Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 30, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 430 57381 64665 Osprey 0 2 16 Bald Eagle 2 34 65 Northern Harrier 0 143 375 Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 2961 5837 Cooper's Hawk 0 43 67 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 43 330 333 Broad-winged Hawk 0 28 67350 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 331 2828 3009 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 3 17 17 American Kestrel 0 226 981 Merlin 0 43 68 Peregrine Falcon 0 38 60 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: 817 64075 142844 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen 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: “The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.” Mr. Sandburg’s muse visited us once again this morning, not moving on until the start of the watch was once again delayed. The lack of wind may have prolonged its stay. Raptors may have been flying on instruments but we could not see them. Once again, the winds were variable and very light, ending in the south with a spike in strength at the end of the watch. Whether it was this spike, or the falling barometer, the visible flight came to a virtual stop in the last hour. Clouds rolled in during the day thickening into an effective barrier to sunlight. It was only an occasional small glimpse of blue that we saw today. Temperatures reached the mid-fifties but when the wind picked up and the clouds bulked up it seemed cooler. The barometer managed to stay above 30 inches today but it was dropping, and will fall below that benchmark tomorrow when the rainy weather arrives. Raptor Observations: The buteos were still moving today, once again in impressive numbers. Turkey vulture numbers may be dwindling as the end of October approaches but they still reign supreme, at least numerically, on most days during the month. Today they managed 430 participants. Red-tails were hot on their heels with 331 counted, most playing follow the leader again, streaming past the stacks, flapping frequently in the light winds. Red-shouldered hawks were interspersed in that stream with 43 of that species tallied. Sharp-shins, bless their heart, managed 8 birds today. A pair of bald eagles joined the parade and 3 of their golden brothers also made the trip. Non-raptor Observations: The fog that pervaded the park this morning made the white great egrets in the marsh look like ghostly specters in a form of natural camouflage. At least they were still visible to some extent, unlike the raptors. Bonaparte’s gulls and Forster’s terns were seen fishing in front of us today. Perhaps the cormorants have all finally left, the majority had moved on some time ago but some individuals remained. Crows were not too keen to fly into the rain that’s coming, although some were seen. Our kingfisher made a cameo appearance during the day. Pretty quiet day on the Western front, otherwise. Predictions: Rain seems likely tomorrow, but how much and how long is yet to be determined. The forecasts always seem a little alarmist the night before and most of it fizzles out before it reaches us. The barometer will be headed south and cloud cover should be complete. Winds will pick up a little tomorrow but still be close to the five-mph range, again from the SW or S. Not our favorite wind, although the relative lack of strength may not push everything out of view. The forecast needs to be looked at in the morning to see what might actually occur. I don’t think a big movement is likely but we can always hope. ======================================================================== 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