Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 01, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 537 537 48745 Osprey 0 0 35 Bald Eagle 1 1 79 Northern Harrier 3 3 268 Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 11 3868 Cooper's Hawk 2 2 85 Northern Goshawk 1 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 22 22 217 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 81 81 939 Rough-legged Hawk 1 1 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 4 American Kestrel 1 1 699 Merlin 0 0 31 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 47 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: 661 661 119358 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Frank Kitakis, Mark Hainen, Rosemary Brady Visitors: Visitors were few today but we did enjoy the company of one lady who had served her time in the early days at Holiday Beach. Weather: The worst of the witches brew had blown by us as we resumed the count after a two day sabbatical for the Halloween Monsoon. Winds were fresh from the W and went around to the SW, dropping in strength as the day went along. The barometer was a high normal and actually rose as we welcomed a high pressure system back. The skies looked threatening but the clearing was predicted and finally happened in the very late hours of the watch. Thick grey clouds replaced by a mix of low cumulus and high cirrus against a beautiful blue backdrop. Raptor Observations: 537 turkey vultures floated by today but this was a good day for buteos to move. Over 100 made the effort against the wind in their face. 81 red-tails led the way, 22 red-shoulders kept them company. Last but certainly not least in the category was another light-morphed rough-legged hawk. We had another welcome guest this morning with a northern goshawk flying past. He was joined by his accipiter brethren with 11 sharp-shins and 2 Cooper's hawks joining the march. Harriers were counted on the fingers of one hand with 5. Falcons made a late appearance with 1 kestrel and the last bird of the day in a well-lit appearance by the late arriving sun was 1 peregrine. Non-raptor Observations: Today was the first day we had seen, and heard, tundra swans passing overhead. Three large flocks were seen high in the sky. Our favorite terns, the Forster's, are still here, joined by the lone Bonaparte's gull again. Four loons were seen flying together over the trees across the slip. Predictions: The barometer is scheduled to fall about two tenths tomorrow (but stay above 30") as rain showers might be possible. Winds are about the same as today but starting SW and turning W later on. It should be mostly cloudy. It will be interesting to see whether we get many birds under these conditions. I had a feeling we lost some birds to the north today on the SW winds even though it was not a bad day all things considered. ======================================================================== 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: 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