Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 2324 36883 37374 Osprey 1 6 36 Bald Eagle 7 18 69 Northern Harrier 10 55 229 Sharp-shinned Hawk 92 1223 3301 Cooper's Hawk 2 42 53 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 9 49 49 Broad-winged Hawk 34 572 64370 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 36 248 363 Rough-legged Hawk 8 8 8 Golden Eagle 0 3 3 American Kestrel 11 101 674 Merlin 0 6 22 Peregrine Falcon 2 26 41 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: 2536 39240 106593 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Frank Kitakis, John Elliott, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We had assistance today from a spirited bunch of hawk lovers. Special thanks to Marty, Michelle, Johannes and Dee and their keen eyesight. Weather: A more mellow day today after the raucous arrival of the high pressure system yesterday. The predicted computer model actually conformed to the weather that we saw today. Easy winds from the NW to start, ending up SE off the lake kept the wind-turbines in Canada spinning on their towers chasing the wind around the compass. Sunny skies prevailed with the occasional cloud to use as a landmark for spotting raptors. The wind kept our site cool and kept the flight line changing throughout the day. The barometer did fall throughout the day but less than a tenth of an inch Hg. Raptor Observations: Once again we were engaged in the Sisyphean task of counting turkey vultures in October. They did not make it easy as the day progressed. Whether due to a higher more northerly flight line or hazy skies obscuring the view it was difficult to track them. We ended up with 2324. Although we had expected more birds in the early hours with the NW wind it seemed that the afternoon hours were more productive as the wind shifted to the SE. Buteos were on the move but not in kettle quantities yet. 44 red-tailed hawks sailed by, along with 9 red-shoulders. Sharpies were frequent afternoon flyers with 125. Cooper’s seemed to have taken the week off with only 2. Harriers rebounded with 14, including a flyover by a Gray Ghost right over the site. No golden eagles were seen but 7 bald eagles were counted. An osprey made the list along with 11 kestrels and 2 peregrines. Non-raptor Observations: We had our first murder at the site today. Crows were spotted migrating towards us with their constantly flapping wings. We are always grateful that they do not flap and glide making it much easier to separate them from the raptors. A brace of American white pelicans were seen flying over Celeron Island today. We had observed two birds previously but it is unknown whether these are the same birds Predictions: The barometer is predicted to fall tomorrow but gradually. Light winds are predicted to stay in the same SE quarter generally. This should not inhibit the vultures from moving and the sharpies and harriers might be on the move. Hopefully the drop in pressure will be moderate enough so the buteos are not inhibited. AJS ======================================================================== 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