Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 319 42520 43011 Osprey 0 5 35 Bald Eagle 0 22 73 Northern Harrier 0 74 248 Sharp-shinned Hawk 70 1499 3577 Cooper's Hawk 3 54 65 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 79 79 Broad-winged Hawk 0 538 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 46 416 531 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 3 3 American Kestrel 0 108 681 Merlin 2 9 25 Peregrine Falcon 0 27 42 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: 440 45354 112707 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 4.75 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Jerry Jourdan, Mark Hainen, Patrick Mulawa, Raburn Howland Visitors: Not a day for visitors with impending rain on the horizon. Weather: A spanking new day at the watch with overcast skies to greet us; different textures of cirrus clouds in muted shades of gray, perhaps fifty shades, made for a very interesting backdrop to our hawk watching duties. A strengthening wind off the lake from the SE tickled our faces with cool airs. A threatening storm system on the radar approached from the west but we were bound and determined to complete our mission. We finally had to submit to the falling rains as we had reached our limit at 1430. Raptor Observations: The vultures were not impressed with the weather and a fairly low number, 319, were seen fighting the winds and staying low to the trees. Sharpies pulled their weight with 70 birds crabbing into the wind trying to stay on course. 3 Cooper's hawks were also noted. Surprisingly, we had a nice run of red-tails starting around 1230 but you had to be on your toes to catch them as they sped by the stacks at high speeds. A couple of red-shoulders kept them company. 2 merlins were seen today. Non-raptor Observations: Our resident bald eagles put on a show for us with four adults interacting in front of us. The high wind days seem to energize them to get up and play. Strings of waterfowl were seen in the distance. Some blue jays and crows did make the crossing but most were early in the day. Predictions: Strengthening winds from the SW (up to 20 mph) with a flat but low barometric pressure does not look too promising. Sharpies may show up along with some TV's but the strong wind from that direction will probably discourage a lot of birds. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan (jerry.jourdan@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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2019