Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 22, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4 3421 89246 Osprey 0 0 52 Bald Eagle 0 52 156 Northern Harrier 1 34 496 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 182 6882 Cooper's Hawk 1 29 83 American Goshawk 0 3 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 225 450 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 103456 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 20 2119 3431 Rough-legged Hawk 0 7 20 Golden Eagle 1 119 130 American Kestrel 0 5 1276 Merlin 0 12 58 Peregrine Falcon 0 15 62 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 2 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 33 6223 205806 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan 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: Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I did not go to London to see the Queen (a little late for that), but rather to Belize to see the “hookers”, as the hook-billed kites are affectionally called by the dedicated people at the Belize Hawk Watch. Please feel free to donate to the Belize Bird Conservancy (501c) to help them out in their mission, they are wonderful people that care very much about the birds of their country. Today got off to a slow start, delayed by light rain for an hour, and never really got out of the blocks all day long. Low leaden stratus clouds set the tone, although in the afternoon hours, the gray rind was peeled off to reveal a collage of long lasting, wind molded, feathery contrails preserved in a moist atmosphere aloft. Jack Frost was busy at those altitudes and we broke out the hand warmers at our level as a wind out of the generally NW direction climbed to fourteen mph at one time before subsiding. Temperatures were about as low as you can go and stay in the forties. The barometer was slowly falling during the day as the low is slowly moving out. Raptor Observations: Not really a banner day for hawk movement but at least we got a few. Red-tailed hawks led the way with twenty birds. Their smaller brethren, the red-shouldered hawk, managed four, as did the turkey vultures. Two sharpies made the scene. One harrier was spotted out over the lake. One Cooper’s hawk was noted and saving the best for last, one young golden eagle was observed for some time as it dawdled, in n hurry to pass through. Most of the birds were not making much headway on the winds today, sometimes moving backwards as they stopped to soar. Non-raptor Observations: The little gull is still showing its black underwings, although it seems to prefer to stay out of the slip in front of us. We saw a handful of loons this morning. One was swimming in the water out by the jetty and the others were observed in flight. Tundra swans flew over in the late afternoon when they stood out against the blue openings in the clouds. A tree swallow was spotted today. Since tomorrow is a day of thanks, I would like to say thank you to those that helped out at the hawk watch in my absence. Our two interns have great futures ahead of them and I enjoyed their reports from afar. I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Take the time to think of what you have to be thankful for. I just came from a relatively poor country and we take so many things for granted that are not common in all countries. The love of family and friends is universal though. Predictions: It will warm up tomorrow as a ten mph WSW wind will take us up to forty-seven degrees. The barometer should stay relatively steady until Friday, which, if the forecast is accurate, has potential. The barometer will rise then and winds will be northerly as high pressure moves in. The skies should show some blue tomorrow, something else to be thankful for. We will start the watch tomorrow but it may be lightly attended in the afternoon. ======================================================================== 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