Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 30, 2024
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 2983 65220
Osprey 0 0 18
Bald Eagle 7 92 230
Northern Harrier 0 28 348
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 100 3496
Cooper's Hawk 0 44 119
American Goshawk 0 3 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 163 336
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 6785
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Red-tailed Hawk 0 1097 2028
Rough-legged Hawk 0 7 21
Golden Eagle 0 76 120
American Kestrel 0 1 410
Merlin 0 4 27
Peregrine Falcon 1 6 34
Unknown Accipiter 0 4 19
Unknown Buteo 0 19 50
Unknown Falcon 1 2 15
Unknown Eagle 0 4 7
Unknown Raptor 0 2 30
Total: 9 4635 79317
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Ben Sehl, Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk, Jo Patterson,
Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
Thank you for a great 2024 Fall season at the Detroit River Hawk Watch!
Special shout out to all of our dedicated volunteers that came out rain,
shine or snow to make our count possible. Check out our website for the
season report coming soon: http://detroitriverhawkwatch.org/
Weather:
Overcast with occasional and short-living blue in the sky. Cold winds from
WSW, reaching 27 km/hour (17 mi/hr) at times. Flurries in the morning, and
in the last hour of count, but we did not have complete whiteouts, like
yesterday. It warmed up somewhat by 2 PM, from -5 to -3C (23 to 27F).
Raptor Observations:
Nine raptors on the last day of hawk count. Two were falcons, a Peregrine
flying in a hurry, low over Lake Erie, and probably a Merlin, briefly seen
over Gibraltar. The remaining seven were juvenile or sub-adult Bald Eagles,
crossing over the lake, heading to Pointe Mouillee. A local Cooper's Hawk
checked us out, and went about his business.
Non-raptor Observations:
One American Crow represented the Corvid Family on the final day of the
count.
Waterfowl were more diverse. The ranks of the semi-domestic Mallards were
inflated by their wild brethren, fleeing from duck hunters. We also saw a
female Shoveler and a female Pintail, at least 25 Hooded Mergansers and no
less than five Red-breasted Mergansers. Larger merganser flocks traveled
over the lake, too far out to be identified. We counted at least 125 Tundra
Swans (in flocks varying in size from 6 to 38), and also some Mute Swans.
Six Great Blue Herons came from across the river, looking for warmer
climes.
One Belted Kingfisher and one Killdeer checked in, braving flurries and
freezing temperatures.
Also Bonaparte's Gulls, etc.
Predictions:
We predict the first day of calendar winter, December 1st.
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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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