Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 29, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 1014 65679 Osprey 0 0 16 Bald Eagle 2 26 92 Northern Harrier 0 18 393 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 46 5883 Cooper's Hawk 0 22 89 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 145 478 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 67350 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 2 1289 4298 Rough-legged Hawk 0 4 4 Golden Eagle 0 26 43 American Kestrel 0 0 981 Merlin 0 11 79 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 62 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: 4 2604 145449 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 5.5 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk, Rosemary Brady, 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: Hound of the Baskervilles weather during the watch today with leaden skies and curtains of light fog hanging over the moors, partially obscuring our vision. The wind blew in off the lake with increasing intensity, decreasing our level of comfit as the wind chill took its toll. Winds came from the SSE direction, but shifted slightly more to the east as the day went on and our sheltered location became exposed to a wind that flew across the lake unimpeded. The barometer was dropping each hour foretelling approaching weather that will make you appreciate a cozy home with a fireplace and a potent hot cider beverage. We threw in the towel at three this afternoon, even though the clouds were breaking, as further effort seemed futile and there was an important World Cup match in progress. Raptor Observations: It seemed that we put in a lot of work to find four birds but nothing is guaranteed in hawk watching. The end of the season can be a tough slog when the weather is not cooperative and the winds are not in your favor. We declared a tie today with a pair of bald eagles and a pair of red-tailed hawks. The two red-tails were rocking around like turkey vultures as they tried to navigate the gusty winds, no doubt looking forward to more stable, warmer weather as they headed south. Non-raptor Observations: We had another harbinger of winter today as an American tree sparrow visited our nearby maple tree. Juncos, another winter visitor, have also been seen lately. Tundra swans and ducks continue to migrate off to the SE. Once again, we had the gratification of showing off the little gull to multiple visitors and witnessing the joy of sighting a lifer, despite the seemingly inclement weather that made the bird a little harder to find. Its appearances were limited today but this is a gorgeous diminutive gull that is worth waiting for. I have to wonder if the approaching cold front with its high winds might not move some of our visitors to more hospitable locations. Predictions: I suspect that tomorrow may be more of a ceremonial affair as the hawk watch is brought to a close on a day that will test our mettle once again. Winds in the twenty mph plus range will roar out of the west. The barometer, assuming all things come to pass as predicted, will be rebounding strongly off an overnight low near 29.5 inches. The temperatures will be moving just as strongly in the opposite direction as a twenty degree drop during the day to below freezing is likely. Clouds will cover most of the sky. With the right winds, cold fronts are usually welcome but Thursday might be a better day than tomorrow as a twenty-mph headwind is a hill unlikely to be charged by many raptors. ======================================================================== 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