Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 635 30908 31399 Osprey 0 5 35 Bald Eagle 0 9 60 Northern Harrier 0 41 215 Sharp-shinned Hawk 18 1014 3092 Cooper's Hawk 0 39 50 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 36 36 Broad-winged Hawk 0 538 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 177 292 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 3 3 American Kestrel 0 83 656 Merlin 0 5 21 Peregrine Falcon 0 23 38 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: 653 32881 100234 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Mark Hainen, Sam Heilman Visitors: We only had one visitor today. Miss Deanna dropped by for a pleasant couple of hours despite the tempest that raged around us. Weather: An angry purple sky to rival El Greco's View of Toledo greeted us this morning. Blustery west winds reminded us that we were not done with the low pressure system that seemed to be centered over us. Swirling masses on the radar confirmed that notion. The pressure on the barometer was as low as we have seen at 29.63" Hg. The color of the sky changed to a dreary gray though the day and a very fine precipitating mist that limited visibility and obscured some of our landmarks caused us to pull the plug early today. Raptor Observations: A two species day. 635 hardy vultures took the plunge; although their route was never direct and at times was not visible. 18 sharpies came through in the morning hours but the flight tapered off to nothing as the day progressed. The vultures seemed not to be deterred by the precipitation but we had issues seeing them. Non-raptor Observations: Our local Cooper's hawks were up with their deep-flapping display flight despite the inhospitable conditions. The local adult bald eagles seemed to relish flying in the high winds. Predictions: Hmmmm. Well the wind looks good tomorrow as far as direction goes. I'm not sure that we will be comfortable facing it as it will be in the 20 mph range early in the day and stay in the teens speedwise. The barometer will be rising slowly as the high pushes in. It looks like a one-more-layer-required day as the temperatures will perhaps reach the low fifties. I hope to see birds moving over the next couple of days, although tracking them may be tough tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan (jerry.jourdan@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