Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 20, 2019
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 2130 42201 42692
Osprey 0 5 35
Bald Eagle 0 22 73
Northern Harrier 0 74 248
Sharp-shinned Hawk 56 1429 3507
Cooper's Hawk 2 51 62
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 79 79
Broad-winged Hawk 0 538 64336
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 24 370 485
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 0 108 681
Merlin 0 7 23
Peregrine Falcon 0 27 42
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: 2214 44914 112267
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Patrick Mulawa,
Raburn Howland, Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
Bill and Michelle paid a visit. We were also happy to see some junior
hawkwatchers taking in the spectacle of vulture migration. They also got to
see a Cooper's hawk up close and personal thanks to Natalie Ray Cypher. I
think they were suitably impressed.
Weather:
A day that seemed to have trouble making up its mind. The winds varied both
in intensity and direction, at times we were becalmed. The wind finally
settled in the east at a few miles per hour. The cloud cover also varied
from near solid overcast interspersed with blue portholes to a final
clearing in the early afternoon. The barometer stayed below 30" but did not
move significantly. There were reports of light rain to the west in the
early hours but it never reached our site.
Raptor Observations:
The lack of wind in the morning hours seemed to dampen the flight. Finally,
as the wind picked up a little the turkey vultures arose with over 1300
counted. For the most part, very hard to track these birds again as they
preferred the northern route. Over 50 sharpies took the plunge, these birds
are fairly reliable regardless of the vagaries of weather. 2 Cooper's hawks
rounded out the accipiters. The red-tails came late as the wind finally
chose a direction and strength to their liking.
Over 20 were seen in their seemingly endless glides. 2 Red-shoulders were
also counted. The falcons stayed home today.
Non-raptor Observations:
We are starting to see long strings of waterfowl headed south in the
distant skies. They are often over the lake and difficult for us to ID but
on certain days impressive numbers are spotted.
Predictions:
Winds of increasing strength from the easterly quarter with a plunging
barometer indicate that a rain system is on the way. It is scheduled to
arrive later in the afternoon. We might get some movement in the morning
hours before the skies open. The falling barometer is not generally good
for buteos but fingers crossed.
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Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan (jerry.jour...@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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