Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 06, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 9 9 Osprey 1 3 3 Bald Eagle 3 10 10 Northern Harrier 4 8 8 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 4 4 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1 3 3 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 10 10 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 17 17 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 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: 18 65 65 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess 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: A dull day throughout, with gray clouds taking the luster off the holiday weekend; we watched a progression of cloud formations gradually darken the day until we called it a little early due to rain. We had watched impressive cumulus clouds build up over the lake and move inland as an early SE wind seemed to push them from their normal post over the south shore of Lake Erie. At times the sky resembled the inverted furrows of a recently plowed field but it settled on a dark thick cloud mass that must have been turning on a few lights controlled by photocells. The barometer had been forecast to fall during the day but it was only by a tenth of an inch by the time we left. The winds settled in the south and stayed there although in our sheltered area it was not felt by the observers. Raptor Observations: We were seeing some fits and starts of movement today but nothing of real substance. Harriers were the first out of the blocks, counting as our first two birds and totaling four by day’s end. Kestrels continue to fly with five counted. Only one sharp-shinned was noted, somehow it seems that we should have had a few more by now, but it is still early. Three bald eagles pumped their way through. One osprey joined them. One broad-winged hawk made the trip acting as a scout for the thousands to hopefully come later this month. Non-raptor Observations: We did observe two Forster’s terns today. We usually see these birds as constant companions so it’s a little unusual to see them in such low numbers. Our blue-winged teals landed in front of us today, until they realized their mistake. An Eastern phoebe sat close by for a couple of minutes. Plenty of martins and swallows continue to work the area although a little further away today. Yellowlegs were seen again today. Occasional great blue herons and great egrets continue to fly over the area. Predictions: The turbulent conditions that make weather predictions so difficult will continue tomorrow with early a.m. rains predicted and a low barometer in the morning. A lot of the predicted happenings are off by a few hours and that can make a difference in bird movement. Most of the extreme wind and weather conditions should occur overnight but the afternoon conditions of rising barometer and a westerly wind moving to NW late in the evening may provoke some movement. ======================================================================== 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