Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 13, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 24957 25890 Osprey 0 2 18 Bald Eagle 0 42 75 Northern Harrier 0 77 260 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 698 2835 Cooper's Hawk 0 14 53 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 19 19 Broad-winged Hawk 0 33 6781 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 0 203 258 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 98 377 Merlin 0 8 22 Peregrine Falcon 0 14 22 Unknown Accipiter 0 5 10 Unknown Buteo 0 6 19 Unknown Falcon 0 4 12 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 5 27 Total: 2 26186 36679 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 3 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Ben Sehl, Don Sherwood Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark. If you plan to visit us from October 14th - 17th, please note the count site is only accessible by foot! The road and trail leading to the count site will be closed just past the Marshlands Museum. Please park at the museum, walk along the bike path, and take the second left on the Cherry Island trail. This trail will lead you around to the count site. It is comprised of pavement, boardwalk, and gravel and is about a .75 mile walk. This closure is due to extensive tree work happening along the roadway. The maintenance is scheduled to end October 17th, with road and parking access restored the 18th. We will provide an update here if the schedule changes. 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: It rained on and off all day; temperature steady at +12C (54F). Winds from north-east, but today it did not help any. Sunday the thirteenth. Raptor Observations: We ended up counting ... two raptors. A Turkey Vulture, probably left behind by its friends, and a very determined Sharp-shinned Hawk which braved to fly in the rain! Resident Cooper's Hawks and Bald Eagles were also around, but were not included in the count. Non-raptor Observations: A pair of Blue-winged Teal, one Common Loon and a Muskrat. No Blue Jays, pelicans or Monarchs were seen today. Predictions: Some rain in the morning, but a mix of sun and cloud in the afternoon. Northerly winds throughout the day. We expect that at least some raptors (vultures, accipiters and buteos) will dry up and get ready to take off, perhaps around noon. Please remember that from October 14th through 17th, the count site will be only accessible by foot! ======================================================================== 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