Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 06, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 1831 50039 Osprey 0 0 35 Bald Eagle 1 9 87 Northern Harrier 5 12 277 Sharp-shinned Hawk 17 113 3970 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 86 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 75 270 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 245 1103 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 2 Golden Eagle 1 5 9 American Kestrel 0 3 701 Merlin 1 1 32 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 49 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: 31 2301 120998 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Alex Gilford, Andrew Sturgess, Mark Hainen, Rosemary Brady Visitors: Not a day for visitors or birds apparently. Weather: Mama said there'd be days like this. The last slice of light sky disappeared in the distance as we started the watch. Replacing it was a gray cloud deck that darkened the day, and our mood, it threatened snow and delivered a little graupel. A fresh SW wind was the second strike against us. The barometer started at a surprisingly high 30.4" but dropped a tenth and a half during the watch. It certainly did not look like high pressure weather. Raptor Observations: 17 sharp-shins were the biggest number on the day. Turkey vultures were taking the day off in our zip code. 5 harriers made the trip. 3 red-tails and 3 red-shoulders carried the buteo load. 1 merlin was seen zipping along. 1 bald eagle was counted and we were glad to see another golden eagle since we are way behind this year. The flight dried up in the afternoon hours and we called it off an hour short. Non-raptor Observations: Our usual contingent of "others" was seen today. Forster's terns and Bonaparte's gulls were working the lake. Tree swallows were staying very low over the water today. Distant ducks were observed flying in long strings over the lake. Predictions: We finally get the northern winds we have been craving tomorrow. The problem is that we will just be emerging from the rain and snow that it brings as the watch starts. As the day progresses we may see movement and as the sun emerges it may get even better on 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: 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