Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 60641 61574 Osprey 0 2 18 Bald Eagle 0 105 138 Northern Harrier 1 136 319 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 1254 3391 Cooper's Hawk 0 36 75 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 166 166 Broad-winged Hawk 0 37 6785 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 874 929 Rough-legged Hawk 0 14 14 Golden Eagle 0 44 44 American Kestrel 0 123 402 Merlin 0 9 23 Peregrine Falcon 0 20 28 Unknown Accipiter 0 10 15 Unknown Buteo 0 18 31 Unknown Falcon 0 5 13 Unknown Eagle 0 3 3 Unknown Raptor 0 6 28 Total: 5 63504 73997 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Jo Patterson Observers: Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk, Jo Patterson Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie MetroPark. We are willing to spread the gospel with pamphlets and information cards, along with tips on IDing the raptors, and photography tips for those behind the cameras. Let us share our enthusiasm for this miracle of nature with you. Weather: Harry Nilsson informed us that “One is the loneliest number that you will ever do.” It seemed that might be an ambitious number of raptors to hope for when looking at today’s forecast. A roaring wind out of the south-westerly quarter that started around fourteen mph and reached twenty-three with gusts exceeding that number. The barometer bottoming out as a low-pressure area approached. Rain and thunderstorms appeared in the early forecast. It did not inspire confidence. Yellow leaves flew by us as the nearby maple shed its foliage, prepping for the winter to come…if it ever does. Unfortunately, the leaves far outnumbered the countable migrants flying in the sky, much as we expected. Raptor Observations: Five birds. Two red-tailed hawks, two sharpies, one harrier. The harrier did its usual very low flight over the water when the winds are really blowing. It understands laminar flow apparently. Non-raptor Observations: The non-raptor side of things was a little more interesting today. Swallows continue to ply their trade, even in the stiff winds. A common loon was seen flying much lower than they normally do, skimming the treetops on Celeron Island. Bonaparte’s Gulls were seen over the lake, around twenty or so. A pair of terns were seen there too. It was too dark to see whether Forster’s or Common. Four sandhill cranes did the flyover today. Great blue herons were not intimidated by the maelstrom and a couple were noted flying by. Thousands of ducks are out on Lake Erie riding the whitecaps today. They all took off when the M/V Columbia Star/American Century, my old home away from home, sailed by with a load of coal for Monroe. Killdeer were up today, flopping around much more than they usually do. Greater Yellowlegs were seen in the mudflats as the southwest wind had pushed a lot of water up to Buffalo leaving the marshes drained Predictions: Our fortunes should change tomorrow. The barometer will rocket up as high-pressure rolls in. This brings colder air from the north. The temperature will drop about twenty degrees from today’s balmy seventy-three to around fifty-degrees. The winds, the winds, therein lies the rub. Strength wise, still in the teens to start the day, coming from the west, and turning west-northwest as the day progresses. Not quite the sweet spot we would hope for, but certainly better than today. ======================================================================== 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