Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 24, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 1070 72585 Osprey 0 0 31 Bald Eagle 1 17 72 Northern Harrier 0 36 420 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 123 5044 Cooper's Hawk 0 33 103 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 204 815 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 16407 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 37 1588 4206 Rough-legged Hawk 5 18 26 Golden Eagle 0 37 55 American Kestrel 0 2 641 Merlin 0 9 62 Peregrine Falcon 0 8 102 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 2 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 47 3146 100575 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Observers: Alex Gilford, Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood 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: With the threat of rain looming the day didn’t seem to hold much promise today. By the time we started the watch the winds were coming from the E, a wind that we rarely see, at five mph. It gradually grew in strength and swung gradually to a more SSE direction. The barometer started at a respectable 30.37” but lost about a tenth as the precipitation approached. Temperatures remained in the thirties and the sky retained an ominous look all day long. A solid stratus cloud deck never left but low gray cumulus joined in for good measure as the rain/snow approached. We called the watch a couple of hours early as the raptors had taken a seat to watch the weather pass. Raptor Observations: Despite the adverse conditions and shortened day we had some success today. No turkey vultures were harmed in today’s production, in fact, none were even seen. One young bald eagle was counted. Only one sharp-shinned was noted, although the local Cooper’s hawks were busy today and seen frequently. We had a rush on buteos just before the weather hit, perhaps it was the increasing winds that brought them but there they were for about a one hour period. We ended with three red-shouldered hawks and thirty seven red-tailed hawks. Our rough-legged hawk season tally went up today with five light-morphs passing through; our best day for that species. Non-raptor Observations: The ducks were up in impressive numbers again today with many strings passing to the east of us. It really is an impressive sight even when you see them at such a distance. Migration is happening in many forms if you just look up at the right time. Another single double-crested cormorant was seen today. The Bonaparte’s gulls are still present and flashing their white wings in the poor light to show us just who they are. Predictions: Tomorrow has the potential for a rainout with chances of rain in the 60%+ range most of the day. Barometer will head south below 30” and winds will continue from the SSE. The winds will bring slightly warmer temps, but we may not be there to enjoy them. ======================================================================== 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