Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 14, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 7 10 10 Osprey 3 17 17 Bald Eagle 1 21 21 Northern Harrier 3 71 71 Sharp-shinned Hawk 50 471 471 Cooper's Hawk 0 5 5 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 22 614 614 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 4 65 65 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 12 80 80 Merlin 2 4 4 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 4 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: 104 1362 1362 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg, Patrick Mulawa, Rosemary Brady Visitors: Saturday was a good day for visitors and we had pleasant interactions with people that were new to the concept of hawk counting. It's always good to show people just how much is happening in nature. Not just the hawks but the other species that are in constant struggles for survival. Weather: A day that started with sunshine, morphed to substantial clouds for a few hours and then back to sunshine. Throughout these transitions in the cloud coverage a persistently fresh wind with a mostly W component blew in the face of those brave enough to migrate today. Barometer was high most of the day but tailed off late a little. Raptor Observations: "And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville for...." It seemed like a strikeout today with no buteos to speak of. The fifty+ sharp-shinneds, and twelve kestrels that made the effort were buffeted by the winds changing their flight habits and making them harder to ID. We did have twenty three broad-wings but well spread out. Four red-tails were spotted as well. Better days are coming. Non-raptor Observations: Lots of gulls hawking insects today provided enough flak to be a mild annoyance. One of the broad-winged hawks that came over solo was seen extending talons to capture a possible dragonfly. We always wonder how they eat during migration given the huge flocks that they sometimes travel in. Perhaps they snack along the way. Predictions: Although tomorrow is forecast to look pleasant enough, the barometer and wind direction might be challenging to migration. Barometer should be falling throughout the day with a strong SW wind. Of course, given the fact that almost no forecast has yet followed the script, we should be overwhelmed with birds tomorrow:) ======================================================================== 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: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285