Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 17, 2022
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 1004 65797
Osprey 0 0 16
Bald Eagle 0 8 73
Northern Harrier 0 15 390
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 34 5871
Cooper's Hawk 0 13 80
Northern Goshawk 0 1 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 116 449
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 67350
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 14 1163 4172
Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1
Golden Eagle 0 12 29
American Kestrel 0 0 981
Merlin 0 7 75
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 62
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: 16 2376 145348
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Kevin Georg
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood,
Erika Van Kirk
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:
A little while back, I asked the question âNovember, where is thy
sting?â In the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna: âNever
mind.â November has shed its sheepâs clothing and the wolf is loose.
Today got off to a fairly cold but tolerable start. There was some raptor
traffic while the skies were relatively clear, but looming off to the west
was a fast-approaching mass of dull grey stratus clouds bearing snow. The
wind eventually rose from six to nineteen mph making for an uncomfortable
afternoon with little to show for it. Temperatures were barely above the
freezing mark and the real-feels were five degrees below that mark. The
winds came from a mostly W direction with an afternoon shift to WSW when
the speed picked up. This wind is at our back so it could have been worse.
This increase in speed and directional shift did seem to blow the birds
further to the north and with restricted visibility due to falling snow and
hazy cloud cover the cupboard was bare.
Raptor Observations:
We did manage to see a few red-tailed hawks early, including one special
one which flew right over us as we were explaining the hawk watch to first
time visitors. I love it when a plan comes together. We totaled 14 today. A
single red-shouldered hawk also flew by in the morning hours. One
sharp-shinned hawk made its way across the lake before the snow hit. This
closed down the movement for the rest of the day although hope springs
eternal and we sat it out for a couple more hours.
Non-raptor Observations:
We saw some flights of goldfinches today bounding along in their undulating
flight. Gulls were very common today as they flew most of the day, moving
back and forth to different locations as it they were doing
mini-migrations. Our Bonaparteâs seem to be about forty strong now. The
local bald eagle seemed to enjoy the turbulent winds. Otherwise, a quiet
day, which was not surprising given the snowy weather.
Predictions:
Not a lot of promise in tomorrowâs forecast. The same WSW winds, with
higher speeds in the fifteen to twenty mph range would lead us to expect
the same results. It should be cloudy, but without the snow. The barometer
will dance just above the thirty-inch mark but the forecasts show a bumpy
ride coming over the next few days, although always above thirty inches.
Temperatures will be at the freezing mark, or close to it, with real-feels
around the twenty-degree mark. Oh joy!
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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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