Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2024
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 4484 24956 25889
Osprey 0 2 18
Bald Eagle 0 42 75
Northern Harrier 3 77 260
Sharp-shinned Hawk 27 697 2834
Cooper's Hawk 2 14 53
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 6 19 19
Broad-winged Hawk 2 33 6781
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1
Red-tailed Hawk 47 203 258
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 7 98 377
Merlin 0 8 22
Peregrine Falcon 1 14 22
Unknown Accipiter 1 5 10
Unknown Buteo 0 6 19
Unknown Falcon 1 4 12
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 5 27
Total: 4581 26184 36677
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Bill and Michelle Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan,
Jo Patterson
Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park.
We are willing to spread the word with pamphlets and information cards,
along with tips on raptors identification. Let us share our enthusiasm for
this miracle of nature with you.
Weather:
Mainly sunny. Wind shifted from WNW to North-East around 10 AM and
sustained at around 10 km/hour into mid-afternoon. At 3 PM, it shifted
again, this time to south-east. Temperature gradually rose from +13 to 19 C
(55 to 65 F), but it felt cooler in the shade!
Raptor Observations:
Turkey Vultures, quite predictably, remained predominant species in our
count. Today, we logged 4,484 of them (98% of our total of 4,581 birds).
The vultures flew over the area practically non-stop. Over one thousand
checked in between 11 AM and noon, but only 90 from 2 to 3 PM. In the last
two hours, 35 Red-tailed Hawks showed up at the count site, bringing their
total 47 (highest daily count in 2024). Sharp-shinned Hawks were relatively
few (27), and other species even fewer numbers. We had a good view of
several Red-shouldered Hawks though.
Non-raptor Observations:
Blue Jays returned to the skies! They outnumbered vultures in the morning
hours; between 11 AM and noon, Bill and Michelle counted 1,960 of them! Our
total jay count amounted to 3,375.
Today, we saw over one hundred of White Pelicans (perhaps as many as 120).
Several flocks of them maneuvered over Canada and Celeron Island, sometimes
crossing paths with streaming Turkey Vulture.
Predictions:
Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow with 40 to 70% probability. We do not
count on seeing many birds on Sunday, but will likely see some.
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Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk ([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
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