Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 11, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 6 6 Osprey 3 3 3 Bald Eagle 0 2 2 Northern Harrier 10 29 29 Sharp-shinned Hawk 160 300 300 Cooper's Hawk 0 4 4 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 5 301 301 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 8 47 47 Merlin 0 2 2 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Accipiter 2 4 4 Unknown Buteo 2 5 5 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 8 12 12 Total: 198 736 736 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Jo Patterson 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: Today, 9-11, will always be another “date that will live in infamy” in American history. Let’s all take a moment to reflect and remember why the flags are flying at half mast today. Much like that day 23 years ago, the sky was clear blue today, with little to no cloud cover. The winds were coming from southeasterly quarter for the most part, rising in strength from a zephyr in the first hour to high of eight mph by watch’s end. Temperatures rose near the eighty-degree mark, and with real-feels added on, broke through by a degree. The wind off the lake kept our potential discomfort to a minimum. The barometer dropped a tenth during the day but stayed above thirty inches. Raptor Observations: Today was the day the sharp-shins had their picnic. They kept us busy after a slow first hour, flying by on both sides the rest of the day. We bagged one hundred and sixty of them by the end of the watch. This total should be exceeded in the coming weeks, but it was a nice introduction to migration season for us as we had been on the short end of the wind stick lately. Northern harriers won the silver with ten of them spotted. I have a feeling that broadwings would have given them a run for the money, but most that we saw, and that was only five for certain, were off to the north in a haze-veiled sky due to the southern winds. The kestrels were flying, but not in significant numbers, with only eight making the show. Ospreys were on the move today with three that were noticeably pumping their wings, as if in a hurry to get somewhere, as opposed to our local birds that were soaring on extended wings. Non-raptor Observations: Northern flickers are making their presence known as they seem to be congregating nearby. A pair of pied-billed grebes were playing tag out in the slip, running on the surface for some distance. I want to get a picture of that, but it will not be easy. Our sightlines were not hindered by the swallows and gulls today. I’m sure they will be back. A very long line of double-crested cormorants was seen flying in single file, a foot off the water, out into the lake. Their congregation has swollen considerably lately. The number of mallards flying by in formations seem to be increasing too. Predictions: If you liked today’s weather, we have a near ditto for you tomorrow. Hotter by a couple of degrees, winds rising from very low at the beginning to the eight-mph range by day’s end, much the same as today. Mostly from an east-southeast direction, it should keep us cool in the heat, but I suspect the broadwings will be elsewhere again. We are in the window that they can come in larger numbers but I don’t see our favorite northeast wind in the forecast in the next ten days. Mostly hot summery days with very similar easterly winds. Elizabeth Park may be the place to be when they do come. ======================================================================== 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