Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 425 35802 43086 Osprey 0 2 16 Bald Eagle 0 17 48 Northern Harrier 0 85 317 Sharp-shinned Hawk 69 1218 4094 Cooper's Hawk 3 30 54 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 48 51 Broad-winged Hawk 0 28 67350 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 15 464 645 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 8 8 American Kestrel 5 159 914 Merlin 0 17 42 Peregrine Falcon 0 24 46 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: 517 37902 116671 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen, Sarah deGuise 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: “Wey, hey, blow the man down” was the theme of today’s watch. We are still in the clutches of the counterclockwise whirling carousel of wind and rain from the low-pressure area to our north, a mild-mannered hurricane of sorts. We were fortunate to have the velocity of the wind somewhat tempered by the surrounding trees since it approached twenty mph before we called the watch due to rain. Temperatures were in the low forties and felt cooler due to wind chill effects. It was a dark and stormy morning with heavy cloud cover and no sunlight to dispel the gloom. The barometer stayed calm and carried on at a steady pressure for the four hours we were there at 29.70 inches of mercury. We still have a couple more days in purgatory before the clouds clear, the winds drop, and the temperatures climb. Raptor Observations: Slower traffic today than yesterday and most species got a wild ride in the winds. Even the bigger birds were showing the effects, rocking and rolling across the sky. Turkey vultures seem to relish these high winds despite the fact that they nearly barrel-roll in them at times. We saw 425 cavorting by. Holding on to their accustomed second place were the sharp-shins. We noted 69 of their species being tossed about as if on turbulent seas. Red-tailed hawks, masters of gliding and flying in general, showed the upsetting effects when they bucked the wind, when quartering on it they shot through at high speed. We counted 15 birds. American kestrels numbered 5 today. We also counted 3 Cooper’s hawks. Non-raptor Observations: The pelicans and swallows shared the spotlight again today. The pelicans flying very close to us at times and then fishing together in tight groups at a reasonably close distance. Swallows continue to impress with multitudes of them swirling around on both sides of us and also in the distance you can see many of them over Celeron Island and the channels behind the Gibraltar Islands. The gulls once again stayed lower today following the pelicans at times. We did see some flights of starlings and blackbirds this morning. Some crows were also noted but not great numbers of them. American widgeons were seen flying by, but most of the seemingly increased duck traffic was too far away to identify. We had a visit from some mute swans this morning at they were probably seeking a snug harbor out of the wind. Predictions: The gloom continues tomorrow with full cloud cover likely for most of the day. Winds that will stay in double digits all day long, spending some time above fifteen mph, will come from the WNW. There is a chance of rain that is greater in the early morning hours before the watch starts. Temperatures will climb a few degrees from today’s high, reaching forty-six degrees if all goes according to plan. As for birds, there was a lot of rain in Canada today so it’s possible they may have taken shelter further away than they might have otherwise. We will see what turns up, surely some turkey vultures will show and probably sharpies to keep their second place in the count. ======================================================================== 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