Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 28, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 3320 89099 Osprey 0 0 49 Bald Eagle 1 49 149 Northern Harrier 0 28 463 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 179 6627 Cooper's Hawk 1 25 79 American Goshawk 0 3 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 216 441 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 86710 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 3 2022 3324 Rough-legged Hawk 0 6 19 Golden Eagle 0 110 121 American Kestrel 1 6 1189 Merlin 0 11 58 Peregrine Falcon 0 15 61 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: 7 5990 188397 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 3 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess Observers: 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: There was no thrill of victory today, and discretion being the better part of valor, we decided to retire early before we felt the agony of da’ feet. Despite the sunny appearance, the white blanket of snow that greeted us this morning showed no signs of melting as the temperatures were in the minus range on the Celsius scale. Generally coming from the NW, winds were building during the day, reaching the fifteen-mph mark at one point, before subsiding a little. The barometer was climbing, but very slowly, already above thirty inches when we arrived. The sky was nearly all blue, all day, but small cumulus cloudlets were starting to appear as time went by. Raptor Observations: I think we saw more local eagles today than migrants of any species. Three red-tailed hawks took the top step of the podium. They will have to mint more silver medals since we have a three-way tie for second with one each of the following: Cooper’s hawk, bald eagle and an American kestrel. Non-raptor Observations: Today was more interesting on the “other” observation side of the coin as we had a lot of mergansers flying around, both hooded and mostly red-breasted were in the slip today. Lots of Bonaparte’s gulls kept them company, at times working the same school of fish. Tunda swans flying high in white vee formations stood out against the bright blue sky. A pair of large domestic geese was keeping company with a fairly large gaggle of Canada geese as they dabbled in the slip, able to reach the bottom due to the very low water level today. Eastern bluebirds were seen again in the morning. Predictions: Tomorrow will have a lot of the same elements as today, although some will be reversed. The barometer will be falling just as sharply as it rose over the last two days. The winds will switch to a more southerly direction with SSW and WSW mentioned in the forecast. They will rise to fifteen mph, the same as today. Temperatures will start below freezing but should end up in the near mid-thirty range. Cloud cover may be present early but leave room for some sunshine to escape in the afternoon. Strong winds from the south are never welcome at our site and the falling barometer is an indication that more wet weather is on the way, possibly arriving Friday. ======================================================================== 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