Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 23, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 71 4155 52363 Osprey 0 0 35 Bald Eagle 5 21 99 Northern Harrier 2 79 344 Sharp-shinned Hawk 12 272 4129 Cooper's Hawk 1 35 118 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 10 562 757 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 59 3988 4846 Rough-legged Hawk 0 11 12 Golden Eagle 4 52 56 American Kestrel 0 4 702 Merlin 1 2 33 Peregrine Falcon 0 6 52 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: 165 9188 127885 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We did well on visitors today. Richard, Michelle and Bill paid us a visit along with a handful of other persons intent on seeing golden eagles, the bird du jour. Fortunately, we were able to deliver today with birds that were visible without the aid of the Hubble. Weather: A day that was nearly a mirror image of yesterday, please remember that mirrors give a backward image. Today we started with sun for a short while. In a fairly subtle transition the high cirrus wisps were gradually replaced with increasingly solid overcast and lower, darker, more threatening clouds that foretold of the "wintry mix" weather event arriving in the evening hours. The barometer dropped down to 29.75" from a starting position about two tenths higher. Winds were also subtle, going a long way round the compass but failing to raise any enthusiasm regardless of direction. This made the hawk-counter's lives a little more tolerable but may not have helped the count. Raptor Observations: Despite a meh day weatherwise, we managed a fairly strong middle of the day. It was slow to start and absolutely stopped later on. 71 turkey vultures led the way numerically. The red-tails had a respectable 59 birds with 10 red-shouldered hawks keeping them company. 12 sharp-shins and 1 Cooper's filled out the accipiter dance card. 2 harriers were counted. 1 merlin was seen speeding by. The hardworking eagles were on the move today, (most birds had to work in the light winds), with 5 bald eagles and 4 golden eagles. We have now surpassed last year's total for goldens even though it looked doubtful a couple of weeks ago. Non-raptor Observations: 13 sandhills were seen flying by. Our Bonaparte's fleet has sailed for the most part as we were back down to a handful from 60 yesterday. Lots of waterfowl on the move high in the sky and far away from us. Predictions: Increasing winds from the WSW and a barometer continuing to stay in the lower range would not be the preferred indicators if you had your druthers. The sun should be out again and temps will rise possibly 40F. I don't think we will set any records tomorrow but hopefully some of the more hardy birds will be anxious to leave. ======================================================================== 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