Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 13, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 6 6 Osprey 0 6 6 Bald Eagle 6 12 12 Northern Harrier 5 40 40 Sharp-shinned Hawk 58 432 432 Cooper's Hawk 0 5 5 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 620 1212 1212 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 2 24 24 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 69 69 Merlin 1 4 4 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 4 Unknown Buteo 0 5 5 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 12 12 Total: 697 1834 1834 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Michael Patrikeev Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill and Michelle Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jo Patterson, Michael Patrikeev 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: Southerly winds are to be expected on the back side of a high-pressure system, that is a given. The fact that the weather predictions have a margin of error that is wide enough to drive a truck through, is also a given. The last two days, that loophole has allowed birds to fly through during certain hours to our advantage. Although paraskevidekatriaphobians may have feared the date, it was not so bad for us, at least in the early hours. The early winds came from the north but eventually made an about face and went southerly. You can chant all the mantras you want about thermals, but winds determine the birds you see. Today we had early birds, but by afternoon we were mostly counting monarch butterflies. The temperatures, which they actually get right most of the time, hit a high of seventy-nine. The barometer stayed above thirty inches with small inconsequential changes. The sky had a veil of light haze that actually helped us pick off some of the high-flying birds. A bright clear blue sky is feared by all hawk counters. Raptor Observations: We hit a new high today for the season with the help of broadwings in the first half of the day. Although they were mostly to the north of us, they were visible enough to be counted. Six hundred and twenty of them graced us with their presence in a stream of kettles of around a hundred birds or less. The kettles of the morning hours were replaced by smaller groups of individual birds later in the day, some flying very high. Sharp-shins were less in evidence today with fifty-eight of them fluttering by, most of them after the broadwings had dried up. Bald eagles actually took the bronze today with six newcomers to our area powering through. Harriers and kestrels shared the consolation prize with five apiece. Two juvie red-tails glided by. One early morning merlin made a brief appearance. Non-raptor Observations: A pretty quiet day for the most part, perhaps due to the fact that the Carolina wren seemed to be taking a break. The kingfisher was spotted and heard. Flickers seem to be more conspicuous in both a visual and aural sense. Pied-billed grebes continue to ply their trade. A large number of mallards continue to fill the air from time to time. Large numbers of Canada geese continue their assault on the eardrums of the assemblage. Gulls and swallows were present, but distant, and sparse enough, not to interfere with our sight lines. Predictions: Ditto. “This old world still looks the same. Another frame.” Thanks to Glen Frey and Don Henley for describing the weather prospects tomorrow. Clears skies, temps of seventy-nine, but feeling a few degrees hotter, barometer doing a few shucks and jives but nothing significant. Winds, and let’s hope there are mistakes here, are east to east-southeast, rising from 5mph at the beginning of the watch to double that at the end. The usual suspects will be in play but some of them may be pushed out of sight as the wind rises. ======================================================================== 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