DRHW- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 15, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 21 75 75 Osprey 2 30 30 Bald Eagle 1 42 42 Northern Harrier 10 45 45 Sharp-shinned Hawk 91 1312 1312 Cooper's Hawk 11 31 31 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 208 2345 2345 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 4 38 38 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 43 238 238 Merlin 0 7 7 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 4 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 1 1 Total: 392 4169 4169 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jonathan Stein Observers: Fred Kirn, Raburn Howland Visitors: Lots of visitors today, many of whom left around noon to chase the broadwings down south and then returned later. On hand were Anna Walker, Nat Siddall, Len Sander, Rick Nirschl, John Lowry, Darlene Friedman, Bruce Cohen, Hal Cohen, Frank Sterrett, Ronnie Martin, Don Warren, Andrew Sturgess, Paul Wibbeler, Jim Lynch, Jim Maki, Pat Mulawa, Rodney Laura, Greg Smith and Pete Przybylski among others. Weather: Much chillier today, strong winds out of the northwest blustered from start to finish. The morning skies were clear blue as far as the eye could see but the afternoon featured a covering of cloud slowly sweeping in. Despite the cooler conditions, it turned out to be a rather pleasant day at the park. Raptor Observations: The strong northwestern winds pushed several sizable broadwing kettles well south of us, out of view of the count site. There were reports of more than 40,000 broadwings sighted from the southern end of Point Mouillee State Game Area. We pulled 208 broadwings out of the blue and spent the rest of the time focused on the raptors we could see. Non-raptor Observations: Three american white pelicans were seen flying southeast over Celeron Island during the 10 o'clock hour. Shortly thereafter, a yellow-bellied sapsucker was spotted flying over the trees behind us. Predictions: Similar conditions as today except winds will not be as strong and temperatures will not be as low. It should be clear in the morning with clouds entering the picture in the afternoon. North winds should remain in the 5 mph range for a majority of the day, which could bode well for seeing some big kettles from the boat launch rather than needing to travel farther south. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Greg Norwood ([email protected]) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.drhawkwatch.org Site Description: The primary site used by the Detroit River Hawk Watch (a joint venture of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and it's Friends group, the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance) is the Boat Launch at Lake Erie Metropark located approximately 20 miles south of Detroit, Michigan. A secondary site, the Headquarters of Pointe Mouillee State Game Area is used during certain wind conditions. When staffing is available, both sites can be used at the same time. The season begins on the first day of September and concludes on the final day of November. For details and directions, log on to www.drhawkwatch.org Directions to site: Lake Erie Metropark: >From I-75, exit at Huron River Drive (exit 27). Continue east on Huron River Drive. Turn left on West Jefferson and proceed a few hundred yards to the entrance of Lake Erie Metropark. After paying the entrance fee, follow the signs to the Boat Launch. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
