Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 25, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 12 315 315 Osprey 1 12 12 Bald Eagle 2 27 27 Northern Harrier 7 144 144 Sharp-shinned Hawk 37 1818 1818 Cooper's Hawk 0 16 16 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 459 5150 5150 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 36 36 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 8 247 247 Merlin 1 9 9 Peregrine Falcon 0 5 5 Unknown Accipiter 1 5 5 Unknown Buteo 0 13 13 Unknown Falcon 0 6 6 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 21 21 Total: 528 7824 7824 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Jo Patterson Visitors: 7 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: Mix of sun and clouds in various proportions, from up to 100% cloud cover before in late morning to app. 40% and sun breaks in mid-afternoon. Wind direction was unstable changing from SW to WNW in the early hours, and then to WSW and SSE in the afternoon; wind speed was steady at 6-7 mi/hour (10-11 km/hr) it picked up to 13 mi/hr (21 km/hr) around 2 PM. Temperature were in a pleasant range between 64 and 73 F (+18 and 23C). Raptor Observations: Broad-winged Hawks turned up in hundreds between 10 AM and noon over Gibraltar, after the wind changed to WNW. One visitor was treated to a kettle of more than one hundred birds, circling over the sycamore tree. We counted 459, the highest daily total since September 19th. As soon as the wind direction changed to WSW, the hawks disappeared. We suspect that these Broad-wings were stranded by the weather on the Canadian side of the river, and they took the earliest opportunity to move on. Surprisingly, we saw only 37 Sharp-shinned Hawks, although some were likely missed during the Broad-winged Hawk counting frenzy. In addition, thousands of Blue Jays crowded the skies (see below), making spotting small hawks, falcons and distant kettles challenging at times. We also counted several harriers, kestrels and a Merlin, and also transient Bald Eagles, Osprey and Turkey Vultures. Non-raptor Observations: Today, Blue Jays made their strongest appearance in the count. We logged 7,725, but it was a guesstimation as many flocks flew at the limit of binoculars, sometimes stretching over hundreds of meters. One Common Loon flew over the river in the morning. It was not a good day for Monarch butterflies with only six counted. Predictions: A long awaited north-eastern winds are in the forecast for tomorrow. They may facilitate arrival of large numbers of Broad-winged Hawks, and other soaring raptors, to our area. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (erika_vankirk@fws.gov) 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