Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 06, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 505 19267 19758 Osprey 0 2 32 Bald Eagle 0 1 52 Northern Harrier 1 28 202 Sharp-shinned Hawk 90 596 2674 Cooper's Hawk 0 18 29 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 3 3 Broad-winged Hawk 1 531 64329 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 5 58 173 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 1 63 636 Merlin 0 2 18 Peregrine Falcon 5 13 28 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: 608 20582 87935 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainan, Mark Hainen, Rosemary Brady Visitors: Our visitors saw some sharpies today and peregrines if they were lucky and quick with the glasses. The afternoon was only for the dedicated and practiced. Weather: We suffered a hangover from the rain during the first hours of the watch. Although it seemed to have cleared, showers started as soon as we took seats at our stations and it was necessary to retreat to our chariots. The clearing skies would seem to be inviting with a rising barometer but the wind was SW and rising in strength and that is not our favorite wind. The birds seemed to take a cue from Lions fans who were unusually laid back and serene today, I mean even the Lions can't lose on their bye week.....can they?? This relaxed attitude led to a pretty slow day with little to show in the way of any species. Raptor Observations: Turkey vultures carried the day but in much smaller numbers than the two previous days. Just over 500 made the crossing which is only a trickle in comparison. Sharp-shins numbered 90 birds but seemed so spread out that the total seems surprising. The peregrine falcon was front and center today with 5 birds, including one that dove on a gull just to remind it who its daddy was. Red-tailed hawks numbered five birds and most of those showed up late in the day. Only one broad-wing was observed. This just wasn't the right wind for buteos. Non-raptor Observations: A very nice day other than the lack of birds. The gulls continue to hawk insects high in the sky in large numbers. Swifts and swallows are being seen in large numbers, thankfully not immediately in front of us. They seem to have taken up stations by Celeron Island in impressive flights of swirling birds. Predictions: Tomorrow has possibilities. Barometer will continue to rise and the winds are predicted to move from W to WNW in the afternoon at a moderate strength. We started to see a few buteos at the end of the day today and hopefully the flight will pick up and continue tomorrow. AJS ======================================================================== 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