Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 14, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 3 9 9 Osprey 1 4 4 Bald Eagle 1 12 12 Northern Harrier 4 24 24 Sharp-shinned Hawk 211 710 710 Cooper's Hawk 1 4 4 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 12555 12555 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 4 83 83 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 17 154 154 Merlin 1 9 9 Peregrine Falcon 2 8 8 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 245 13572 13572 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Bill Peregord, Mark Hainen, Patrick Mulawa, Sarah deGuise Visitors: We are located by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark in a fenced off area at the Hawk Watch site. This does not mean that we do not welcome interaction with any and all visitors. We enjoy talking about what we do and sharing our knowledge with beginners and experts alike. Please feel free to come up and talk to us. We usually have our backs turned to the parking lot as we scan the skies in front of us. This should not be interpreted as a sign of reluctance to engage: this is how we do our job. We have friendly people that do not bite and the welcome mat is always out. Weather: Hello everyone, guest speaker and apprentice Sarah here, I will try my best to channel my inner Andrew as I write the days' narrative. The morning started off with an hour delay as the fog covered the sky like a thick flannel blanket; but by the 9:00 hour (bird time of course) things started to liven up around the river. On the weather report we had a pretty steady barometer and hotter temperatures that were cooking up the thermals, as well as us. Unfortunately, the winds were not in our favor for Broad-wings once again as the light breeze blew in a NW direction at the top of the morning before making a turn for the South for the remainder of the afternoon. The cumulus clouds eventually started to form in flat-bottomed puffs around late afternoon which cooled us off and gave the eyes a break from staring into the harsh blue. Raptor Observations: The moral was low this morning with the thick fog, but as the sky cleared and the sun began to shine the Sharpies got their move on for the day. The buteos were pushed to the way side today as we counted 227 Sharp-shinned hawks as they trickled their way across the skyline. We achieved the falcon hat-trick for the second day in a row; we counted 1 Merlin who gave us a hello right overhead, a stooping Peregrine, and a handful of Kestrels. We also counted 10 of the 14 possible species today, not in any significant numbers but hey, a birds a bird. Non-raptor Observations: The Blue jays were the stars of the show this morning with 2185 streaming across the sky in multiple groups of 100+, but their numbers dwindled by lunch time, much like our energy levels. The Pelicans are continuing to move but far fewer wheeled through the sky today. The Monarch numbers took such a jump today that you would have thought there was a fire sale on milkweed somewhere and they were rushing to beat the crowds. We ended up with 526 total which has been our best day yet. The gulls seemed to be the only ones taking a relaxed approach to the day as they rested in the water with their feathers blowing in the southernly wind. Predictions: I am no meteorologist so I will leave the weather to show itself tomorrow. All fingers are crossed for a good wind! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jessie Fletcher (jessica_fletcher@fws.gov) 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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2022