Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 468 933 933 Osprey 2 16 16 Bald Eagle 2 33 33 Northern Harrier 17 183 183 Sharp-shinned Hawk 150 2137 2137 Cooper's Hawk 10 39 39 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 541 6748 6748 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 7 55 55 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 8 279 279 Merlin 1 14 14 Peregrine Falcon 1 8 8 Unknown Accipiter 0 5 5 Unknown Buteo 0 13 13 Unknown Falcon 0 8 8 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 22 22 Total: 1208 10493 10493 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Ben Sehl, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen 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: Cloudy skies with brief glimpses of blue in the afternoon. Winds from North-East and North-North-East at 8-11 miles per hour (13-18 km/hr). Temperature was steady at 66-72 F (+19 to 22C). Raptor Observations: It was not a bad day by this year's standards; for the fourth time this month we counted over 1,000 raptors a day, reaching a total of 10,493 birds. However, this was only 8.5% of the number counted in September 2023. It was also 30% lower than the count in September 2017 (15,076), thus making it the lowest September count at Detroit River Hawkwatch since 1996. Today's flight was dominated by Broad-winged Hawks (541) and Turkey Vultures (468), seen sometimes in mixed kettles. We did not observe very large kettles, but raptors moved through the area at steady pace of about 200-300 per hour between 10 AM and 3 PM EDT. Although we counted only 150 Sharp-shinned Hawks, we likely missed many, because today, at times, the sky were blanketed by thousands of Blue Jays (see below), and Sharp Shins could be easily lost in that multitude and skip by us unnoticed. Hundreds of gulls soaring over Gibraltar in the afternoon, added to the confusion. We also recorded Northern Harriers (17), migrating Cooper's Hawks (10), Red-tailed Hawks (7), American Kestrel (7), a Merlin and a Peregrine. Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jays flew across the river in thousands! We counted 9,703, but probably missed many as we were busied with counting hawks. One Horned Grebe was seen flying over the river, and then water landing off the Sycamore. Predictions: A mix of sun and cloud is expected tomorrow, although thunderstorms are possible in late afternoon. Wind forecast suggests directions shifting from southerly in the morning to northerly in the afternoon. We expect that the southerly winds will slow down migration of soaring raptors, but have lesser effect on Sharp-shinned Hawks, harriers, and falcons. ======================================================================== 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