Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 11, 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 2 2 Osprey 1 10 10 Bald Eagle 2 17 17 Northern Harrier 3 58 58 Sharp-shinned Hawk 49 352 352 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 3 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 224 224 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 56 56 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 43 43 Merlin 0 2 2 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 60 770 770 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Mark Hainen Visitors: Bill and Michelle dropped by. Our new volunteer Alex put in a few hours and got to see the first sharpies of the day. Weather: I think I am beginning to figure it out, you merely add six or eight hours to any forecasted weather phenomena. Far from predicted morning thunderstorms, we had calm winds and high temps for the morning hours. It wasnât until the Lake Erie Doctor began to blow in off the lake that we had any comfort in the high humidity heat. Canada disappeared in the haze as the moisture near lake-level became visible in the form of low cloudlike formations. On the radar a benign looking green smear became multi-colored and virulent. As thunder was heard multiple times it was deemed prudent to Run Away! Our day ended at 2 ESDT as a severe thunderstorm rolled through. Raptor Observations: Raptors were scarce again for the first couple of hours. Old reliable Sharp-shinned Hawks came through in the middle of the day but tapered off before the storm approached. We had 49 for the day. Five American Kestrels made the trip along with two harriers that showed up together. Not much wind and threatening weather seemed to dampen the flight but there was so much haze in the sky that we may have missed a few. Non-raptor Observations: The real observation today was how the weather can affect the viewing at the site. The lake is always interacting with the changes in the atmospheric condition, be it temperature change, humidity, or wind speed and at times it does complicate the process by impeding the view. One other thing of note: there was an assault on the remaining Brain Tree today. It seemed to stop well short of a total take down and it may have been merely trimming but it had us concerned. Actually, tree growth over time is another issue we face at the site. As the trees in front of us get taller, the less of the sky we see. If some of those trees are removed we probably wonât cry too long. Predictions: The weather is a little turbulent around us now and hard to predict. Thunderstorms are still the order of the day as I write. The forecast shows a possible window for birds to move with a rising barometer and winds from the NW but it's really anybody's guess as to whether that will happen as scheduled. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kevin Georg (kevin.l.ge...@gmail.com) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285 _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
