Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 120 812 812 Osprey 1 48 48 Bald Eagle 6 66 66 Northern Harrier 15 318 318 Sharp-shinned Hawk 88 3474 3474 Cooper's Hawk 0 8 8 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 469 107129 107129 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 58 58 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 55 885 885 Merlin 1 28 28 Peregrine Falcon 1 15 15 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 759 112843 112843 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen, Sabrina Salome 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: What a difference a few degrees of wind direction change make. It’s true for the hawks, it’s also true for humans. Today was another hot summer day in the final third of September. Temperatures were in the upper half of the seventy range and, unlike yesterday, we got no relief from a wind that was raising whitecaps on the lake. The humidity was high and so was our discomfit. Winds waffled a little in the early hours but settled in the south and grew in intensity, reaching ten mph before backing off a little. The barometer was high most of the day in the 30.2 range, before starting to dip, as it will over the next two days. Cloud cover was at first, high icy cirrus creating a rainbow-like halo around the sun. When that dissipated, it was replaced by Jack Frost wisps of mare’s tails and mackerel scales, to be joined later by lower bulging cumulus clouds more representative of the humidity that we felt. Although most of the parameters of today’s weather were predicted, the ESE wind never materialized, and the S wind may have hurt us more than helped, pushing the larger birds to the north. Raptor Observations: We had a few platoons of broad-winged hawks trying to sneak through today. Our motto is “Non Transibit” or “None Shall Pass” for those of you that may have failed to attend, or merely failed Latin. The kettles that we saw were small. A lot of the birds came solo, or in pairs. We still managed to spot 469, but the winds may have pushed more of them to the north. This was the case with turkey vultures as well, with a lot of them appearing off to the north without being spotted crossing from Canada. They totaled 120 on the day. Sharp-shins were still third, despite being well off their highs of a week ago. Eighty-eight were tallied. American kestrels were much improved, at least percentage-wise against the sharpies, with fifty-five fluttering by. Harriers continue to show up in good numbers with fifteen counted today. Three red-tailed hawks were noted. We had six bald eagles fly by in a determined manner. The three species with only one representative included osprey, merlin and peregrine falcons. Non-raptor Observations: The blue jay numbers are increasing, but only the advance guard has arrived so far with no large flocks. Our kingfisher was up hovering in the wind that we could not feel, providing a fishing skills display. A small flock of eight, or perhaps a few more, Bonaparte’s gulls flew by this afternoon, the first we have seen this year. Ducks continue to race by, sometimes before we can get the cameras on them to ID them if we suspect they are not mallards. A small flock of grackles was noted flying by today. We have not seen any other blackbirds, besides small groups of starlings, passing through. Predictions: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,” McBeth had the right idea about weather forecasts; “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” If you get a sense that I would not bet the mortgage on the winds tomorrow, you are on the right track. Predicted to be from the east, rising in strength from five mph, when we assume our posts, to eleven mph by midday, we will have to see whether that is true and how it affects the birds. The barometer will be falling during the day, dropping a tenth, but the skies should be sunnier than today. Temperatures are predicted to barely break the seventy-degree mark and the humidity should fall, making it somewhat more tolerable. It’s a relatively unusual wind and at ten plus mph we will have to see whether the birds decide to tack over our site. ======================================================================== 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