Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 09, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 813 18422 20208 Osprey 0 5 28 Bald Eagle 2 13 38 Northern Harrier 20 131 262 Sharp-shinned Hawk 242 2027 3980 Cooper's Hawk 7 22 31 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 11 13 Broad-winged Hawk 6 656 16386 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 10 86 211 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 17 227 614 Merlin 1 13 32 Peregrine Falcon 2 42 70 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 1 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 1124 21656 41875 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Sam Heilman Visitors: While Lake Erie Metropark is currently open to the public, for the safety of our counter and volunteers we encourage visitors to follow along with the count virtually on HawkCount.org, or our Detroit River Hawk Watch Facebook page. There will be daily updates and photographs. If you do decide to join us in person, please help the counter and volunteers to follow their mandated safety protocols by refraining from approaching them. Please follow the recommended Covid 19 procedures by wearing a mask and maintaining a safe social distance. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation. Stay safe! Weather: A pleasant day to look at but holding hidden menace for hawk counters. The winds were again nonexistent at the opening bell. Gradually they began to build from the S, give or take a few degrees either side, eventually gaining enough strength to push the afternoon flight out of sight to the north. Barometer started high enough with a reading of 30.2” but ended just below 30” for the day. It was a mostly clear day with very little cloud formation. There was some haze to obscure the view but the wind seemed to play a bigger part in our lack of action. Raptor Observations: After yesterday’s busy day, this had to be considered mildly disappointing. The morning hours were slow at first but picked up when the winds increased in strength. Even so, the turkey vultures were on a more northern route and difficult to see. We counted eight hundred and thirteen but I suspect we left some on the table, the far side of the table. Sharp-shins continued to fly but slowed in the afternoon. Two hundred and forty two made the clicker. Cooper’s hawks were present too with seven tallied. Harriers continued to breaststroke though with their unique style, reaching the twenty mark, which is a good haul for our site. Two bald eagles were noted flying through. We had some buteos on the move today in the midday hours mostly with ten red-tails, four red-shoulders and six broad-wings soaring by. The falcons numbered seventeen kestrels, one merlin and two peregrines. Non-raptor Observations: Not much to report on the non-raptor side. Our local kingfisher continues to taunt me with unannounced flybys and laughing rattles when out of range. We did hear some sandhill cranes rattling behind us in the marsh. A few yellow-rumped warblers were seen in a nearby maple tree. Predictions: Tomorrow does not look too promising with strong SW winds and a low barometer. The usual birds will fly but they may be pushed away if the winds are up in the mid-teens in strength. The sharpies may fly beneath the winds and may come low if the forecast holds but these conditions would not be my first choice for a great day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kevin Georg (kevin.l.georg@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