Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 13 360 360 Osprey 1 14 14 Bald Eagle 1 42 42 Northern Harrier 17 175 175 Sharp-shinned Hawk 322 1980 1980 Cooper's Hawk 3 32 32 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 894 11463 11463 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 85 85 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 13 420 420 Merlin 0 14 14 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 3 3 Unknown Buteo 1 5 5 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 11 11 Total: 1265 14605 14605 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Dustin Brewer Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We had a small group join us today, with a maximum of ten guests at one time. Apparently, many people knew that the winds would not be favorable for Broad-winged Hawks to fly over us today! Weather: The cloud cover increased from virtually none when we arrived to about 80 percent by 11. For the rest of the day the cloud cover held steady. The wind was mostly very weak, coming primarily from from the east, and sometimes the south. Raptor Observations: We had our best Sharp-shinned Hawk day of the season, with peak activity between 9 and 1, and 322 birds counted total. All of the Broad-winged Hawks spotted today were to the north of us, or moving that way. After spotting a couple sizable groups at around 10, we spent the rest of the day counting a steady and slow trickle of distant 'Broads', streaming along the northern tree-line. Several kestrels and harriers were also spotted today. Non-raptor Observations: We counted 85 Monarch butterflies, and 973 Blue Jays. The latter can be confused with Broad-wings, for an instant, at a distance! Unlike Broad-winged Hawks, Blue Jays flap constantly, and seem to be less equally spaced than are streaming Broad-winged Hawks. Red-winged Blackbirds were also migrating today, and we noted 50. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are still moving south, too. Predictions: The Weather Channel says that tomorrow will likely be mostly sunny, with winds from the south and west. At the very least, we will likely have Sharpies flying over us tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Detroit River Hawk Watch (greg_norw...@fws.gov) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.drhawkwatch.org _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
