Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 28, 2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 1119 1119 Osprey 0 18 18 Bald Eagle 0 52 52 Northern Harrier 2 219 219 Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 2475 2475 Cooper's Hawk 0 43 43 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 1 Broad-winged Hawk 1 17396 17396 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 131 131 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 478 478 Merlin 1 17 17 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 4 Unknown Accipiter 0 3 3 Unknown Buteo 0 8 8 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 11 11 Total: 10 21977 21977 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 3.25 hours Official Counter: Dustin Brewer Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We had four visitors today willing to join us in the rainy weather. Weather: The muted colors behind the clouds when we arrived were a nice break for eyes used to the glaring sun in the morning, as the only evidence of our star was what looked like an upside down crown made of sunbeams. The clouds that protected our eyes, though, soon started crying. We left at 8:15 and returned at 11:30 (at which point it had stopped raining) to count for an hour and a half. Then, it started raining again and we left for the day. Raptor Observations: Due to the weather, not many raptors were moving today. We did, however, observe a Cooper's Hawk carrying a small bird and what appeared to be, during our brief view, a Peregrine Falcon with its recently caught prey. We counted several migrating Sharpies, a Merlin, and a couple Northern Harriers, as well as a solitary Broad-winged Hawk, looking for friends. Non-raptor Observations: The Blue Jays are still flying over by the thousands, sometimes while uttering their soft-toned 'yurp' calls. We counted nearly 600 Red-winged Blackbirds flying overhead, and possibly a small group of Rusty Blackbirds. Mute Swans were flying overhead, and Pied-bill Grebes were congregated in a large group (10 plus). Hundreds of Tree Swallows were acrobatically swerving through the air above the parking lot as we left for the last time. Predictions: Tomorrow is also predicted to be rainy, so could end up much like today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Detroit River Hawk Watch (greg_norwood@fws.gov) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.drhawkwatch.org