Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 24, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 576 36036 40162 Osprey 0 5 24 Bald Eagle 1 32 66 Northern Harrier 2 150 345 Sharp-shinned Hawk 17 3278 6191 Cooper's Hawk 0 23 35 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 21 83 88 Broad-winged Hawk 0 18 22240 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 21 575 636 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 4 5 American Kestrel 0 417 1066 Merlin 0 25 48 Peregrine Falcon 0 23 49 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: 638 40669 70956 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 12:30:00 Total observation time: 4 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood 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: Into each life a little rain must fall. What was remarkable was the transition that we witnessed this morning from the pleasant sunny scene that greeted us to the rain that eventually caused us to curtail the watch. A nearly clear blue sky set the opening act in progress giving no hint of things to come, but to the north ominous banks of thick fog were soon in motion low over the river and soon blotted out the stacks completely. To the east, the sun was bright but sported a complete solar halo of Roy G. Biv colors indicating frosty conditions aloft. It was quickly obscured by a fast-moving front of dark gray clouds that reduced the sun’s intensity to that of a sixty-watt lightbulb trying hard to penetrate the cover. The ambient light was very low as a gray blanket filled in completely causing us to look very hard for details in the birds that we did see. Winds were very light, mostly ENE but somewhat variable, causing some flight line adjustments when the birds finally decided to move. Temperatures were low to start after overnight frost warnings and did not rise to the level of comfort that we would prefer, staying in the forties. Rain eventually came and put an end to what had turned into an interesting final hour with TVs and buteos moving. Raptor Observations: The last two days have been slow developing and today was no exception. Sharpies started the day, but only begrudgingly, and we only managed seventeen in the half day that we worked. We did note one juvenile bald eagle that seemed determined to put some miles on the odometer today. The turkey vultures finally started to move after a couple of hours and five hundred and seventy-six were counted in the space of about an hour plus. They brought along some buteos with them and this was one of those rare days when the red-shoulders came first and actually matched the red-tails in number. Each of the species tallied twenty-one. Two northern harriers were also observed. Non-raptor Observations: Today was crow day. Since we were low on raptors in the first hours, our intrepid counter paid more attention than usual to the crows deserting Canada in droves. Our estimate was six thousand plus as they came early and often. The swallows were flying very low over the lake at first this morning, but as the morning progressed, they moved higher and again made our life more interesting as they flitted in front of our bins. A pied-bill grebe was seen out in front of us today. More flights of ducks are starting to be seen at a distance as their migration gets underway. Rusty blackbirds were heard and observed in good numbers in the park. Predictions: Tomorrow’s forecast looks bleak as rain is forecast to continue throughout the day. ======================================================================== 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