Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 6 6 Osprey 1 3 3 Bald Eagle 2 9 9 Northern Harrier 2 18 18 Sharp-shinned Hawk 118 447 447 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 3 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 13 12504 12504 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 73 73 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 7 134 134 Merlin 0 7 7 Peregrine Falcon 0 5 5 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 144 13209 13209 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Bill and Michelle Peregord, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen, Michelle Peregord, Michelle and Bill Peregord Visitors: We are located by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark in a fenced off area at the Hawk Watch site. This does not mean that we do not welcome interaction with any and all visitors. We enjoy talking about what we do and sharing our knowledge with beginners and experts alike. Please feel free to come up and talk to us. We usually have our backs turned to the parking lot as we scan the skies in front of us. This should not be interpreted as a sign of reluctance to engage; this is how we do our job. We have friendly people that do not bite and the welcome mat is always out. Weather: While the weather app maintained that it was “cloudy” all day, we were dealing with waifish, Kate Moss-like high cirrus and cirrocumulus clouds that did nothing to impede the heat of the sun. About mid-afternoon, more voluminous, Rubenesque cumulus clouds formed to the northwest but never arrived at our location. The radar showed pop-up disturbances in that direction but other than the darkening of one area of cloud, we never felt threatened, or cool, for that matter. The SSE breeze helped but the high humidity was hard to overcome. The barometer started a gradual decline, although not significantly, except for the fact it was falling. That, coupled with the high cirrus clouds, indicates that rain may be on the way. It is in the forecast but as we all know; weatherpersons get well paid to be right half the time. Raptor Observations: The sharpies continued to come today, but in a more measured fashion, spread out throughout the day totaling smaller numbers. We counted 118 of that species. Broadwings were a distant next on the list with a 13 count. Most were solo birds, although we had a couple of multi-bird sightings. Some new bald eagles were noted and we counted two as migrants. These birds are common as we are located on the water’s edge, their natural habitat, and it is sometimes tricky to know their migratory status. We look at the plumage designs since the aging of eagles by plumage is possible due to their annual molts. There is some variability, so individuals with distinct patterns that are residents can become familiar to us. One osprey was counted today. One red-tailed hawk was also noted. The southern winds are not kind to our buteo counts. Northern harriers made two appearances. We only noted one species of falcon today with seven kestrels tallied. Non-raptor Observations: Swallows are still numerous, but too distant to positively ID. A northern flicker laughed maniacally behind us from time to time. Our Forster’s tern population seems to be increasing although they spend most of the day roosting on the base of the entrance buoys to the boating channel, only occasionally hunting. Mallards are the only duck we are seeing flying by. The occasional great blue heron can be seen on the wing in the distance. Predictions: The chances of rain increase tomorrow so we may see some actual cloud cover over us. The main body of rain, as predicted, should arrive after the normal watch hours. Winds will still retain a southern flavor although venturing to the east as the day progresses. The temperatures should be about ten degrees lower, with which we have no argument. Bring it on. The barometer will continue its decline, dropping perhaps a quarter of an inch before starting to bounce back up on Tuesday. Not a promising day for hawk counters as we may not be busy except for swapping lies. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2022