Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 02, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 262 986 3159 Osprey 2 2 53 Bald Eagle 2 5 77 Northern Harrier 12 20 375 Sharp-shinned Hawk 124 287 4044 Cooper's Hawk 4 4 15 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2 Broad-winged Hawk 3 26 107610 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 15 101 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 34 81 1066 Merlin 2 3 34 Peregrine Falcon 1 4 24 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: 449 1435 116562 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Jackie Quinones, Kevin Georg, Mark Hainen 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: We have had a very similar weather pattern the last few days, light winds of no consequence early; then a rising wind out of the south that makes our afternoons a little more boring than we would prefer. Today, the fog started over the lake but advanced on little cat feet towards us, adding to atmospheric conditions that were less than ideal to begin with. In the afternoon, the air around us looked like we had seen coal-burning ships transiting the Detroit River all day; in actuality, we saw very little river traffic. It reminded one of the days before the Clean Air Act was passed. The temperatures topped out at seventy-six degrees at our location. High barometric pressure continued but will start to decline over the next few days as another rain system may be on the way. Clouds were almost non existent by days end creating a high blue sky that can be tough to find targets in. Raptor Observations: Turkey vultures led the way, but we should have had more. Some were right on the edge of visibility, melting into the ether and disappearing as you watched. 262 were counted but most were around midday and after that were very rare. Sharpies fought above their weight class again with 124 catching the migrant train. They slowed down in the afternoon hours as well. Kestrels flew by thirty-four times, their falcon brethren, peregrines and merlins, had one and two birds respectively. Only three red-tails made it today but they may well have been out of sight, off to the north riding the southern wind. Four Cooper’s hawks were counted today. We are starting to see more adult plumages in the accipiters the last couple of days. Two bald eagles and two ospreys were counted today but it looks like our “local” osprey has picked up a friend to stay with him. Only three broad-wings were counted today but their race is almost run. We only had twenty-eight in October last season. Non-raptor Observations: Our duck population in the slip seems to have diminished but that may be due to heavier boat traffic again today. One Caspian tern was still working hard for the money but the others may have moved on. About six Forster’s terns were seen this morning. We also had a small flock of shorebirds fly by today but as of yet, we are not sure what they were. Blue jays were off the pace today with only 802 being counted but the atmospheric conditions made seeing them a real challenge. Monarchs were more productive than the birds in the last hour and ended the day with 177. Predictions: Can you say ditto? Except for the falling barometer, we will remain in a high-pressure zone with winds that are light and variable in the early hours, then growing in strength from the SW in the afternoon hours. The last three days traffic has eased off considerably in the late afternoon. I suspect the same thing will happen tomorrow. Temperatures will possibly hit the eighty-degree mark so let’s hope we get a little relief from wind off the lake. ======================================================================== 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