Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 20, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 18 3439 94059 Osprey 0 0 52 Bald Eagle 2 53 161 Northern Harrier 3 32 496 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 178 6950 Cooper's Hawk 3 26 84 American Goshawk 0 3 5 Red-shouldered Hawk 24 221 498 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 103457 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 78 2091 3484 Rough-legged Hawk 1 7 22 Golden Eagle 7 118 131 American Kestrel 0 5 1277 Merlin 0 12 58 Peregrine Falcon 1 15 64 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 2 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 141 6200 210802 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Jackie Quinones, Rosemary Brady, Sam Heilman 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: Jackie back to you with another summary! Today may have been the windiest day at the count site this season, so much so that we had to end 2 hours early because of it. Clipboards and water bottles were falling off tables. Sleeping bags were flying off of us, exposing us to the cold- and boy was it cold. Although temperatures rose up to the low 40s, the real feel never rose above 35 degrees. Wind gusts rose to 35 km per hour, and it was directed right towards us; no trees blocked us this time. The sun barely peeked out due to the constant cloud cover all day. Regardless of the clouds, the morning was fairly haze-free, allowing us to see the birds struggling in the wind. Raptor Observations: No Goshawks today unfortunately, but we did get some more Golden eagles, six of which came in one single hour- and fairly close! We also added another Rough-legged hawk to our season total, of the light variety. While it was way up high, it came right overhead which was a treat. To add to today’s excitement, a Peregrine swooped directly overhead straight into a small kettle of Turkey Vultures. Aside from these moments, today went as expected; the birds struggled immensely in the wind. We had to keep our eyes on them to make sure that Red-shoulders didn’t suddenly turn to Red-tails, as they tend to do during strong winds. Non-raptor Observations: There were plenty of Bonaparte’s gulls flying in front of us, but none with the signature black underwing of the Little Gull. Some more Great Blue herons flew across the river into the channel ahead of us. Their large size always looks interesting when they fly high above the trees. Crows came in large numbers today, with well over 250 counted. Towards the afternoon, the only birds able to fly in the wind were the gulls and Bald eagles. When we were leaving a local Bald eagle saw us out, flying very low over our heads. Predictions: Tomorrow will be a wet one! The forecast calls for rain from 4am to 9pm with- believe it or not- even higher winds than today. As I write this at 6pm, it does not look like there will be a count tomorrow. (Now watch the weather change completely, and it will be a beautiful day). Regardless of the rain, with winds like predicted, I doubt there will be many birds moving. We just have to wait and see. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jessie Fletcher (jessica_fletcher@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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2023