Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1554 33929 36062 Osprey 0 2 53 Bald Eagle 1 16 88 Northern Harrier 3 71 426 Sharp-shinned Hawk 438 1432 5189 Cooper's Hawk 2 21 32 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 24 24 Broad-winged Hawk 0 63 107645 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 6 162 248 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 7 254 1239 Merlin 0 5 36 Peregrine Falcon 2 17 37 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: 2013 35997 151082 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jackie Quinones, Kevin Georg, Mark Hainen 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: We got off to a late start today as the heavy mist, which bordered on light rain, delayed us for one hour. Although there was a promising patch of blue sky off to the west at one time early in the day, it never materialized in our neighborhood. Instead, heavy stratus clouds and misty haze ruled the first half of the day. The atmosphere cleared in the afternoon but the thick clouds remained. Winds generally stayed in the northwestern end of things, but varied in speed and direction throughout the day. These changes affected the flight lines of the turkey vultures, although the sharpies seemed more resolute, staying the course. Temperatures reached the low fifties but felt cooler. The barometer was near steady in the 29.9” range. Winds speeds danced around from five mph up to fifteen at times, with gusts that kept the sharpies on their toes. Raptor Observations: Turkey vultures were moving in slow but steady numbers except for the penultimate hour when they seemed to take a different route, finally reappearing in the final hour, well to the north. We ended the day with 1,554. If there is such a thing as a high occupancy lane for raptor migration, the sharpies used it today. They kept appearing in large numbers, passing by the stacks all day with little variation in flight lines. 369 of them fought their way into another difficult wind, hiding behind the tree line at times to avoid the worst of the gusts. We had very light traffic in other species today. Only seven kestrels showed their curved wings. Six red-tailed hawks flew by. Three harriers were noted. Two Cooper’s hawks passed through. One bald eagle pumped through the wind. Two peregrines were seen. One provided a bit of entertainment late in the day. A group of about thirty crows was passing by the stacks when they all simultaneously dove into the tree tops. Sure enough, they were under attack from a juvenile peregrine falcon. The frustrated falcon buzzed around the tree tops a few times without success. It must have moved away a little as the crows moved to the top branches again, only to retreat to the inner sanctum of the lower, leafier branches of the tree when the predator reappeared, still seeking to eat crow. Later, the peregrine, unsuccessful in its hunt, was seen further away down the tree line. The crows mustered up their courage and resumed their journey in a much tighter formation than they usually assume. Non-raptor Observations: The ducks were moving today, mostly because of some young hunters that appeared to be sky-busting in an area of the park that we never hear gunshots from, much less fifty or sixty of them. They were met by the park police at the boat launch and given something with the policeman’s autograph on it, perhaps a thank you note. We are seeing a few more crows but it was an odd day today with a lot of two species, but not much else of anything else. Some small groups of blue jays are still passing though. The little gull that made an appearance yesterday waited till late afternoon to show its handsome black wings again. Common and Forster’s terns, along with a few Bonaparte’s gulls kept it company. A large flock of ducks took to the air out on the lake today, although we cannot ID them from such a distance, they are probably scaup. The ducks usually assemble in massive numbers out there. Our raft of coots is still hanging around, waiting for the eagles to pounce. Predictions: The winds should finally exhaust themselves tomorrow, then do an about-face and originate from the southwest for a couple of days. They should be below five mph for most of the day but probably a little variable during that time. We should see the sun tomorrow with a partly cloudy sky. The temperatures will be similar to todays with less wind chill. We will have to see whether the winds are strong enough to encourage migration from the turkey vultures, although they don’t usually need a lot. Sharpies should have a smoother ride and perhaps we can see a few kestrels, since they have been avoiding us lately. ======================================================================== 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