Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 26, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 3424 89249 Osprey 0 0 52 Bald Eagle 2 58 162 Northern Harrier 0 34 496 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 186 6886 Cooper's Hawk 0 31 85 American Goshawk 0 3 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 234 459 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 103456 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 0 2172 3484 Rough-legged Hawk 0 7 20 Golden Eagle 1 123 134 American Kestrel 0 5 1276 Merlin 0 12 58 Peregrine Falcon 0 16 63 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: 3 6305 205888 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 3 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Don Sherwood, Jackie Quinones, 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: So we meet again. We being one part you, the dutiful reader of the Detroit River Hawk Watch summaries, and one part me, Jackie Quinones. Andrew took today off so I have been given the responsibility to write another daily summary. Will this be my last? Most likely. So let’s savor it while we can! When I first got to the count site today, I saw the sun poking out from the intermingled cirrus and stratus clouds. For a second I thought, “maybe snow isn’t on the forecast.” However, this sunshine was brief. Very soon after, it got smothered by the thick, gloomy-looking stratus clouds that any northerner can tell you means snow is on the way. So we waited until the snowflakes decided to greet us on their way down from the thick blanket above. The white flurries eventually came, sending us home and to the warmth of the indoors. Even without the snow, today would have been pretty slow with winds coming from the south for the second day in a row. Raptor Observations: Overall, today was very quiet, with no birds in the first or last hour of the count. The birds knew that snow was on the way, and like so many other days of poor weather, the eagles reigned in the skies. We counted three of them, two immature Balds and one adult Golden- one of our only adults of the season. Even the local eagles were hunkered down for the day waiting for the inevitable snow. There were no other hawks seen today. Non-raptor Observations: Today was a decent day for shorebirds and waterfowl. We saw our famous friend, the Little Gull, this morning far out near the jetties. Many other gulls were flying around, Ring-billeds and Bonaparte's included. We saw a lone female Goldeneye in the water a little ways away. We also saw some loons, one of which caused much of a debate on whether it was a Pacific or Common loon, but we settled on Common. One Great Blue decided to fly right in front of us in the morning as well. Predictions: I want to start this prediction out by noting that I am writing this around 5 hours earlier than normal, which may make it a tad less reliable. Regardless of this though, tomorrow is looking cold and windy. Make that very cold and very windy. If you plan on coming out tomorrow, bring your sleeping bag, because temperatures will not go above freezing. Wind will reach as high as 27 km per hour (~17mph) from primarily the west, reaching WSW in the afternoon. The cloud cover isn’t doing us any favors, as it will stay cloudy the whole day. Overall, tomorrow isn’t looking great for people or for birds. Just a reminder that this is our last week of the count! Our last day is this Thursday the 30th, so come stop by if you haven’t already. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jessie Fletcher (jessica_fletcher@fws.gov) 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