Detroit River Hawk Watch (22 Sep 2020) 104 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2020
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 46 1098 1098
Osprey 1 12 12
Bald Eagle 0 20 20
Northern Harrier 1 97 97
Sharp-shinned Hawk 52 1195 1195
Cooper's Hawk 0 6 6
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2
Broad-winged Hawk 2 15628 15628
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 113 113
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 2 266 266
Merlin 0 8 8
Peregrine Falcon 0 8 8
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 1 1
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 104 18454 18454
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Alex Gilford, Andrew Sturgess, Sam Heilman
Visitors:
While Lake Erie Metropark is currently open to the public, for the safety
of our counter and volunteers we encourage visitors to follow along with
the count virtually on HawkCount.org, or our Detroit River Hawk Watch
Facebook page. There will be daily updates and photographs. If you do
decide to join us in person, please help the counter and volunteers to
follow their mandated safety protocols by refraining from approaching them.
Please follow the recommended Covid 19 procedures by wearing a mask and
maintaining a safe social distance. Thanking you in advance for your
cooperation. Stay safe!
Weather:
An insipid day, lacking promise, greeted us with continued pale blue skies
tinged with haze. Light winds from the SW also diminished our prospects so
we girded our loins for a long day. The wind eventually went round to the
SE and off the lake a little, at least locally, making the haze over the
lake shift to the NW making visibility even worse on the one side where the
few birds were flying. Eventually, all things must change and so it was in
the later afternoon hours when the first high cirrus clouds appeared. The
people rejoiced. It didnât change our luck on the day but the promise of
change was enough to bring hope after getting the short side of the stick
with the massive high the last few days. The clouds continued to fill in as
the barometer dropped nearly two tenths during the watch
Raptor Observations:
The only bird we really expected today was the sharp-shinned hawk and
thatâs pretty much all we got. Fifty two well spaced birds over seven
hours did not get anyoneâs pulse racing. Turkey vultures were reluctant
to move on the light winds in the morning but some were seen in small
groups during the early afternoon hours and they totaled 41. One osprey was
seen winging its way through. Only one harrier made the effort. Two
kestrels joined in, and in a brief appearance, two broad-winged hawks were
seen circling nearby.
Non-raptor Observations:
A surprise Lesser Yellowlegs flew by proclaiming his innocence today and
landed on the vegetation floating in the water to feed. Cormorants, in
their relentless search for bait fish seemed to moving up the channel today
with frequent flybys in small groups. The star of the day was the blue jays
with an informal count of over 10K today. They came early and often. Our
lone Forsterâs tern was seen infrequently, diving with abandon after its
prey. Caspianâs and ring-bills continued their patrol of the channel in
front of
Predictions:
The change may be coming but it will not affect tomorrowâs chances. Low
winds from the WSW, eventually picking up slightly, will not encourage a
large movement. Sharpies will probably be the order of the day. The
barometer will continue to drop, below thirty during the late evening
hours. Bring a book.
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Report submitted by Kevin Georg (kevin.l.georg@gmail.com)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285