Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 833 42300 49584 Osprey 0 2 16 Bald Eagle 0 21 52 Northern Harrier 0 131 363 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 2893 5769 Cooper's Hawk 0 36 60 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 3 528 709 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 8 8 American Kestrel 0 225 980 Merlin 0 41 66 Peregrine Falcon 0 34 56 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: 839 46295 125064 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8.33 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Sarah deGuise 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: A slow start to the day despite the absence of the all-day rain that was predicted. (When I think of Weather Underground and their forecast accuracy, I am reminded of Casey Stengel and the 62 Mets, “Can’t anybody here play this game?) Although, to give them a little credit, there was some misting at times. The winds were gathering their strength and swinging around the compass until in the first afternoon hour they reached a peak speed of nineteen mph and came from the NW with gusto. Our maple that had been gently releasing its leaves now had a wholesale stampede on its hands; by day’s end it was nearly bare. The northern winds did bring more substantial light precipitation so we did retreat for an hour. The NW winds were a sign that a high-pressure system had finally banished the southern winds we were dealing with the last few days. The barometer began a strong rebound off its low and gained three tenths of an inch in a few hours. Cloud cover was complete except for a few moments late in the day when a few golden shafts of light briefly reached isolated areas of shoreline, the illuminated trees providing a marked contrast to the dark overcast sky. Raptor Observations: Nada was the operative word for the first four hours. The damp and heavy cloud cover seemed to stop the flight completely. Things changed later in the day as the winds turned NW and the barometer rose. The turkey vultures came out of hiding and many of them flew very close overhead at the site, rocking and rolling in the gusty wind. A pleasant change, seeing migration up close and personal after scouring the distant hazy skies the past few days. We counted 833, a large portion of which came after our normal quitting time. The turkey vultures had very little company today as we only noted 3 sharp-shins and the same number of red-tailed hawks. Non-raptor Observations: The northern winds seemed to refresh the gulls and swallows as their numbers swelled later in the day. A pair of Bonaparte’s were seen further out on the lake. Also out in the choppy waters was a common loon, although as far as we could tell, it was not calling today. Some small flights of blackbirds were noted and a couple of murders of crows. The monarchs sat this dance out. Predictions: Tomorrow has some things going for it. The barometric pressure will still be rising, skies will partially clear allowing sunshine to do its magic, and winds will drop into the five-mph region from the NE. The winds may be a little lighter than we might like but otherwise things look good. Temperatures will be in the low fifties so it should not be too uncomfortable but the wind will be in our face. The wind direction is eventually going to end up in the eastern quarter for about four days, hovering around the five-mph mark, so hopefully this transition waits until Friday. ======================================================================== 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