Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 213 46256 46747 Osprey 0 5 35 Bald Eagle 1 26 77 Northern Harrier 0 85 259 Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 1663 3741 Cooper's Hawk 0 68 79 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 46 182 182 Broad-winged Hawk 0 538 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 74 686 801 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 3 3 American Kestrel 0 124 697 Merlin 1 13 29 Peregrine Falcon 0 31 46 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: 343 49681 117034 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 4 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Rosemary Brady Visitors: Bill and Michelle came to visit.Also, members of Washtenaw Audubon came to see the show. Although the weather was not hospitable, all were lucky to see a relatively good day for bird migration. Weather: I must say that the last two days have been "Go figure" days. Although similar in appearance; yesterday, the rain was miles away and we could not buy a bird. Today, the rain was imminent and the buteos flew to the bar as if the time bell had just run for last orders. A day that was cut short by rain arriving on schedule for once. An ENE wind was blowing fresh in our faces and provided a good motivation for the buteos. Barometer was high but falling slightly during our hours at the site. Raptor Observations: Although turkey vultures (213) may have outnumbered them, the buteos were the star of the day. 74 red-tails flew with 46 red-shoulders. That is an impressive showing by the red-shoulders on a short day. 8 sharp-shins, which is the bird we might have expected to see today, made the crossing. Only 1 falcon was seen, a lone merlin. 1 unusually colored bald eagle was spotted. This bird, from a distance, seemed to have a white head and tail but white wing-pits too. It was transitioning to adult plumage. Non-raptor Observations: Not much to report as the weather seemed to subdue the other species. The swallows were plentiful at our end of the slip and served their purpose as flak to be peered around while trying to track other birds. Predictions: Strong winds from the west with a rebounding barometer but continuing cloud cover would not seem to bode well. Although birds like to ride the energy corridors around bad weather this may be too close to the rain for most. However, you pay your money and take your chances. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan (jerry.jourdan@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