Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 21, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 10 1069 72584 Osprey 0 0 31 Bald Eagle 3 16 71 Northern Harrier 0 33 417 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 120 5041 Cooper's Hawk 0 31 101 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 21 196 807 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 16407 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 42 1501 4119 Rough-legged Hawk 0 13 21 Golden Eagle 0 37 55 American Kestrel 0 2 641 Merlin 1 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: 78 3036 100465 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: 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: A return to more seasonal weather was in the cards today as northern winds brought cooler air to the site. The barometer was above 30.5” although the sky was filled with various permutations of clouds until they mostly cleared in the afternoon replaced by high cirrus clouds indicating the precipitation to come tomorrow. Winds were light and changing from the NNE to a more easterly direction as the day progressed, ending ENE. Temperatures were in the middle forties by the end of day but felt a few degrees cooler. Raptor Observations: Today looked to provide better impetus for the birds to move closer to our site with a more favorable wind. The numbers were indeed better than the last two days. We had ten turkey vultures today as stragglers continue to move in small numbers. We counted three bald eagles. One sharp-shinned hawk was noted. Falcons were represented by one merlin. This is the buteo season and they were on the move but perhaps in less than expected, although respectable, numbers. Twenty one red-shouldered hawks showed their crescents and forty two red-tailed hawks made their presence known. Non-raptor Observations: The curious thing this morning was that large numbers of ducks were seen heading in the opposite direction to their usual path. Perhaps they were just up exercising their wings. Gulls were also up in numbers today, at times obscuring the view as we searched for raptors. Crows were on the move today with large murders passing from time to time. Predictions: As per Weather Underground’s prediction, tomorrow looks to be a rain/snow out. Other predictions may disagree, but NE winds with falling barometer and cold temperatures do not look inviting to most species so stay tuned. ======================================================================== 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