Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 07, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 1 1 Bald Eagle 5 5 5 Northern Harrier 6 14 14 Sharp-shinned Hawk 27 31 31 Cooper's Hawk 1 3 3 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 5022 12321 12321 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 27 56 56 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 41 93 93 Merlin 2 5 5 Peregrine Falcon 3 4 4 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: 5134 12533 12533 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Mark Hainen, Michelle Peregord 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 winds continued out of the NE today and gradually bent around to the E at days end with some erratic meandering in between. Moderate in strength, it was just like the porridge that was just right. Clouds were also changing during the day from a sky fairly well populated with cumulus sheep at one time to nearly clear blue towards the end. Those that have had to look for broadwings know that a clear blue sky is a challenge and they seem to enjoy testing us by flying higher on those days. Luckily, the winds kept them on favorable paths for us to be able to see them if we could find them. Temperatures rose to the 80-degree level although the breeze coming from the north made it more tolerable. The barometer moved a little but only in the hundredth’s column staying above 30 inches all day long, although a gradual decline is starting the changes that will bring possible precipitation on the weekend. Raptor Observations: The broadwings started early today instead of the Oklahoma Land Rush that we had at 1600 yesterday. As they were spread out all day it didn’t seem that we had seen that many but we totaled 5,022 after working a little more overtime today. The kettles were not as large, or as readily visible, today and required a sharp eye to find, and a sharper eye to track the streaming birds. Grains of pepper indeed. The hitchhikers that traveled along with the broadwings were harder to separate out at that great height but we did our best. The kestrels continued to fly today with 41 counted. These birds don’t fly with the broadwings as much as some other migrants so they require more searching at different levels. Their speedy flight makes finding them even more challenging. We also spotted 2 merlins and 3 peregrine falcons. Juvenile red-tailed hawks continue to move with 27 noted. The same number of sharp-shinned hawks soared by as they took the high road too. A single Cooper’s hawk made the count. Bald eagles numbered 5 today. The northern harriers played hide and seek below the tree line today but we notched 6 in our belt. Non-raptor Observations: Warblers continue to move through the park an some were noted close by but not close enough to see what species. Hummingbirds were racing through at their usual breakneck speed. Monarchs seem to move when the broadwings do so they were plentiful today with over 300 counted. A brief glimpse of American White Pelicans was given before they disappeared behind the tree line. The kingfisher was heard laughing but not sighted. Our young local osprey continues to amuse us with dives into the water that seem to have no real purpose. Dropping in multiple times from very low heights as if practicing getting wet rather than hunting. Predictions: It looks like our run of NE wind will end tomorrow just after the watch begins, with it eventually going to the S, which is more customary. The strength will not be as much of a factor as it could be since it should stay below 5 mph. Clear skies will be the order of the day so if we are lucky enough to continue our run on broadwings, it will require diligent scrutiny of a high blue sky once again. The birds seem to seek the higher winds aloft when they don’t get the lift they need down low. The barometer will finally drop below 30 inches by days end as change is coming over the next few days, although Friday may look fairly similar to tomorrow. ======================================================================== 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