Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2022
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 1890 40779 48063
Osprey 0 2 16
Bald Eagle 1 18 49
Northern Harrier 9 117 349
Sharp-shinned Hawk 233 2375 5251
Cooper's Hawk 0 35 59
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 48 51
Broad-winged Hawk 0 28 67350
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 19 506 687
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 8 8
American Kestrel 2 212 967
Merlin 5 31 56
Peregrine Falcon 1 30 52
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: 2160 44189 122958
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Michelle Peregord,
Patrick Mulawa
Visitors:
We are located by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark in a fenced off
area at the Hawk Watch site. This does not mean that we do not welcome
interaction with any and all visitors. We enjoy talking about what we do
and sharing our knowledge with beginners and experts alike. Please feel
free to come up and talk to us. We usually have our backs turned to the
parking lot as we scan the skies in front of us. This should not be
interpreted as a sign of reluctance to engage; this is how we do our job.
We have friendly people that do not bite and the welcome mat is always out.
Weather:
Another somewhat frustrating day in which the vagaries of the winds were on
display with seemingly minor shifts causing the flight lines to shift,
albeit sometimes to our advantage. It was a warm sunny day with
temperatures reaching seventy degrees and a sky that gradually filled, at
first with high wispy cirrus clouds, and then later with altocumulus clouds
of more substance. Some of these clouds were showing the effects of the
winds aloft; developing trailing tendrils resembling ghostly white jelly
fish floating in the blue sea-like setting. At lower altitudes, it was
possible to see cumulus clouds in the distance that had probably developed
over nearby bodies of water. The wind came from the south again and
probably influenced our count. It was less forceful today but equally
efficient at producing a nearly impenetrable haze in the north where it had
pushed the migrants. Although our number were respectable, it once again
felt that we were on the edge of a larger flight. A shift to SE from S, in
the last hour caused the red-tails to fly just inside the limits of our
vision, before that, we had virtually no buteos. The turkey vultures
shimmered and at times melted into the ether as they danced in another zip
code. The lake is beautiful to look at, but at times, with its very visible
evaporation, it makes our work more demanding, although we knew the job was
dangerous when we took it.
Raptor Observations:
We had to work hard for the turkey vultures today as they were taking the
scenic route and going to the north of us in sometimes undisclosed
locations. We tried our best though and ended up with 1,890 hard earned
specimens. The sharp-shins were spread all over the map today but still
plentiful for this time of year. We ended with 233 on the day. Red-tailed
hawks came in third, which was somewhat surprising as they were a late
arrival in the day with 19 tallied. It was possible that there were many
more but our vision was obscured by the haze. Northern harriers were next
on the list with 9 noted, some gray ghosts included in that number. Merlins
were on the hunt today with 5 noted. Kestrels only made a couple of
appearances but our lone juvenile peregrine made a pass-in-review flight in
front of us. These fearless birds have nothing to fear from us mere
mortals. A single bald eagle was counted.
Non-raptor Observations:
Our pelicans made a cameo appearance today with three of them noted. The
Caspian terns made a comeback after going AWOL for a few days. Forsterâs
terns were also back in their accustomed spot on the base of the entrance
buoys. The swallows were not evident today but they sometimes appear to
have moved on, only to return later. We arenât seeing the large gull
concentrations lately but that may change as well.
Predictions:
Tomorrow will be similar to today with warm temperatures, a fairly steady
barometer early, and southern winds. It will be mostly sunny before noon,
but may start the transition to the rainy weather that appears likely on
Wednesday later in the day. Cloud cover will start to increase and the
barometer will start to decline in the afternoon hours. Winds will be
hovering around the ten mph range from the SE direction. Not an ideal wind
but one that did seem to bring the buteos barely within sight today. Our
sharpie counts have been good the last few days on southern winds and with
luck that trend will continue.
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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess ([email protected])
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
More site information at hawkcount.org:
https://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-2022
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