Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 29, 2019
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 6 4210 52418
Osprey 0 0 35
Bald Eagle 0 23 101
Northern Harrier 0 81 346
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 288 4145
Cooper's Hawk 1 38 121
Northern Goshawk 0 1 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 567 762
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 64336
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 16 4050 4908
Rough-legged Hawk 0 12 13
Golden Eagle 2 56 60
American Kestrel 0 5 703
Merlin 0 2 33
Peregrine Falcon 0 7 53
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: 29 9340 128037
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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, Don Sherwood, Frank Kitakis,
Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
This is where it gets interesting. We had a visitor from Gibraltar today
who told us a tale of an owl in distress. He lived across from the watch
site and we could see his house. We were told that the owl was beyond help
but in looking at the tree, it was later determined by Don Sherwood that
the bird was still alive and literally flapping from time to time. Don and
Johannes P., a welcome regular visitor from A2, took up the challenge and
went to rescue the bird. This involved climbing on a roof and ascertaining
that the bird was hanging from a tree branch entangled in fishing line. The
intrepid heroes managed to free the bird with use of a boat-hook and good
fortune. The bird was returned to the MetroPark for rehab purposes as it
was left in a weakened state. Its prognosis is unknown as I write this. Big
shout-out to Don and Johannes for their heroic actions!
Weather:
Hope springs eternal, yet not all hope is rewarded. Such was our day as the
NE winds blew mildly but did not bring much movement. The day was a dull
affair from the start and grew progressively darker until it seemed a much
later hour than it really was. Barometer was slowly falling in the later
hours, down about a tenth on the day. Tomorrow has cold rain and other more
solid stuff possible. Today seemed like a prelude.
Raptor Observations:
Many are called... but few have chosen to fly by. 16 red-tails led the
count today, occasionally in pairs but most were solo. 6 turkey vultures
were seen floating around trying to decide which way to go. 4 sharp-shinned
hawks and 1 Cooper's hawk represented the accipiters. Our prize birds
today, which brought us up to 60, were two golden eagles. These birds could
not have flown by us more differently. One powered through, pumping at a
fast clip, on a straight line. The other, a beautifully marked young bird,
stopped and rode the wind elevator high into the sky, taking its sweet
time, crossing over at a leisurely pace.
Non-raptor Observations:
Thousands of waterfowl were seen heading to more southern latitudes today,
really impressive strings in the sky. Sandhill cranes were also flying, a
little over 60 birds in three flights were spotted. Many a gull was flying
over the water in front of Celeron Island. We think there may be a fish run
taking place over there along the shore.
Predictions:
The last day of the watch... The last day of the watch should look better
than it does. NE winds will bend to the E gradually rising as the day
progresses. The barometer will slowly fall as the rain moves in. Perhaps
the east wind will bring us something other than high water levels on the
lake. But as they rise in strength any birds on the move are liable to be
pushed away from our sight.
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Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan (jerry.jour...@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
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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