Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 6 6 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 1 2 2 Northern Harrier 7 19 19 Sharp-shinned Hawk 74 140 140 Cooper's Hawk 0 4 4 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 57 296 296 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 18 18 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 17 39 39 Merlin 0 2 2 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 3 3 Unknown Falcon 2 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 3 4 4 Total: 161 538 538 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Ben Sehl, Erika Van Kirk, Jo Patterson, Shelly Andrews Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie MetroPark. We are willing to spread the gospel with pamphlets and information cards, along with tips on IDing the raptors, and photography tips for those behind the cameras. Let us share our enthusiasm for this miracle of nature with you. Weather: A non-predicted cloak of fog delayed the start of the watch by an hour this morning. Just another fishhook in our season so far. There was a hint of a northeast wind early this morning but mostly before the watch, it turned to south-southeast for most of the day, rising in strength, but only cracking the five-mph barrier towards the end of the watch. Temperatures were a prelude to the hot days to come for the foreseeable future, reaching seventy-eight. The winds that came off the lake helped us deal with that but we will be challenged in the coming days. August seems to have risen from the dead to take over September. The barometric pressure peaked at 30.16” but started to fall in the afternoon hours. The light winds permitted the non-buteos to fly on their normal trajectories but pushed the broadwings to the northwest side of us where the haze of the lake evaporation did not help us find them. Raptor Observations: An almost normal day for a change, no strong winds to drive birds away. It was good to see sharp-shins flying in numbers again and we managed to snag seventy-four of them. The broadwings were elusive and I suspect we may have missed a few off to the north. Still, we observed fifty-seven of them as they are starting to kettle and stream a little more as their numbers increase. Kestrels took third place with seventeen of them racing by on a wind that seemed to speed up all the birds. Seven harriers with their peculiar gait were counted. One bald eagle was counted this morning. It was not a local with familiar markings. Non-raptor Observations: The pelicans were back today. Mostly in smaller groups than we are used to seeing, but they often splinter into smaller sects. The area was fairly quiet today, except for a debate between Caspian terns about territorial boundaries this morning. Warblers were reported on the trail in numbers. Our local bald eagles were more distant today, and with light winds, were seen flapping more than usual. The swallows and gulls gave us a break today so it was easier to spot sharpies and kestrels on the wing approaching us. Predictions: A mostly southern wind tomorrow is not a good thing, but the moderate strength may let some sharpies cross as their urge to migrate increases. Temps are predicted to hit eighty degrees and cloud cover should be only about twenty-five percent, so bring sun-block and water. The barometer is predicted to bounce around a little, but not in a significant manner. The question will be whether the will of the sharpies and kestrels will be strong enough to overcome the adverse southern winds. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@gmail.com) 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