Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 12, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 37 226 226 Osprey 3 16 16 Bald Eagle 3 11 11 Northern Harrier 18 56 56 Sharp-shinned Hawk 349 869 869 Cooper's Hawk 0 5 5 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 7699 8114 8114 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 18 18 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 70 247 247 Merlin 3 11 11 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 8183 9577 9577 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen 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: I wasn’t sure how to predict today’s flight since rain may have interfered. Fortunately, the forecast was bollocks, as usual, and the rain had passed by the start of the watch. The birds voted with their wings, like Chicago voters, early and often. The clouds cleared earlier than predicted and at the end of the day, bright white clipper ships flying topgallants were disappearing over the horizon leaving a mostly blue sea. There was enough scattered cloud cover during the day to make the task of counting high broadwings a little easier. Winds came from WNW for the most part, with some NW thrown in for good measure. Temperatures were close to seventy and the sun in the afternoon topped off what turned out to be a beautiful day. The barometer waffled a little and was actually falling during the last hours. We were fortunate to witness migration at its most impressive as September’s stars took to the stage in large numbers. Raptor Observations: The broadwings took a more northerly route to start the watch, flecks of pepper in a distant north-western sky. As the wind changed to a little more northerly flavor, the flight path changed to a vector that came closer to our site, at times right overhead. We had sent an envoy with a clicker to Elizabeth Park in Trenton since the first route was so far to the north that we suspected that might be a better place to see the movement. It was rewarding, as 4,090 birds were counted in a little over an hour. These were not included in our total for the Lake Erie site. As the flight line shifted, that site was not as productive, but ours continued to produce. Our final tally for the day was 7,699 broad-wings on their way to South America. They came mostly in the mid-morning hours until early afternoon, slowing to a trickle in the last hours. The sharpies were moving as well, 349 of their number passing by. Kestrels made a respectable showing with seventy making the tabulator. Northern harriers had another good day with eighteen rowing by. The turkey vultures seemed less motivated today with small numbers passing through together, totaling thirty-seven. Ospreys were still moving, but only three today. The same number of bald eagles were counted. Three angry merlins seethed their way south. One red-tailed hawk finished off the final total of 8,183 birds. Over 12K with the Elizabeth Park birds. Non-raptor Observations: It was a difficult day to pay attention to other species with our eyes focused very high on the sky. We know that these broadwings are headed for South America, but where do the rest of them go? If you would like to be part of a project to find out, investigate the HMANA Winter Raptor Survey. Choose a route and drive it during the winter months, just like the Christmas Bird Count, recording what raptors you see and where. I think that it’s important to try and establish a data base so we can see if changing conditions are affecting migration. Some birds only go as far as they need to survive. Are those ranges changing? Until we can put transmitters on more birds it will take boots on the ground to find out. Check out the HMANA website. Predictions: Tomorrow looks to have moderate NW winds bringing cooler air and lower humidity. Skies should be partly cloudy. The barometer should be climbing back above thirty inches. Usually, this looks like a good day for bird movement, but better for our Canadian colleagues at Holiday Beach, since NW winds tend to push the birds toward the lake. If that happens, then Pte Mouille Headquarters should be good. I think the western element of the winds helped us today, but when it went NW the flight line shifted in our direction. Winds should be just above five mph so it may be moderate enough to allow them to fly by us again. There are never any guarantees in hawk watching but we can always hope with fingers crossed. Remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results. ======================================================================== 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