Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 19, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 314 48656 49589 Osprey 0 2 18 Bald Eagle 0 65 98 Northern Harrier 2 101 284 Sharp-shinned Hawk 30 955 3092 Cooper's Hawk 1 29 68 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 120 120 Broad-winged Hawk 0 36 6784 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 6 448 503 Rough-legged Hawk 0 4 4 Golden Eagle 0 10 10 American Kestrel 0 108 387 Merlin 0 8 22 Peregrine Falcon 0 17 25 Unknown Accipiter 0 6 11 Unknown Buteo 1 12 25 Unknown Falcon 0 4 12 Unknown Eagle 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 5 27 Total: 354 50588 61081 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Bill and Michelle Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jo Patterson, Mark Hainen Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park. We have brochures and educational information we are happy to share. Let us share our enthusiasm for migration and raptors with you! While we welcome your questions and company, please know that our professional counter, apprentices, and volunteers must communicate with each other frequently to successfully conduct the count, and they also must maintain an unobstructed view of the horizon. Weather: Sunny, with light southerly winds in late morning and afternoon (wind velocity did not exceed 6 km or 4 miles per hour). Temperature rose to +17C or 63F. Raptor Observations: A very slow day with only 354 birds counted. Of those, 314 were Turkey Vultures. We also saw 30 Sharp-shinned Hawks, six Red-tails and two harriers. Non-raptor Observations: Slow day for corvid migration as well; only 110 Blue Jays and 104 American Crows counted. Around 100 White Pelicans soared over their usual hideout at Celeron. Sandhill Cranes were heard, but not seen. A single Bonaparte's Gull was fishing near the boat launch, and its Ring-billed cousins were noisily chasing each other over a tiny fish caught by one of them. Predictions: We expect warm, almost summer-like weather (at least in the afternoon) tomorrow and on Monday, with winds coming from the south-west. Under these conditions, we do not anticipate seeing a lot of hawks and vultures. Perhaps a few hundred birds. ======================================================================== 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