SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 13 84 84 Osprey 10 49 49 Bald Eagle 3 27 27 Northern Harrier 34 97 97 Sharp-shinned Hawk 191 1046 1046 Cooper's Hawk 5 54 54 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 1 1 Broad-winged Hawk 151 453 453 Red-tailed Hawk 10 62 62 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 119 396 396 Merlin 1 16 16 Peregrine Falcon 0 7 7 Unknown Total: 538 2292 2292 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers: Bruce Roberts, Derek Lovitch, Jim Maki, Ron Harkness Weather: Overcast conditions prevailed for much of the morning today, although overall skies were much less hazy than yesterday. The afternoon was generally sunny but there was still a fair amount of cloud cover. Winds were very light and variable in the morning becoming light east-southeast in the afternoon and then southeast by the end of the day. The barometer dropped sharply during the afternoon in response to the approaching frontal system that is forecast to bring rain overnight. Raptor Observations: The progression of the flight was somewhat similar to yesterday with very little moving early in the day under cloud cover but the buildup of birds was perhaps a bit more gradual once conditions improved as compared to yesterday’s quick increase in activity. Also there was a quicker wind down of birds at the end of the day. The breakdown in birds was similar to the previous day as well with just a bit more Sharpie movement and less Kestrel movement overall. Ospreys and Harriers both had their best passages thus far. Highlighting the day was the season’s first Red-shouldered Hawk, a juvenile. Another interesting sighting was watching a Broad-winged Hawk catch a flying insect (probably a dragonfly) in mid flight, a feeding maneuver more typical of Kestrels and Merlins. Non-raptor Observations: This was probably one of the busiest days so far this fall for Monarch movement with heavy migration observed during the afternoon once the sun made its appearance. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Calvin Brennan (common_raven@hotmail.com) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.smrr.net/