Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 27, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 27 45634 49753 Osprey 0 5 24 Bald Eagle 0 34 66 Northern Harrier 2 157 349 Sharp-shinned Hawk 117 3425 6336 Cooper's Hawk 2 26 36 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 171 176 Broad-winged Hawk 0 18 21973 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 854 915 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 1 9 10 American Kestrel 0 420 1066 Merlin 0 25 48 Peregrine Falcon 0 27 53 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 150 50805 80806 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Mark Hainen Visitors: We are still dealing with the residue of the Covid 19 situation. The workers at the site will be in an enclosed area that is designed for four people only. We still love to interact and share our love of hawk watching with visitors. Feel free to ask questions and look over our shoulders to help you follow the birds. Watch the weather for favorable forecasts as the birds are predictable to some degree based on weather situations. One other thing of note this year; the boat-launch bathroom building has been shut down for the foreseeable future due to plumbing issues. There are Porta-Johns in the parking lot should you require them. Weather: If a Lemon Law applied to weather, this day would be headed back to the dealership. Light to non-existent winds failed to move the pea-soup fog-like conditions that surrounded us and limited our vision. The partly cloudy skies never materialized as we seemed to be stuck in an eddy between two systems with the nor’easter on the east coast casting a wide shadow as the high over us has not cleared the skies as one might expect. The winds started in the NNW but disappeared, only to rebound coming from the W before heading around to NE. At no time today did we feel more than a mild zephyr, in stark contrast to yesterday’s hardy blast. Temperatures gradually climbed to the low fifties but the lack of wind made it a more comfortable day than it could have been. There was a period late in the afternoon where the overhead clouds thinned to show a hint of blue but it was short-lived and did not change the narrative. Raptor Observations: A very slow start to the day which really had no activity until the first wave of sharpies started to move. It seemed from our vantage point that they were the only birds interested in moving. We counted one hundred and seventeen birds in a non-stop rush that started near midday but slowed considerably in the later hours. We only had one buteo today as a red-shouldered hawk flew by. One harrier was seen out over the lake. Two Cooper’s hawks were counted. Turkey vultures were yesterday’s star bird but failed to materialize for us today. We did manage to see a total of twenty-seven birds in two small groups, and one group had an accompanying golden eagle along for the ride. It was a frustrating day as we tried to penetrate a fog curtain that locked us in a drab monochromatic world. Non-raptor Observations: The crows did manage to penetrate the fog in large murders, one consisting of twelve hundred birds. It is curious to see these birds flying alongside the same raptors that they delight in tormenting with their excited cries while on the breeding grounds. It’s as if they have signed a non-aggression pact lasting only as long as the length of migration. The crows rarely make any noises during their flights overhead. That is somewhat of a surprise to most people who are aware of their otherwise garrulous nature. The Bonaparte’s gulls paid us a visit today. It’s always nice to see these dainty gulls with their tern-like flight. The swallows were out in force today, numbering in the many hundreds. At first, inches off the water over the lake, but later up in our field of view making our lives more “interesting”. “May you live in interesting times” is supposedly a Chinese curse, although that is apparently news to the Chinese who disavow all knowledge. Four pied-billed grebes were spotted together nearby. Mute swans are seen more frequently as they begin to assemble in larger groups for the winter months, leaving the squabbles of the breeding season behind them. Predictions: Tomorrow will be the eve of another rain day. Fresh winds, rising into the teens in strength, will come from the eastern quarter. The humidity will still be high, as it was today, and may cause issues with vision. Cloud cover will be a high number in the eighty and ninety percent range. Stop me if you have heard this before. The barometer will be on a long decline throughout the day and this, and the strong wind pushing the birds to the west, may affect our count. I’m hoping there is a rush for the exits before the coming late night and all of Friday rain, but after today, I am taking a wait and see attitude. ======================================================================== 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: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285