Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 01, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 1 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 2 2 2 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 4 4 4 Merlin 0 0 0 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: 7 7 7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Ben Sehl, Erika Van Kirk, Jo Patterson, Michael Patrikeev 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: Greetings friends, "The voice of the turtle is heard in our land" refers to the joy of emerging from winter into spring and hearing the birds sing. For hawk watchers, the joy comes when the birds stop singing and the raptors answer that irresistible urge to relocate in the fall of the year. It’s the first day of our three-month watch today and while not abundant in raptors, it was a pleasant day weatherwise. We are coming off the bottom of a mild low and later this evening the barometer will begin a sharp climb of three tenths of an inch. We started with a clear blue dome this morning with nary a cloud in the sky. Winds were gradually increasing during the day and brought forth an interesting mix of clouds that lacked a common theme, small cumulus low, mackerel skies high but mixed together with other oddities that made it difficult to analyze for an interested amateur such as myself. Temperatures reached the high seventies but were moderated by a wind that was working its way up to 12 mph. It started in the west but was working its way to a more northerly direction during the day. Dropping humidity helped the real feels and it was a pleasant holiday weekend in the Mitten State. Raptor Observations: We did see a fair number of raptors today, although not many migrants. Local eagles were up in the increasing winds, turkey vultures seem to have been gathering in the area lately, but were not interested in leaving yet. We did see a few red tails but due to their behavior were not sure of their status as either migrant or locals. We did count two of them. Ospreys were present and two were observed sitting on their nests at the park entrance as I left. A young local Cooper’s hawk was seen warning one of them earlier about exactly where the limit of its territory was. Kestrels were moving in small numbers, with a total of four, two of them making it just under the wire at quitting time. The first bird of the day, and the season, was a solo harrier flying over Celeron Island. Non-raptor Observations: Lots of the regulars were in the normal positions today. Forster’s terns and Caspian terns were present, cormorants were there, but managed stay in tolerable numbers. Pied-billed grebes were there in numbers nearly reaching double digits. One sandhill crane flew overhead. A handful of hummingbirds were seen zipping by. Cedar waxwings were hawking insects from the nearby trees. Mallards seemed to be the canard of choice. Plenty of gulls, mostly ring-bills, were up in kettles feasting on insects. Mixed numbers of swallows and martins were busy feasting on invisible proteins. A flicker was observed a few times hunting in the grass. Monarchs were also fluttering by in small numbers. Predictions: The winds will turn more northerly tomorrow with a corresponding drop in temperature. The rising barometer and a very gradual turn to the NE by the winds may be a good omen. It’s still early in the season so numbers may be moderate at best, but broadwings may be in the offing. ======================================================================== 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