Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 12, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 100 3399 51607 Osprey 0 0 35 Bald Eagle 1 10 88 Northern Harrier 9 30 295 Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 175 4032 Cooper's Hawk 0 22 105 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 31 231 426 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 129 1013 1871 Rough-legged Hawk 0 5 6 Golden Eagle 0 12 16 American Kestrel 0 4 702 Merlin 0 1 32 Peregrine Falcon 0 5 51 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: 278 4907 123604 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Rosemary Brady Visitors: One brave visitor came today. Johannes braved I-94 and the weather but unfortunately his thermal armour was found wanting in relatively short order. Weather: As Super Chicken used to remind Fred the Friendly Lion, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it." Winter payed us an visit yesterday and the cold temperatures (20's F) and snow stuck around today. NW winds cleared the sky early in the day and probed for any chinks in our thermal armour. The clear bright blue sky began to fill with cumulus clouds in the afternoon changing the look of the birds as they were more frequently in shaded areas under clouds. Barometer stayed at 30.3" for most of the day. Raptor Observations: The northerly winds suited the raptors today and they responded by moving. 100 turkey vultures came in small groups but their numbers were surpassed by the red-tailed hawks totaling 129. Red-shoulders numbered 31. Perhaps we might have had more of the buteos but the wind was a little too fresh and persistent. 9 harriers flew by today along with 8 sharp-shins. 1 bald eagle was seen high overhead heading to warmer climes. Non-raptor Observations: The brisk arctic air seemed to encourage the ducks and swans to take to the skies in small units today. Another type of avian flack that we don't normally encounter. Some horned larks were seen moving by in small flocks. One sandhill crane was observed. Our "gull-friend", the injured herring gull that has adopted us was seen flying to the middle of the slip today. It's primary flight feathers seem to be growing back to some degree. Predictions: Another cold day in the trenches tomorrow. Not as promising as today was as the winds will switch back to SW and increase during the day. The good thing is that the watchers are generally sheltered from this wind but the bad thing is the wind is not favorable to our site. It shouldn't be too strong though so perhaps the buteo flight will continue to some degree. Barometer will peak midday and then fall but not drastically. ======================================================================== 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: 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