Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 22, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 2 1008 65801 Osprey 0 0 16 Bald Eagle 0 9 75 Northern Harrier 0 15 390 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 36 5873 Cooper's Hawk 3 16 83 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 11 127 460 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 67350 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 21 1194 4203 Rough-legged Hawk 0 2 2 Golden Eagle 2 15 32 American Kestrel 0 0 981 Merlin 2 9 77 Peregrine Falcon 0 2 62 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 43 2434 145407 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan Visitors: We are located by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark in a fenced off area at the Hawk Watch site. This does not mean that we do not welcome interaction with any and all visitors. We enjoy talking about what we do and sharing our knowledge with beginners and experts alike. Please feel free to come up and talk to us. We usually have our backs turned to the parking lot as we scan the skies in front of us. This should not be interpreted as a sign of reluctance to engage; this is how we do our job. We have friendly people that do not bite and the welcome mat is always out. Weather: “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer.” Camus had it right, we rebounded today from the cruel and unusual abuse that November had dealt out over the last week. Freezing temperatures and intolerable winds were soon forgotten as we faced a sunny day with fascinating cloud formations passing overhead. The winds were mild today, still from a less than ideal SW direction, but benign enough to allow us to get back to counting raptors. The count did decline in the afternoon as the wind picked up. The clouds were high cirrocumulus and altocumulus, resembling some conflation of cotton balls and fishbones combined in aesthetically impressive patterns. The warmer temperatures did not hurt anyone’s feelings, exceeding the predicted number to reach fifty-degrees. The barometer did drop slightly but it remained above thirty inches and should remain so until Saturday. Raptor Observations: It was nice to get into double digits again for a couple of different species. Red-tailed hawks led the way with 21 of them counted. There were probably more off to the north beyond our vison but it was nice to try to decipher flight patterns and postures again. Red-shouldered hawks put on a good show today with some nicely colored adult birds, along with a couple of juveniles, totaling 11 at the end of the watch. Cooper’s hawks made the lowest step on the podium with 3 of them tallied. The next place was a four-way tie with two of each of the following species: Sharp-shinned hawk, turkey vulture, merlin and golden eagle. One of the golden eagles gave us a nice flyover, albeit a little high. Usually, they drift to the north before crossing. Non-raptor Observations: The cove was busy again today with increased duck activity. A small group of female buffleheads swam nearby for most of the day. A single ruddy duck paid us a visit. Some tundra swans landed close by this morning but did not stay long. Most of the ice had melted today but the Bonaparte’s rode the waves in good numbers. Our yellow warbler that was spotted the other day may still be in the neighborhood as a small bright yellow bird was observed from a distance. Some of the scaup from yesterday were still close to Celeron Island. A flight of five sand hill cranes were noted on the wing. Predictions: If all things go well, tomorrow will have a similar appearance to today. Gentle winds should blow again from a less than ideal location, but not enough to push everything over the horizon. Temperatures should reach the mid forty-degree range so the day will be relatively mild. Tomorrow looks to be a cloud-optional day so expect clear skies. The winds are predicted to be below five mph but hopefully that will provide enough lift for the birds to pass our way. ======================================================================== 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-2022