Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2024
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 1000 2252 63826
Osprey 0 0 18
Bald Eagle 3 23 161
Northern Harrier 1 5 324
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10 44 3435
Cooper's Hawk 2 8 83
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 30 71 237
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 6785
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Red-tailed Hawk 134 350 1279
Rough-legged Hawk 0 3 17
Golden Eagle 16 32 76
American Kestrel 0 0 402
Merlin 0 0 23
Peregrine Falcon 1 1 29
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 15
Unknown Buteo 6 7 38
Unknown Falcon 0 0 13
Unknown Eagle 1 1 4
Unknown Raptor 0 1 29
Total: 1204 2798 76795
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Johannes Postma,
Michelle Peregord, Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark.
We have brochures and educational information we are happy to share. Let us
share our enthusiasm for migration and raptors with you! While we welcome
your questions and company, please know that our professional counter,
apprentices, and volunteers must communicate with each other frequently to
successfully conduct the count, and they also must maintain an unobstructed
view of the horizon.
Weather:
Variable amounts of cloud and sunshine. Although the weather forecast
called for easterly winds, wind direction was constantly changing. It
shifted to the south ca. 11 AM, bringing hawk migration almost to
standstill. Easterly winds finally arrived in late afternoon, carrying
hundreds of raptors on its wings. It was slightly warmer today, up to +14C
(57F). EDT changed to EST last night at mid-night.
Raptor Observations:
A day of highs and lows. We reached our goal of one thousand birds, but
just barely. Our earlier predictions were based on easterly winds, promised
by forecasters. However, those did not materialize until 2 PM.
In the morning, we were surprised by thirteen Golden Eagles, spotted by
combined efforts by Michelle, Bill and Don. For the next several hours, we
saw several dozens of Red-tailed Hawks, but the number of vultures was
rather negligible (if compared to the numbers we got used to). Other
species also tricked in.
All this changed around 2 PM, upon arrival of the long-awaited easterlies.
Within two hours, Turkey Vultures poured in, bringing Red-shouldered and
Red-tailed Hawks with them (over 700 birds overall). Almost every streaming
line of vultures, contained buteos of either or both species. One Peregrine
Falcon was spotted earlier in the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
We ended up counting only 99 crows. Quite a drop in numbers after the
thousands seen yesterday! Of interest is a sighting of large plover with a
bold wing stripe (most likely the Black-bellied Plover).
Predictions:
Light rain and southerly winds are expected tomorrow. Temperature may rise
as high as +22C (72F). Considering all of the above, we do not foresee
large number of migrating vultures and other species.
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Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk ([email protected])
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
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