Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 2970 65207
Osprey 0 0 18
Bald Eagle 0 70 208
Northern Harrier 0 22 342
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 91 3487
Cooper's Hawk 0 41 116
American Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 153 326
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 6785
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3 1067 1998
Rough-legged Hawk 0 4 18
Golden Eagle 0 75 119
American Kestrel 0 1 410
Merlin 0 2 25
Peregrine Falcon 0 4 32
Unknown Accipiter 0 3 18
Unknown Buteo 0 18 49
Unknown Falcon 1 2 15
Unknown Eagle 0 4 7
Unknown Raptor 0 2 30
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Bill Peregord, Dan Atherton, Don Sherwood, Frank Kitakis,
Michelle Peregord, Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark.
We have brochures and educational information we are happy to share. Let us
share our enthusiasm for migration and raptors with you! While we welcome
your questions and company, please know that our professional counter,
apprentices, and volunteers must communicate with each other frequently to
successfully conduct the count, and they also must maintain an unobstructed
view of the horizon.
Weather:
Overcast and moderate southerly winds, becoming light towards the end of
day. Air pressure was dropping steadily. Temperature remained at +5 to 6C
(low 40s F).
Raptor Observations:
It would have been an uneventful day if not for one sighting. We counted
three Red-tailed Hawks before 11 AM, but only one other raptor after that.
The bird timed it arrival between Don and Bill, i.e., one minute after Don
left the site, but ten minutes before Bill and Michelle arrived on the
scene.
My first call, upon seeing the fast approaching bird, was Peregrine, and it
would have been entered as such in the form, if I was not lucky enough to
snap few pictures.
The photos revealed a heavily streaked bird with a prominent light
supercilliary, and a yellow eye with dark pupil.
Goshawk!? It appeared so on the camera's screen in the field, but after
looking at the photos on a laptop, and reviewing hundreds of images from
the Macaulay Library, I came to a different conclusion.
It might come as a surprise to those of us, who saw the bird.
It appears that I was somewhat right, calling it Peregrine. It was a
falcon, but a different one.
As of 10 PM, I think it was an exceptionally large, very dark female
Merlin! Birds of the World online states that largest female of that
species reach 32 cm in length, almost as large as small male Peregrine (36
cm). The giveaway were wide dark bands on the tail; the yellow eye (seen in
one photo) was likely a trick of light as the bird's eyes were dark in all
subsequent photos.
I am 99% sure of this ID, but sent photos to a colleague who studied
Merlins for nearly forty years. We'll learn of his verdict tomorrow. For
the time being. I leave it as Falco sp.
Non-raptor Observations:
More Tundra Swans, although fewer than yesterday (about 80). At least three
species of ducks, other than Mallards, were also seen. These included eight
Hooded Mergansers, three Buffleheads, one Wood Duck (female), and two
others, which we did not see very well.
A large flock of songbirds flew very low over the lake. Our first thought
was snowbuntings, but we did not see any white on their wings. Longspurs
perhaps? They were too far to tell with certainty.
Predictions:
Southerly winds and rain are expected tomorrow.
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Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (erika_vankirk@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