Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 09, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 3240 12693 13626 Osprey 0 1 17 Bald Eagle 7 37 70 Northern Harrier 8 63 246 Sharp-shinned Hawk 45 534 2671 Cooper's Hawk 1 12 51 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 9 9 Broad-winged Hawk 1 29 6777 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 26 127 182 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 77 356 Merlin 0 6 20 Peregrine Falcon 1 13 21 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 9 Unknown Buteo 1 6 19 Unknown Falcon 0 3 11 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 5 27 Total: 3337 13620 24113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Don Sherwood, Jo Patterson, Johannes Postma, Mark Hainen Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park. We are happy to share raptor ID tips and pamphlets with you! Weather: Lots of sunshine today. The temperature reached a high of 17C and light to moderate NW winds blew for the duration of the count. Between the breeze and the shade of the turning maple, we were pretty chilly today. Fall weather seems to finally be upon us! The barometer dropped slightly, and humanity remained low. Raptor Observations: Over 3,000 raptors were counted today: not quite as good as Monday, but a strong finish, nonetheless. Turkey Vulture were the bulk of our birds: 3,240 made the clicker. The first vulture kettles were seen around 10am and strong numbers persisted right up to the end of the day, with a notable peak at noon. Sharp-Shin and Red-Tail were our next biggest players: 45 and 26 respectively. Sharpies came mostly as singles, flying low and battling the winds. Red-Tails were hidden within vulture kettles and most IDs were thanks to Don’s impressive ability to pick them out. 7 high flying Bald Eagles made the count, as well as 8 Harriers, 1 Coop, 1 Red-Shoulder, 1 Broad-Wing, 5 Kestrel, and 1 Peregrin. The Peregrin came low overhead, right in time to be seen by a visiting school group! Non-raptor Observations: 1,785 Blue Jay were counted this morning, mostly in the first hour of our watch. Large groups of Pelican flew circles over Celeron and the lake throughout the day. Predictions: Tomorrow should be another day of clear skies and crisp air. Wind is predicted to be a light breeze from the NE in the morning before switching to SE later in the afternoon. The favorable morning wind direction, paired with a rising barometer, could mean another great day for our migrants. Fingers crossed we find a Golden Eagle in the mix sometime soon. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (erika_vankirk@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