Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2024
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 3049 57041 57974
Osprey 0 2 18
Bald Eagle 14 88 121
Northern Harrier 2 128 311
Sharp-shinned Hawk 40 1228 3365
Cooper's Hawk 1 34 73
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 21 153 153
Broad-winged Hawk 0 37 6785
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1
Red-tailed Hawk 89 719 774
Rough-legged Hawk 0 9 9
Golden Eagle 5 33 33
American Kestrel 0 120 399
Merlin 0 9 23
Peregrine Falcon 0 19 27
Unknown Accipiter 2 10 15
Unknown Buteo 1 14 27
Unknown Falcon 1 5 13
Unknown Eagle 1 2 2
Unknown Raptor 0 5 27
Total: 3226 59657 70150
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Mark Hainen,
Michelle Peregord, Rosemary Brady
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:
Cool winds from NW and NNW, reaching 23 km/hour (or 14 mi/hr) in the
afternoon. Clear skies until noon, but up to 40% cloud cover later in the
day. Temperature never rose above +14C (57F).
Raptor Observations:
We counted 3,226 birds, and quite predictably, 95% of those were Turkey
Vultures. More than one half of 3,049 vultures moved over the area after 3
PM EDT. Red-tailed Hawks came up second (89), outracing the Sharp-shins
(40). Thanks to the hard work by Don and Jerry, we logged five Golden
Eagles! Bald Eagles and Red-shouldered Hawks were clearly on the move.
Also, it seems, a Peregrine Falcon took temporary residence at the southern
end of Celeron Island. It was seen flying up and down the river, chasing
something well out of our sight ( but clearly not migrating).
Non-raptor Observations:
Good numbers of American Crows (1,469) were counted over the area
(complements to Mark and Bill). Twenty-five Blue Jays were also sighted.
Also, the habitual White Pelicans.
And, yes, we did see a Monarch!
Predictions:
If the current weather forecast holds, we should expect another sunny day
with cool temperatures (and possible frost in the morning), but,
surprisingly, southerly winds! That will likely slow raptor migration down,
and we may not see as many vultures as we did in late afternoon today. In
fact, it is possible that the large numbers of Turkey Vultures which flew
over the area in late afternoon today, were trying to avoid the approaching
southerly headwinds.
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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
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