Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 22 692 692 Osprey 8 47 47 Bald Eagle 5 60 60 Northern Harrier 48 303 303 Sharp-shinned Hawk 278 3386 3386 Cooper's Hawk 0 8 8 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 10 106660 106660 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 55 55 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 21 830 830 Merlin 0 27 27 Peregrine Falcon 0 14 14 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 393 112084 112084 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Jackie Quinones, Mark Hainen, Rosemary Brady, Sabrina Salome Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site and are very willing to share migration information, photography and ID tips with them. We have cards and pamphlets, so come and talk to us. However, during times of high traffic, requiring extra focus and concentration, we would respectfully ask that everyone use their indoor voices and allow us to fulfill our mission to the best of our abilities. Thank you. Weather: The clickers are starting to rust as we had another day without those pesky broadwings confounding us with their hide and seek antics. Southern winds seemed to indicate another very hot summertime day when the counting is easy. Temperatures were as high as the cotton, reaching seventy-eight degrees, but fortunately the wind was off the lake, where the fish were jumping, providing some relief. The gossamer thin cirrus clouds, while visually interesting in their windswept feathery forms, did little to impede the sun’s rays. The winds were only five mph at their peak at the weather station on Grosse Ile, but with the fetch all the way from Ohio over Lake Erie, they were stronger in our corner of the world. The barometer climbed to its highest in recent days, reaching 30.28 inches of mercury before receding in the afternoon. What seemed to have potential discomfit written into the forecast turned into a comfortable, sunny fall day. Raptor Observations: It seemed a little odd at first that most of our early traffic was cutting the corner out over the lake since the wind would seem to indicate that they should be in the north. Nevertheless, that was the case. Sharp-shins were busy today, with a late surge aiding their numbers. We counted 278, as they rebounded from their recent lull. We continue to see a surprising number of harriers with forty-eight flying by with their deliberate wing strokes, usually in pairs, sometimes more. Turkey vultures were perhaps off to the north with the broadwings as we notched only twenty-two. Kestrels were off the pace today compared to the sharpies, only twenty-one made the tabulator. We did manage to count ten of those aforementioned broad-wings in two small groups. We are having our best year since 2015 in ospreys with forty-six in the bag already in September, seven of that number coming today. Six bald eagles rushed through and a single red-tailed hawk was counted. Non-raptor Observations: We saw a few blue jays in the morning hour but a larger movement failed to materialize. Ducks are persons of interest as we had a pair of blue-winged teal race by, later, a trio of shovelers followed their beaks in close formation. Mallards seem to be doing well this year with frequent flights taking place nearby. The kingfisher made a late appearance today. There didn’t seem to be as many warblers passing through today. Most are dark silhouettes when they fly by so IDs are not possible. Caspian terns are active, but the Forster’s terns have possibly changed their normal roosting spot since they were present early, but nowhere to be found later. Predictions: Tomorrow will be similar to today in some respects. Temperature will be a little lower, cloud cover is predicted but its hard to tell whether cirrus, or something of more substance is on the way. The main difference is that the winds will have an eastern flavor for the next eight days and five mph will be the lowest speed instead of the highest. Some of those winds will be from the favored NE direction but the strength may be blowing a little too hard, outside of the sweet-spot. We will have to see how this all plays out since a lot can change in a few days. In broad strokes; the trend will be for lower temperatures due to winds with a northern element to them. Barometric pressures will drop over the next two days but still remain above thirty inches. ESE winds will rule tomorrow, climbing up to nine mph by days end. This may potentially have the same effect as today’s winds, sharpies, kestrels and harriers will try to cross but the buteos may be off to the north. ======================================================================== 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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2023