DRHW- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 27, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 104 439 439 Osprey 4 51 51 Bald Eagle 11 85 85 Northern Harrier 3 92 92 Sharp-shinned Hawk 72 1949 1949 Cooper's Hawk 4 74 74 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2 Broad-winged Hawk 11 195212 195212 Swainson's Hawk 0 5 5 Red-tailed Hawk 3 75 75 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 11 380 380 Merlin 1 9 9 Peregrine Falcon 1 6 6 Unknown Accipiter 2 8 8 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 2 2 Total: 228 198391 198391 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jonathan Stein Observers: Fred Kirn, John Elliott, Patrick Mulawa, Rodney Laura Visitors: Not many besides our ever-present and invaluable group of spotters. Weather: Mostly blue skies during the midday hours were bracketed by periods of heavy cloud cover in the early morning and the late afternoon. For most of the day, it was sunny and pleasant with a slight breeze out of the southeast. Up until about 3 pm, that is, when dense clouds rolled in and the wind picked up dramatically, heralding an oncoming shower. Luckily for us, the rain held off until after the conclusion of the watch. Raptor Observations: Bald eagles stole the show today. Eleven were counted, most of whom were subadults moving fast through the viewing area. The peregrine, an adult, was spotted circling low over the parking lot before hightailing it southwest. Non-raptor Observations: A cape may warbler foraging in the spruce greeted us at the very start of the watch again. Blue jays and Monarchs were everywhere throughout the day. There were well over 5,000 blue jays to be seen in many, many streaming flocks. Monarch-wise, there were few times when a scan of the sky didn't yield at least a handful of them. Predictions: This system is insisting on sticking around for at least one more day. Tomorrow there's going to be, you guessed it, more rain and more southeast winds. On the bright side, the rain appears to be of the scattered shower variety so maybe it won't have too dramatic an effect. ======================================================================== 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/
