SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 15, 2007
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 19 277 277
Osprey 5 91 91
Bald Eagle 7 55 55
Northern Harrier 4 134 134
Sharp-shinned Hawk 93 1989 1989
Cooper's Hawk 5 72 72
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 1
Broad-winged Hawk 30289 59432 59432
Red-tailed Hawk 20 126 126
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 11 500 500
Merlin 1 21 21
Peregrine Falcon 1 10 10
Unknown 8 8 8
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1
Total: 30463 62717 62717
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 17:30:00
Total observation time: 10.5 hours
Official Counter: Calvin Brennan
Observers: Al Kostyniak, Charlene Brennan, Jeff Loughman, Jeff Schultz,
Leroy Yoder, Paul Cypher, Vic Berardi
Visitors:
A thank-you goes out to all those extra eyes out there today and a very
special thank-you and word of appreciation to Al Kostyniak for covering the
boat launch site while the main counting crew covered Pointe Mouillee.
Overall there were 50-60 people who spent time with us today and everyone
enjoyed the day to the fullest.
Weather:
Today saw sunny skies throughout the day with a scattering of clouds in the
morning but with generous amounts of cumulous building up in the afternoon.
Winds were light out of the west early becoming moderate west-northwest by
mid morning.
Raptor Observations:
The flight was a typical mid September movement at this site, heavily
dominated by a substantial Broad-wing movement but with a good variety of
birds overall. Small kettles of Broad-wings were active early but built up
quickly with large groups passing through by the third hour of the count,
including one of the largest kettles of the day numbering about 12 thousand
birds. This activity continued for the rest of the day but in pulses rather
than at a steady pace, although undoubtedly there were some birds that
moved well to the south of count area that were undetected given the
distance of some of the kettles that were seen. There was however plenty of
kettles that formed overhead, particularly later in the day when birds
tended to take a more inland tract, much to the appreciation to folks
gathered for the annual hawkfest celebration. Many first-timers were amazed
at the volume of birds seen. Other highlights of the day included the
seasonÂ’s second SwainsonÂ’s Hawk along with a very good movement of Bald
Eagles with multiple eagles in view at once at many points during the day.
Non-raptor Observations:
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Report submitted by Calvin Brennan ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at:
http://www.smrr.net/
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