Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 20, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1036 37887 45171 Osprey 0 2 16 Bald Eagle 0 17 48 Northern Harrier 1 90 322 Sharp-shinned Hawk 123 1426 4302 Cooper's Hawk 2 33 57 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 48 51 Broad-winged Hawk 0 28 67350 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 475 656 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 8 8 American Kestrel 2 166 921 Merlin 1 18 43 Peregrine Falcon 0 24 46 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: 1166 40222 118991 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood 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: It appears that the spell has been broken and order restored. Sunshine is coming back, but we suffered some final indignities from the low-pressure system as the last of its rain bands turned to snow and curtailed the watch a little early. The temperature only touched forty degrees for a moment in early afternoon before dropping as the snow approached; a drop that was noticeable to the participants in today’s watch. The wind was not as strong as predicted, for which we were thankful. Not as strong as predicted doesn’t mean that it lacked conviction; it reached thirteen mph before dropping in the last hour. It swung a little from SW and ended up from the W by watch’s end. The barometer was not steady but had small changes both up and down, generally around the 29.8 inches of mercury region. The snow blew in about 2 p.m., the stacks were no longer visible when the menacing clouds that had masked the sun so effectively finally fulfilled their threat. The radar showed that the snow was likely to continue and the birds seemed to have tapered off during the last hour so we retreated to the warmth of our homes. Raptor Observations: The turkey vultures were still on the move today and their flight path was easily visible for the first few hours. A lot of them seemed to travel fairly low behind the shelter of the trees. We counted 1,036 today. That puts us over 45K for the 2022 season. Sharpies, of course, delivered a good effort with over one hundred counted, 123 to be exact. Their flight was much smoother today than yesterday. Not much else was flying today with 2 each of kestrels and Cooper’s hawks, and only one each of merlin, red-tailed hawk, and northern harriers counted. Non-raptor Observations: I know this is beginning to sound like a broken record but the pelicans are continuing to move closer to us in search of food. We are treated to flights in and out of our slip and seeing them catch and devour fish from close range. That may mean the fish are moving into shallower waters and they are following the food, or merely that they are showing off for us. Our kingfisher made a laughing flight in front of us again today. He landed on a post at the boat launch to take a break from taunting me. The swallows are still the hardest working birds in the business as they mine the biomass from the air around us. A greater yellowlegs was observed in the park yesterday, feeding in the marsh by the road, as I drove out. Predictions: We should see some sunshine tomorrow so our vitamin D deficiencies should be corrected. Temperatures will start a little higher than today’s peak but will shoot up to the sixties by day’s end. The barometer will gradually climb, although modestly. These items sound like good news but the 800-pound elephant in the room is the wind. It should start around ten mph and work its way up to fifteen from the south. Good for raising the temperature but not the best wind for raptor observation at our site as it tends to push the birds to the north of us. Hopefully, the more resolute turkey vultures and sharpies will still travel through our neighborhood. ======================================================================== 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