Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 17, 2019
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 3651 34559 35050
Osprey 0 5 35
Bald Eagle 2 11 62
Northern Harrier 4 45 219
Sharp-shinned Hawk 117 1131 3209
Cooper's Hawk 1 40 51
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 4 40 40
Broad-winged Hawk 0 538 64336
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 35 212 327
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 7 90 663
Merlin 1 6 22
Peregrine Falcon 1 24 39
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 1
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 3823 36704 104057
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Mark Hainen, Raburn Howland,
Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
We did have a couple of visitors today. Mr Weber made the drive from Ann
Arbor to witness the spectacle of migration with us. Darlene also graced us
with her presence.
Weather:
The day started with a sky full of cumulus clouds resembling cotton candy
that had passed the expiration date, bright white with dirty gray bottoms.
As these clouds passed we saw some very interesting cirrus cloud formations
decorating a bright blue backdrop. Driving all of this was a persistent NW
wind that gradually eased somewhat during the day but was still more
friendly to our friends across the border in Holiday Beach. The barometer
was fairly steady staying below 30" Hg all day.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey vultures (3651) were our most consistent birds today. They started
during the first hour and kept coming all day. The high winds altered their
M.O. as they were strung out and rarely kettled in their traditional way.
We were hoping for more buteos today than the nearly forty that we got but
the strength of the wind proved that too much of a good thing was indeed
too much. 35 red-tails and 4 red-shoulders forced their way by our site. We
did get a falcon hat-trick again with 7 kestrels and 1 merlin and 1
peregrine. Sharp-shins showed that they still have something to offer with
117. 4 harriers and 2 bald eagles were also counted.
Non-raptor Observations:
We did see some blue jays this morning but not in large numbers. A late
monarch was looking for his friends. The Forster's terns are still present
terrorizing the minnows with their banzai dives. We are seeing large
numbers of cormorants migrating in long lines. Most of our local birds seem
to have moved on but there is still a contingent of 20 or so working the
lake in front of us.
Predictions:
There is still a little wind left in the high coming in and it should be in
a good direction for us in the morning hours. Perhaps the kinder gentler
version will bear more fruit than the domineering one we had today.
Barometer is scheduled to rise early and then drop a little as the winds go
to the south around mid-day. Expecting TV's and hoping for buteos.
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Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan ([email protected])
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
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at:
https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2019
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