Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 25, 2019 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 4198 52406 Osprey 0 0 35 Bald Eagle 0 21 99 Northern Harrier 0 81 346 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 276 4133 Cooper's Hawk 0 35 118 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 562 757 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 64336 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 4 3995 4853 Rough-legged Hawk 0 11 12 Golden Eagle 1 54 58 American Kestrel 0 5 703 Merlin 0 2 33 Peregrine Falcon 0 6 52 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 6 9247 127944 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mike McEvoy, Patrick Mulawa, Rosemary Brady Visitors: The birds outnumbered the visitors today but we did have two people come to visit. Unfortunately, there was not much to share with them although the red-tails were flying at that time. Weather: On arrival, the delicate hoarfrost of the last few days on the grass and fallen leaves near the site was replaced by a more seasonally correct wet dew this morning. Skies were changing with variable levels of cloud cover throughout the day although there was always blue to be seen. The barometer stayed persistently low with scarce movement at 29.71". Winds were SW again for the most part bringing warmer temps but few birds. It was not a promising day on paper and it lived down to that promise. Raptor Observations: The one bright note of the day was that for the second day in a row our first bird of the day was a golden eagle. Unfortunately we ran out of bright notes at that point. Also seen today was 1 sharp-shinned hawk and 4 red-tailed hawks. The triple zeros on the clicker remained there for the last two hours of the watch. Non-raptor Observations: The sky seemed to be a no fly zone today. Some gulls took to the air but most stayed far from the site. A few late cormorants were seen in formation flying south. Tree swallows are still being seen in their eternal pursuit of unseen insects. Predictions: The barometer should have risen about two tenths tomorrow, which is a start in the right direction. Winds will be milder but still from the southern quadrant. It should be more cloudy and what passes for warm in the 40's. Rain is coming tomorrow night and possibly into Wednesday. Hopefully, a few birds will try to beat the rain but Thursday looks to hold more promise with NW winds on the backside of the disturbance. ======================================================================== 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: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2019