Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 25, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1061 53992 54925 Osprey 0 2 18 Bald Eagle 1 74 107 Northern Harrier 8 126 309 Sharp-shinned Hawk 57 1188 3325 Cooper's Hawk 2 33 72 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 132 132 Broad-winged Hawk 0 37 6785 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 28 630 685 Rough-legged Hawk 2 9 9 Golden Eagle 2 28 28 American Kestrel 0 120 399 Merlin 0 9 23 Peregrine Falcon 1 19 27 Unknown Accipiter 0 8 13 Unknown Buteo 0 13 26 Unknown Falcon 0 4 12 Unknown Eagle 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 5 27 Total: 1162 56431 66924 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Jo Patterson Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park. We have brochures and educational information we are happy to share. Let us share our enthusiasm for migration and raptors with you! While we welcome your questions and company, please know that our professional counter, apprentices, and volunteers must communicate with each other frequently to successfully conduct the count, and they also must maintain an unobstructed view of the horizon. Weather: Overcast and light drizzle in the morning, but skies cleared by 3 PM EDT. Southerly wind changed to westerly in the afternoon, diminishing to 10 km/hour. Temperature reached +16C (60F). Raptor Observations: It did not look very promising at the beginning (southerly winds and drizzle). Few Sharp-shins and six Northern Harriers made their way across the river, and a kettle of ca. 70 vultures was sighted over Canada. A two hour lull followed, until the wind turned to WSW around 1 PM. Almost immediately, birds took to the air. At first crows filled the sky (see below), and then Turkey Vultures streamed over Gibraltar in hundreds, bringing guests in their midst. We counted nearly 30 Red-tailed Hawks, two Golden Eagles, two Rough-legged Hawks, and others. A Peregrine Falcon took an instant dislike of one of the Red-tails, stooping at it and chasing it away. We counted 1,162 raptors overall. Frankly, many more than we hoped for on a day like today. Non-raptor Observations: Large flocks of American Crow streamed across the river after 1 PM. Some flocks were sizable (200-300 birds). Overall, we counted 933 crows. Blue Jays also made a brief appearance (25 in total). Predictions: Northwestern winds will bring cooler temperatures to the area tomorrow. Although winds from the north-east would have created more favorable conditions for migrating, we, nonetheless, expect to see thousands of vultures with a retinue of other raptors. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (erika_vank...@fws.gov) 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 -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: birdnews@ontbirds.ca. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at birdn...@ofo.ca. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
