Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 8674 10807 Osprey 0 2 53 Bald Eagle 0 12 84 Northern Harrier 0 51 406 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 703 4460 Cooper's Hawk 0 12 23 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 9 9 Broad-winged Hawk 0 36 107618 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 76 162 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 236 1221 Merlin 0 5 36 Peregrine Falcon 0 9 29 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 0 9825 124910 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Observers: Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site and are very willing to share migration information, photography and ID tips with them. We have cards and pamphlets, so come and talk to us. However, during times of high traffic, requiring extra focus and concentration, we would respectfully ask that everyone use their indoor voices and allow us to fulfill our mission to the best of our abilities. Thank you. Weather: Another day in which light winds meandered around the compass before settling in the south end and growing in strength. The winds peaked at eight-mph but that was short term and most of the day it was not obvious from whence it came. Cloud cover was also variable, at times sparse enough to allow the sun to warm us, other times, dark and mildly threatening as if the rain to come later was imminent. The southern winds brought warmer temperatures, breaking the sixty-degree mark by one degree. The barometer rose a little but stayed relatively low in the 29.8” range. Raptor Observations: The day seemed a little odd, as we had little activity for the morning and late afternoon hours but a couple of hours in the middle that produced most of the birds. Turkey vultures took three hours to get going but thanks mostly to the first afternoon hour, in which we had a series of kettles pass through, we managed a respectable 1,411 on the day. Sharp-shins tended to have gaps in their appearances, including one hour with zero counted, but still totaling forty-four by day’s end. Red-tailed hawks were next on the totem pole with fourteen flying by. We had a productive day with bald eagles moving through, counting six. We are still eying them closely looking for the first golden of the year. Kestrels were very scarce today, waiting until the afternoon until showing up. Only four were counted, we suspect Holiday Beach is trapping them after counting, given their impressive numbers. The northern harriers waited until the afternoon to show up, the last two hours being the most productive, with six total for the watch. The birds with a single representative included Cooper’s Hawk, red-shouldered hawk, and broad-winged hawk. (These numbers are correct, current numbers on HC are not) Non-raptor Observations: Over 160 great egrets were counted in the marsh this morning, standing motionless like white sentinels until their prey was sighted, then a lightning quick strike. An enormous number of gulls took to the skies in the afternoon, hawking insects and making our job of seeking raptors a little more difficult. We spotted a single hooded merganser racing by at breakneck speed, usually they fly in pairs. The Caspian terns were back in their usual spot today. Common terns have taken up residence on the base of the entrance buoy to the boat channel. This morning we were the nucleus for tree swallows as they orbited our location seeking unseen, by us mere mortals, insects on the wing. Pied-billed grebes seem to have multiplied in the last few days as we are seeing six or more nearby. Predictions: Tomorrow has two of the elements that usually produce good numbers for us, a moderate NE wind and a rising barometer, however, there is a chance of showers throughout the day. Hmmm. Cloud cover will probably be extensive for the next few days with varying chances of rain; Saturday looking like a washout at this point. NE winds will gradually rise in strength through Saturday but they may be too much of a good thing and the rain may negate the benefits. The northern winds will drop the temperatures to the high fifties tomorrow. Hopefully, the birds will take the opportunity to leave before the really wet stuff comes in and tomorrow will produce some traffic despite the light rain. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@gmail.com) 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