Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 06, 2019
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 505 19267 19758
Osprey 0 2 32
Bald Eagle 0 1 52
Northern Harrier 1 28 202
Sharp-shinned Hawk 90 596 2674
Cooper's Hawk 0 18 29
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 3 3
Broad-winged Hawk 1 531 64329
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 5 58 173
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 1 63 636
Merlin 0 2 18
Peregrine Falcon 5 13 28
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 1
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 608 20582 87935
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainan, Mark Hainen,
Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
Our visitors saw some sharpies today and peregrines if they were lucky and
quick with the glasses. The afternoon was only for the dedicated and
practiced.
Weather:
We suffered a hangover from the rain during the first hours of the watch.
Although it seemed to have cleared, showers started as soon as we took
seats at our stations and it was necessary to retreat to our chariots. The
clearing skies would seem to be inviting with a rising barometer but the
wind was SW and rising in strength and that is not our favorite wind. The
birds seemed to take a cue from Lions fans who were unusually laid back and
serene today, I mean even the Lions can't lose on their bye week.....can
they?? This relaxed attitude led to a pretty slow day with little to show
in the way of any species.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey vultures carried the day but in much smaller numbers than the two
previous days. Just over 500 made the crossing which is only a trickle in
comparison. Sharp-shins numbered 90 birds but seemed so spread out that the
total seems surprising. The peregrine falcon was front and center today
with 5 birds, including one that dove on a gull just to remind it who its
daddy was. Red-tailed hawks numbered five birds and most of those showed up
late in the day. Only one broad-wing was observed. This just wasn't the
right wind for buteos.
Non-raptor Observations:
A very nice day other than the lack of birds. The gulls continue to hawk
insects high in the sky in large numbers. Swifts and swallows are being
seen in large numbers, thankfully not immediately in front of us. They seem
to have taken up stations by Celeron Island in impressive flights of
swirling birds.
Predictions:
Tomorrow has possibilities. Barometer will continue to rise and the winds
are predicted to move from W to WNW in the afternoon at a moderate
strength. We started to see a few buteos at the end of the day today and
hopefully the flight will pick up and continue tomorrow.
AJS
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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajye...@gmail.com)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
More site information at hawkcount.org:
http://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-2019
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