Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 02, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 0 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 7 7 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 17 17 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 2 6 6 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 2 31 31 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Alex Gilford, Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk, Mark Hainen, Patrick Mulawa Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site and are very willing to share information and ID tips with them. 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. You wouldn’t do your taxes in a disco; we find it difficult to concentrate on counting hundreds, or thousands, of birds with a party going on behind us. Thank you. Weather: A day of transition today as the comfortable temps and cooling breezes of our opening day became fond memories. Although the sky was mostly blue at the commencement of the watch, it was obvious when looking to the NW quadrant that something was brewing and heading our way. Winds were mostly W at that hour and alternately rose and fell in strength, taking our comfort level up and down with them. They finally settled in the SW by the end of the day. High cirrus clouds started to populate the sky and at least provided some visual entertainment as they displayed multiple wispy variations. The cover thickened as lower layers of cumulus clouds eventually joined the parade. By days end, the clouds were plentiful enough to occasionally provide some slight relief from the heat of the sun. Temperatures rose above the eighty-degree mark, and with a relative humidity near sixty percent, it resembled a day on the bayous of Louisiana rather than a September day on the shores of Lake Erie. The barometer was falling during the day as the center of the high pressure moves further away. This will continue for a few more days with winds from our least favorite direction until the end of the week when the winds will turn northerly. Raptor Observations: A nonproductive day today as the winds predicted it would be. Plenty of local birds were up taking the airs, but it was almost by accident that we noticed the only two migrants that we counted today, two American kestrels. There must have been a large bug hatch today as gulls and other birds were up high hawking insects. We did spot our first kettle today but unfortunately; it was a gull kettle. While we watched the activities, our intrepid counter spotted seven white pelicans wheeling high up in the sky. These were not easy to find with the naked eye but while following them, the kestrels were observed circling, frequently doing the herky-jerky moves they make while catching dragon flies. Plenty of eagles were up and about, but all were deemed to be local inhabitants. Our two red-tails made another appearance soaring over their territory. We saw two immature Cooper’s hawks today, on one occasion soaring over our heads. These birds are seen frequently on patrol along the tree line on the opposite side of the slip; a tree line that shows some damage from the recent tornado, as three of our landmark trees lost branches. Non-raptor Observations: Cedar waxwings continue to occupy the nearby trees, using them as staging grounds from which to hawk insects. A great egret has taken up station on a log in the water on the SE side of us. Great blue herons made a couple of distant appearances. We did spot seven pelicans again, as previously mentioned. Hundreds of cormorants occupy the rock jetty near Celeron Island. My nemesis bird, the kingfisher, continues to taunt me with its fiendish laugh and impossible to follow (with a camera) flight. Mallards are the duck du jour. Our site reminded us why it is the noisiest hawk watch site, possibly in the world, with the rumble of thousand horsepower boats as the Labor Day celebrations began in earnest. Predictions: Another hot humid day in the offing tomorrow. Winds will rise steadily during the day, coming from the WSW, and reaching 14 mph. The barometer will continue its decline, possibly reaching the 29.85 mark later in the day, before rebounding a little overnight. Humidity will continue to stay fairly high during the day leading to real-feel temperatures that may reach ninety-degrees, with the actual temperature in the high eighties. Clouds should clear during the middle of the day but start to return in the later hours. This sounds like a summer day and not one conducive to hawk migration so we may have to grin and bear it for another day or so. The end of the week, when the winds change, should be better days. ======================================================================== 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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2023