Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 01, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 724 724 2897 Osprey 0 0 51 Bald Eagle 3 3 75 Northern Harrier 8 8 363 Sharp-shinned Hawk 163 163 3920 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 11 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 2 2 Broad-winged Hawk 23 23 107607 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 12 12 98 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 47 47 1032 Merlin 1 1 32 Peregrine Falcon 3 3 23 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: 986 986 116113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess Observers: Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jackie Quinones, Mark Hainen, Michelle Peregord 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: Today was indeed similar to yesterday in terms of both weather and birds. Mostly sunny by day’s end as the early fog dissipated and the existing cumulus clouds departed, leaving us with some fragile cirrus ornaments breaking up the blue ceiling. Temperatures were just above seventy degrees and the barometric pressure was high at 30.2+ all day. The fly in the ointment was wind. Very light and variable in the morning hours, it once again settled in the southern quadrant and grew in strength up to seven mph. This had the end result of scrubbing the sky clean of migrants in the fourth quarter, including the usually reliable sharpies. Raptor Observations: Turkey vultures carried the water today with 724 showing up. Although the foggy first hour was not productive, the vultures were prevalent during the middle hours of the day. The stronger southern wind in the afternoon made them a rare sight in the last two hours. Sharp-shins continued to keep us busy with 163 coming from all different directions. Kestrels did an admirable job with forty-seven speeding by. Broadwings are still being seen, mostly with the turkey vultures sharing kettles. Twenty-three made the clicker today. Red-tailed hawks are now in play with twelve showing today. Their usual traveling companion, the red-shouldered hawk, apparently realizing it was now October, their month to travel, showed up for the first time this season with two noted. Three bald eagles were counted. Harriers were well off their highs but managed eight birds today. The falcon contingent was also represented by three peregrines and one merlin today. Non-raptor Observations: Today was Sunday and we are located next to a boat launch. Given the summer-like conditions, it was a busy day. Not only is the traffic loud at times, but it has the effect of making the local wildlife disappear. The blue jays were on the move again with 5,042 fluttering by. Monarchs numbered 115 today. A few warblers were noted flying over and one butter-butt was seen in the maple tree close by. The first-year osprey was seen again today, but ignored in the count. Swallows and swifts are still being seen, but very high and not affecting our view as they sometimes do. Predictions: Tomorrow looks like a near perfect copy of today. Temperatures will be the same, sky conditions and barometric pressure will match todays. Winds will also be almost nonexistent in the early hours and then settle in the south and increase in strength. They are not forecast to be very high but our migrant traffic is very sensitive to wind direction and the umph with which it blows. If the winds stay below five mph as predicted, then our afternoon production may increase to match the midday results. ======================================================================== 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