Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 12, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 114 958 72453 Osprey 0 0 31 Bald Eagle 3 9 64 Northern Harrier 1 29 413 Sharp-shinned Hawk 10 102 5023 Cooper's Hawk 4 21 91 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 21 122 728 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 16407 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 249 1036 3650 Rough-legged Hawk 3 8 16 Golden Eagle 5 32 50 American Kestrel 0 2 641 Merlin 0 5 58 Peregrine Falcon 1 5 99 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 2 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 411 2329 99729 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood Visitors: While Lake Erie Metropark is currently open to the public, for the safety of our counter and volunteers we encourage visitors to follow along with the count virtually on HawkCount.org, or our Detroit River Hawk Watch Facebook page. There will be daily updates and photographs.If you do decide to join us in person, please help the counter and volunteers to follow their mandated safety protocols by refraining from approaching them. Please follow the recommended Covid 19 procedures by wearing a mask and maintaining a safe social distance. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation. Stay safe! Weather: The winds were forecast to be light and variable and so they were. The flight line and bird density seemed to ebb and flow with the changes in direction and strength. The skies were mostly clear blue but some mare’s tails drifted through in the afternoon hours as if painted with a delicate hand in titanium white from an icy palette. The barometer started at 30.2” but dropped a tenth during the day. Temperatures were cool to start but in November temperatures close to 50 F are relatively easy to endure compared to some of the other options. Raptor Observations: The flight that started in earnest yesterday seemed to continue today, even in the first hour. We thought that maybe these were birds that had sat down last night close to the site but we had a fairly decent flight most of the day. Turkey vultures continued to move in modest numbers today with one hundred and fourteen counted. One harrier was noted. Ten sharp-shins and four Cooper’s hawks made the clicker. Three bald eagles, all younger birds pumped through. They were joined by five golden eagles, which were all young birds too. Three rough-legged hawks, all light morphs, were observed. The buteos were the big movers again with twenty one red-shoulders and two hundred and forty nine red-tailed hawks moving through. One peregrine was seen harassing one of the golden eagles by stooping on it, perhaps just a warning shot across the bow given the size disparity. Non-raptor Observations: We did see a few tundra swans today, although not in the numbers we had yesterday. Our local kingfisher made a mistake and flew into camera range for a change. Two buffleheads flew by at a rapid pace in front of us. A few cormorants were noted flying by but the big resident flock seems to have left. A bluebird’s call was heard in passing. Crows were back on the move in very big numbers with some murders approaching a thousand birds. An occasional call was heard; usually these birds are silent as they pass. Predictions: Tomorrow will be another day of varying wind strengths and directions; starting in the W at seven mph and increasing to fourteen before changing to NW and decreasing a little by day’s end. Clouds will be more prominent during the day. There is a slight chance of rain in the early morning hours. The barometer will fall a little overnight but begin to climb during the watch hours. Normally, a wind of this predicted strength is not our best since it moves birds to the south so we will have to see if any or all of this prediction comes true. Hopefully, we get a continuation of today’s flight where we can see and count it. ======================================================================== 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