Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 13, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 58 3350 93970 Osprey 0 0 52 Bald Eagle 2 32 140 Northern Harrier 1 23 487 Sharp-shinned Hawk 9 128 6900 Cooper's Hawk 0 16 74 American Goshawk 0 1 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 5 153 430 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 103457 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 61 1575 2968 Rough-legged Hawk 0 5 20 Golden Eagle 4 70 83 American Kestrel 0 5 1277 Merlin 0 3 49 Peregrine Falcon 0 9 58 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: 140 5370 209972 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Alexa blankenship, Jackie Quinones 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: It’s Jackie back to you with another summary of the Detroit River Hawk Watch! Today had a beautiful blue sky as far as you can see. Sounds wonderful right? Wrong. These vast blue skies are public enemy #1 for hawk watchers at our site. The lack of cloud cover today made it very hard to spot tiny specks across the sky, moreover direct one another to those tiny specks once we found them. The strong winds added more pressure on us hawk watchers. Birds were flapping weirdly. Some were way up high when the wind gusts should have sent them down low. They kept us on our toes, but we were up for the challenge. Raptor Observations: The conditions made for a pretty slow day, but high, small, birds are still birds! The species were the usual November suspects: mostly Red-tails, some Red-shoulders, as well as eagles of both varieties. Turkey vultures came closer than expected. Usually hugging the treeline from Canada to our northern side, many decided to cross over in front of us today. We were only graced by four Golden eagles today, but one decided to stick around and circle close overhead. Another show was given towards the end of the day, when we saw a local Bald eagle- politely or not so politely- escorting a migrant Bald eagle out of its territory. Non-raptor Observations: There wasn’t much raptor action, and there wasn’t much non-raptor action either. Crow numbers were dismal at under 50, with a couple of murders but mostly just stragglers throughout the day. Distant Terns were seen flying near Celeron island, but none came close. Bonaparte's gulls were seen flying around, but no little gull to be had. A bittern was reported by visitors in the nearby mudflats though! Predictions: Tomorrow is looking like a beautiful day for both people AND hawks! While staying under 50 degrees, the sun should make things much warmer. The winds, from the NNE in the morning then switching to the south in the afternoon, should remain light. Dare I say, it’s looking promising tomorrow. As always, only time will tell. ======================================================================== 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