
an early liftoff tomorrow since they were still coming in the final hour.
Sharp-shins continue to demonstrate their resolve to move on regardless of
weather conditions. 168 of them appeared in our bins today. The buteos were
also on the move with eighty-three red-tailed hawks, nineteen
red-shouldered hawks, and a pair of broad-wing hawks. We also had a pair of
welcome birds today with another light-morph rough-legged hawk, and our
first official golden eagle, a subadult bird. We did manage the falcon hat
trick for a first time in a good while. Nine kestrels made the count, one
merlin was noted and two peregrines were causing alarm in the neighborhood.
One was noted with a catch in its talons. Four Cooperâs hawks were
counted. One bald eagle flew by.
Non-raptor Observations:
Most of the swallows and gulls spent the day out on the lake harvesting an
insect hatch. Our resident terns are still active but the little gull has
not been seen at the site, but has been spotted elsewhere. We didnât see
too many crows today but blue jays were plentiful with hundreds passing
through. They are good indicators of a peregrineâs presence since they
dive into the safety of the trees at any sign of danger. One monarch
butterfly was seen today. A lone sandhill crane was noted in flight off to
the north.
Predictions:
Rain is falling as I write this but it should cease later tonight. The
barometer has a chance to rise four tenths of an inch on Sunday. Coupled
with NW winds and sunnier skies it bodes well for migrant traffic tomorrow.
Temperatures will reach the fifty-degree mark. Winds are forecast to reach
eleven mph around midday but should drop slightly in the afternoon hours.
This may be a little strong for our site but hopefully we can still see the
birds well enough to count them.
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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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