Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 13, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 5 183 183 Osprey 0 35 35 Bald Eagle 3 41 41 Northern Harrier 2 43 43 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 428 428 Cooper's Hawk 0 23 23 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 1078 1078 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 27 27 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 7 178 178 Merlin 0 7 7 Peregrine Falcon 3 3 3 Unknown Accipiter 0 6 6 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 5 5 Total: 25 2057 2057 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jonathan Stein Observers: Fred Kirn, Patrick Mulawa, Raburn Howland Visitors: Dave Flak, Paul Muelle, Wes Hetrick, Rose Leung, Pam Albers, Hal Cohen, Joanne Cohen, Ralph Geuder, Janet Geuder, Jim Maki, Jim Lynch and Rodney Laura. Weather: Overcast at the start, the skies quickly cleared, leaving us with nothing but blue up until the last three hours when a few puffy white clouds floated in from the west. Temperatures were mostly in the low 80s. The wind was out of the southwest, shifting southeast late. Raptor Observations: It was quality over quantity today as we added our first three Peregrine Falcons of the season and got great looks at another adult male Northern Harrier. Non-raptor Observations: Northern Rough-winged Swallows were exceptionally abundant during the late morning hours. Thousands could be seen hawking insects high over the lake. Mixed in among them were a good number of Barn Swallows (400+), Chimney Swifts (80+) and Purple Martins (60+). Red-winged Blackbirds (150+) continued to pass overhead. And a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron gave us a fly-by early in the morning. Predictions: There's a chance this overnight rain might leak into tomorrow morning. After that, the afternoon is looking very promising with partly cloudy skies and northwest winds around 10 mph. ======================================================================== 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/
