Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 16, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 5 1004 65797 Osprey 0 0 16 Bald Eagle 1 8 73 Northern Harrier 0 15 390 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 33 5870 Cooper's Hawk 0 13 80 Northern Goshawk 0 1 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 115 448 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 67350 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 15 1149 4158 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 2 12 29 American Kestrel 0 0 981 Merlin 0 7 75 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: 25 2360 145332 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Sarah deGuise 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: Clouds to the left of us, clouds to the right of us, but overhead, a fairly clear sky. The predicted full cloud cover did not arrive until midday, when thick clouds rolled in containing some rather surly looking specimens; had they been pedestrians approaching on the boulevard, you might have considered crossing to the other side. Despite the threatening look, there was no precipitation, although some of the distant clouds did seem to have rain curtains hanging from them. The wind stayed mostly in the west, starting just below ten mph and finishing just above. Temperatures were in the brisk range; others may differ in their description, possibly using less polite terms. It did reach thirty-eight degrees but since we record in Celsius, four degrees felt more accurate. The barometer tailed off during the day, ending just below 30 inches, another variation from what was predicted. Raptor Observations: A slow day in general, with four of six hours having zero birds. During the two hours that did deliver, we finished with 15 red-tails leading the pack. Turkey vultures came by three times with only five birds to show for it, you do the math. No sooner than Kevin, our eagle-eyed counter, mentioned that it seemed like a golden eagle day than one appeared, followed shortly by another. A single sharp-shinned hawk was noted and also, a single bald eagle. The cloud cover stopped what had been a pretty anemic flow. It seems that the west wind at ten mph was not to their liking and nothing really came close to camera range today. Non-raptor Observations: Horned larks were observed flying over today. Our Bonaparte’s population seems to have increased for some reason with twenty to thirty birds appearing together this morning. The water level had dropped over two feet since yesterday. When you ask how deep Lake Erie is you have to include the time of day since it sloshes back and forth all the time. Tundra swans were also observed. Canada geese were flying by today but even they seemed much quieter than usual in the gloomy weather. The gulls and local eagles seemed to enjoy the fresh winds, migrants, not so much. Predictions: Another day to hold on to your hat since the winds will be increasing, the temperatures declining a little, and the barometer waffling just above the thirty-inch mark. Winds will come from the WSW direction and reach up to fifteen mph by the normal watch’s end. Clouds will make up a large percentage of the sky view. The real-feels will be below the freezing mark all day as the temperature will be around the mid-thirties. A small chance of rain exists but that should take the form of showers if it does rain at all. Not a good wind for us, especially with the speed at fifteen mph. Hopefully, we will get some birds but most of the signs are not good. ======================================================================== 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