Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 2023
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 32 3401 94021
Osprey 0 0 52
Bald Eagle 1 34 142
Northern Harrier 1 28 492
Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 154 6926
Cooper's Hawk 0 19 77
American Goshawk 0 1 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 169 446
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 103457
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Red-tailed Hawk 119 1859 3252
Rough-legged Hawk 1 6 21
Golden Eagle 19 101 114
American Kestrel 0 5 1277
Merlin 1 7 53
Peregrine Falcon 0 10 59
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 2
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 183 5794 210396
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Jackie Quinones, Rosemary Brady, Sam Heilman
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:
Jackie again back to you with my final narrative! The trees behind the
count site may have blocked the strong winds, but the birds certainly felt
it. They didnât seem to mind as much in the morning when the winds were
coming from the SW, but come afternoon when they switched to southerly, the
birds became very distant. The morning also brought some much needed cloud
cover. Clouds of different varieties covered the skies, each looking like
different types of brush strokes. We marveled at how the cirrus clouds
turned to small cumulus then to light stratus. Towards the afternoon the
clouds disappeared leaving us to the hazy blue beyond. It felt like a nice
summer day getting to the high 50s. Except itâs not summer- itâs late
November! I constantly have to remind myself that the alternative is
counting hawks bundled up in many layers while nestled in a sleeping bag.
Raptor Observations:
After getting 19 Golden Eagles today, we have finally hit over 100 for the
season! Itâs truly feeling like November- minus the warm weather. Our
days are slower and filled with Red-tailed hawks and Golden eagles. With no
birds in the first hour, we were worried. However, we had a pretty good run
of Red-tails in the late morning. We also had quite an exciting 15 minutes
when four Golden eagles flew close by, along with a light morph
Rough-legged hawk in the mix. Tailing them was a Merlin looking for a fight
as they normally do. The shift in winds in the afternoon slowed things down
a bit, but we still managed to get some distant birds.
Non-raptor Observations:
The non-raptor category went as expected. Per usual, the height of the crow
action occurred during peak raptor flight. We managed to count 30, but
there were definitely more. One, lone Great Blue Heron was seen flying high
near the stacks, perhaps to visit its friends that flew by yesterday. Some
Mergansers were seen flying throughout the day in groups of three. No
Little gull was seen nor did any visitors report it nearby.
Predictions:
Tomorrowâs constant cloud cover should be very helpful while we spot
birds. Weâll need all the help we can get, because the winds are looking
very similar to todayâs- strong and southerly. We can expect another heat
wave tomorrow, reaching around the same temps as today. Overall, not
looking too great, but today didnât look so great either. Look where
weâre at now! 19 Golden eagles stronger. This will be my last summary, as
tomorrow I will pass it off to my co-apprentice, Sam. Thanks for reading! -
Jackie Quinones
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Report submitted by Jessie Fletcher ([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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