Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 05, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 1 8 8 Bald Eagle 0 1 1 Northern Harrier 0 11 11 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 20 20 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 9 171 171 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 9 9 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 1 24 24 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 1 2 2 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 14 247 247 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Mark Hainen Visitors: We are still dealing with the residue of the Covid 19 situation. The workers at the site will be in an enclosed area that is designed for four people only. We still love to interact and share our love of hawk watching with visitors. Feel free to ask questions and look over our shoulders to help you follow the birds. Watch the weather for favorable forecasts as the birds are predictable to some degree based on weather situations. One other thing of note this year; the boat-launch bathroom building has been shut down for the foreseeable future due to plumbing issues. There are Porta-Johns in the parking lot should you require them. Weather: While we staged our own version of Waiting for Godot today, we had plenty of time to ponder the beauty of clouds. A lovely fall day presented us that opportunity as the holiday weekend progressed with large cumulus of considerable mass floating before us on the variable WNW winds. It’s always impressive to see the mix of textures and shades of colors that seem to defy logic as small wispy clouds have a dark demeanor while the large billowing ones show a range from brilliant white to darker tones on the flat bottoms. Anyone who has decided to touch up a white paint in your home is familiar with the bewildering, seemingly endless variations on the white theme. Today’s cloud tapestry represented the spectrum of white colors in all their glory. Despite the pleasant scenery, we did not score well on the birdometer; the birds were few and far between. I suspect the barometric pressure had something to do with it as it stayed relatively low after last night’s rains. It should begin to rebound tomorrow and hopefully bring better results. Raptor Observations: The raptor cupboard was nearly bare today as we totaled fourteen birds. Nine broadwings made the trip. One osprey was noted. A sharp-shinned hawk fluttered by. We have not really seen a lot of them so far, they are normally a bird that comes almost every day of the season. One red-tailed hawk was seen streaming into the woods. One kestrel passed by and another falcon, a peregrine, soared over without flapping a wing, turning lazy circles on the wind. Non-raptor Observations: The usual suspects were busy today with the gulls heading high into the sky to soar with the eagles. We did see a few of the local eagles getting their frequent flyer miles. Cormorants were also see flying high and soaring. Somehow this seems out of character for this bird but a lot of birds that you would not expect to soar do so. Cedar waxwings are still working from the alder tree that they seem to use every season. Lots of swallows and martins are still terrorizing the local insect population. A pied-billed grebe was seen early in the morning. Predictions: A chance of rain is in the forecast but not significant amounts and occurring in the early morning hours. The barometer will begin an upward trend tomorrow but will not crack the 30” barrier. It should be a little cooler tomorrow, in the mid-seventies, with winds in the moderate range still coming from the western quadrant. The day should be mostly sunny so no letting our minds wander “lonely as a cloud.” This forecast should bring better results than today but it does not quite fit the profile for a very good day. Let’s hope they prove me wrong. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kevin Georg (kevin.l.georg@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