Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 2693 66418 68551 Osprey 0 2 53 Bald Eagle 0 18 90 Northern Harrier 5 87 442 Sharp-shinned Hawk 116 2019 5776 Cooper's Hawk 1 29 40 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 101 101 Broad-winged Hawk 0 99 107681 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 11 325 411 Rough-legged Hawk 1 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 8 269 1254 Merlin 1 6 37 Peregrine Falcon 0 17 37 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 2838 69392 184477 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Jackie Quinones, Jessica Fletcher, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site and are very willing to share migration information, photography and ID tips with them. We have cards and pamphlets, so come and talk to us. However, during times of high traffic, requiring extra focus and concentration, we would respectfully ask that everyone use their indoor voices and allow us to fulfill our mission to the best of our abilities. Thank you. Weather: A pleasant looking day at the start, with enough blue sky to allow the beneficial rays of the sun to provide warmth enough to shed a layer or two. As the day progressed, icy cirrus clouds came skating in, foretelling the rain to come. By days end, the ensuing cumulus clouds had accumulated enough mass to cover the sky and look slightly menacing. Winds from the south grew in intensity during the day, dropping in the final hours, but the damage had been done. Whitecaps were evident on Lake Erie at the peak of the wind’s effort, which was officially thirteen mph, but the fetch across the lake allowed higher speeds to act on the birds. Temperatures did reach the sixty-degree mark. The barometer started a small decline, which will accelerate as the rain arrives. Raptor Observations: Today was kinda-sorta similar to yesterday, but only if you divide by ten. We had a slow start to the day with one busy hour in the middle. Turkey vultures were taking the great circle route today, heading off to the east and then reappearing in the north after a long wait. Similar to yesterday, most came in one hour with 1,960 passing through. Their sightings dwindled as the wind speed grew and the atmosphere became hazier on their chosen route. By days end, we had counted 2,693, but the last two hours were single digit counts. Sharpies, bless their little hearts, did cross the slip today. But they were front-loaded too. Totals fell as the wind strengthened and we had zero in the last hour. The final sum was 116. Red-tailed hawks were seen but not in the same numbers as yesterday. What a difference a wind makes, only eleven made the clicker today. Kestrels were next in line with eight winging their way through. Harriers were just enough to count on one hand, with five showing up. We had two hard-flapping red-shouldered hawks pass through. One Cooper’s hawk was noted. One merlin was following its instincts and chasing other birds. We had our second rough-legged hawk today, another light morph. Congrats to our colleagues at Holiday Beach for the first golden eagle of the season. I believe that we also saw that bird, but so far out over the lake that we could not comfortably confirm it. I’ve put in an order for some more, but Amazon couldn’t guarantee two-day delivery, even though I am a prime member. Non-raptor Observations: Blue jays, crows and red-winged blackbirds were seen in migration today, but not in great numbers. One monarch butterfly was also noted. A yellow-rumped warbler made a brief appearance in the maple tree next to the site. All the terns were present and accounted for: Caspian, common and Forster’s. No little gull today but I think it is probably roosting with some Bonaparte’s gulls in another location. I know that tiny houses are a thing now, but today, we seemed to see a number of tiny boats. We see boats with over 1,000 hp pushing on the transom but there are twelve footers with twenty-five or forty horse motors out there looking like miniatures of the big boys, the operator’s heads sticking up well over the windshields. Predictions: Tomorrow does not look promising. Rain is in the forecast along with a southern wind in the ten-mph range. Although the rain may be light and intermittent, the wind will push most migrants well to the north, or cause them to turn before they reach our site. The barometer will be dropping about three tenths tomorrow, which is significant. Cloud cover should be extensive, temperatures should be in the fifties again. The cornucopia may be pointing the wrong way tomorrow, providing little bounty. ======================================================================== 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: 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-2023