Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 23 131 131 Osprey 1 26 26 Bald Eagle 8 26 26 Northern Harrier 1 25 25 Sharp-shinned Hawk 29 264 264 Cooper's Hawk 2 19 19 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 170 312 312 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 20 20 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 4 80 80 Merlin 1 4 4 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 3 3 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 2 2 Total: 242 912 912 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Greg Norwood, Jonathan Stein Observers: Don Sherwood, Jonathan Stein Visitors: Lots of great visits today. Tom Olkowski, Rodney Laura, Jim Maki, Paul Cypher, Will Weber, Betsy Yee-Diamond, Joe Mamau, Don Burnett, Phyllis Voorheis, Jerry Voorheis, Martin Berthiaume, Tom Toomey, Ralph Geuder, Janet Geuder, Jeff Musial and Kathy Telfer all stopped by. Weather: It turned into a gorgeous day once the rain cleared: partly sunny with a steady wind and temperatures hovering around the mid 60s. A pleasing mixture of white and blue, today's sky provided a wonderful backdrop for hawk spotting. Lighting was fantastic. Our wind was strong and out of the northwest. Raptor Observations: Broad-winged Hawks dominated the totals today with several streams shooting through high overhead. The day's highlight came in the early afternoon when an out-of-nowhere Merlin blasted into view and snatched an unsuspecting swallow out of the sky no more than 20 meters from the dumbstruck onlookers below. Non-raptor Observations: Thousands of Northern Rough-winged Swallows filled the sky during the morning hours. Mixed in were a few Tree and Barn Swallows as well as a handful of Chimney Swifts. No Purple Martins were noted today. A Belted Kingfisher could be seen fishing in the channel in the afternoon. Predictions: Partly sunny with highs in the low 70s and west winds around 5 mph. Should be a good day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jonathan Stein ([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/
