DRHW- Lake Erie Metropark Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 28, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 30 469 469 Osprey 6 57 57 Bald Eagle 2 87 87 Northern Harrier 1 93 93 Sharp-shinned Hawk 229 2178 2178 Cooper's Hawk 12 86 86 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2 Broad-winged Hawk 0 195212 195212 Swainson's Hawk 0 5 5 Red-tailed Hawk 0 75 75 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 6 386 386 Merlin 0 9 9 Peregrine Falcon 2 8 8 Unknown Accipiter 5 13 13 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 293 198684 198684 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jonathan Stein Observers: Jim Lynch, John Elliott, Rodney Laura Visitors: Quite a few out-of-state visits today. Leeny Budd, Ginny Franer and Pat Geeslin represented the Ohio contingent, Cincinnati to be exact. Gordon Chastain decided to stop in before his drive back to Indianapolis and Jean and Michael Bremermann did the same before driving back to Lexington. Weather: The morning sun was quickly blotted out by the encroaching clouds, which, after making their presence felt, decided to hang around for the rest of the day. The rain didn't make an appearance until the end of the watch, which was again a welcomed development. Winds were very light and very variable throughout. Raptor Observations: Sharp-shinned hawks were on the march today. Sharpies were spotted early and often and never really stopped coming until the last hour. But while small accipiters might have dominated the day, it was a big falcon that provided the most memorable moment, when, in search of some early morning amusement, a peregrine came darting in low over the water and proceeded to chase around a few irritated ring-billed gulls near the channel markers for a time. A second peregrine was seen later in the day but that one was in and out so fast there was barely enough time to yell "Peregrine!" before it was gone. Non-raptor Observations: Blue jays, blue jays everywhere. Easily, more than 30,000 jays were seen from the watch site today. Whether in flocks of 10 or flocks of 3,000, they seemed to never stop coming. And, not only was there quite a bit of jay interference to deal with, there was also a lot of chimney swifts (hundreds) and tree swallows (thousands) clogging up the sky as well. It's a wonder we were able to find any hawks at all! Not really. But you get the idea. Predictions: There's more rain in the forecast but that was the case for the last two days, too, so: who knows? It looks like the showers will again be scattered. Let's hope they miss us for a third straight day, especially since a distinct shift in wind direction from southeast to southwest appears to be in the offing. ======================================================================== 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/
