Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 07, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4056 8073 9006 Osprey 0 1 17 Bald Eagle 5 25 58 Northern Harrier 2 46 229 Sharp-shinned Hawk 52 404 2541 Cooper's Hawk 1 9 48 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 5 7 7 Broad-winged Hawk 0 28 6776 Swainson's Hawk 1 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 28 91 146 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 4 64 343 Merlin 0 6 20 Peregrine Falcon 2 7 15 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 9 Unknown Buteo 0 5 18 Unknown Falcon 0 3 11 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 4 26 Total: 4156 8778 19271 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Ben Sehl, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Mark Hainen Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park. We are willing to spread the word with pamphlets and information cards, along with tips on raptors identification. Let us share our enthusiasm for this miracle of nature with you. Weather: Strong northwesterly winds throughout the day, reaching 13 miles per hour (21 km/hr) at times. Temperature never rose above 65 F (+18C). A mix of sun and cloud early in the morning, but mostly sunny after 11 AM EDT. Raptor Observations: Today's count exceeded our most optimistic forecasts! Notwithstanding the unfavorable winds, kettles upon kettles of Turkey Vultures streamed practically non-stop over the count area. Many contained 50-60, but two or three numbered over 200 birds each, bringing the final count to 4,056! The kettles moved on a broad front, circling in the air, rising higher and higher, merging and dispersing. A fine aerial spectacle! We were treated to more pleasant surprises! Between 2 and 3 PM, Don spotted, in his own words, "a harrier with a short tail". We caught only a glimpse of it, before it went behind the trees, and rushed to the other side hoping to get a better view. The bird obliged and briefly circled the parking lot, giving Don just enough time to recognized it as juvenile Swainson's Hawk! Another treat were five Red-shouldered Hawks, three seen directly overhead! We concluded with a total of 4,156 raptors! Our highest count, so far, the the fall season of 2024. Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jay numbers returned to more or less expected seasonal; 1,139 were counted today. American White Pelicans were sighted for the second day in a row; up to eighty were soaring over Celeron Island in the afternoon. Predictions: Northwesterly winds and cool temperatures are expected tomorrow. Will we see as many Turkey Vultures? Remains to be seen. ======================================================================== 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