Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 19, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 509 66927 69048 Osprey 0 2 53 Bald Eagle 0 18 90 Northern Harrier 1 88 443 Sharp-shinned Hawk 61 2080 5777 Cooper's Hawk 1 30 41 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 101 101 Broad-winged Hawk 0 99 107380 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 326 412 Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 269 1239 Merlin 0 6 36 Peregrine Falcon 0 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: 573 69965 184661 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 4 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Jackie Quinones, Sam Heilman 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: Might have been the whiskey, might have been the beer, might have been the ennui, might have been the rain…. We’ll never know for sure what percentage each of those factors contributed to our calling the watch off at one in the pm. It was a dreary day spent waiting for the rain to arrive with no substantial numbers of birds to warm the clicker. Winds came from the SSW for the most part, fairly robust at over ten-mph, an adverse wind for our site. The sky did actually show hints of blue in the irregular fault lines in the early altocumulus clouds, but then evolved into a gray stratus layer with a blued-steel stain coloring the western perimeter. The rain soon arrived. Raptor Observations: Between the turkey vultures that could be seen leaving Canada and going behind Celeron Island, and those that came from the north, barely visible behind the stacks, we managed to snag 509 of them. Sharpies were keeping us on our toes, timed far enough apart to keep us looking in all directions. We found sixty-one of them. We had one apiece of the following species: Northern harrier, Cooper’s hawk and red-tailed hawk. Non-raptor Observations: Most of our morning was spent watching gulls practice their thievery skills, fighting over small fish that one, or the other, had in their procession. I thought that eating fish was their raison d’etre, but I am surprised at the amount of time these birds spend in the air hawking insects in large kettles. I’d like to know what fraction of their diet consists of airborne protein. We did see one hardy monarch today. The crow migration is becoming more evident each day. We counted eighty-eight of them. I suspect that some blue jay flocks flew by, but it was a hazy atmosphere today and they didn’t stand out from the background. One did fly over with a peanut in its mouth, not an uncommon sight, as someone on Gibraltar feeds big every year. Predictions: Tomorrow will still be in the low part of the depression that is passing through. Rain showers might be likely. Winds are forecast to shift from SW to a more westerly direction with hints of north when the watch starts. We’ll see whether the timing holds true in the morning. The winds should be from a usually more friendly direction to us over the next couple of days but Sunday looks to be the best day as the low should clear by then. The barometer will rise and winds, although a bit strong, will come from the NW. ======================================================================== 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