Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 15, 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 23 32 32 Osprey 1 5 5 Bald Eagle 5 17 17 Northern Harrier 19 43 43 Sharp-shinned Hawk 100 810 810 Cooper's Hawk 2 6 6 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 14146 26701 26701 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 6 89 89 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 100 254 254 Merlin 1 10 10 Peregrine Falcon 0 8 8 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: 14403 27975 27975 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk, Mark Hainen 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: The watch is graced with a second substitute author today. Apprentice Erika here, jumping in to take the narrative out for a spin and hopefully bringing it home in one piece. We kicked off the morning with some favorable NE winds and as we moved through the day they shifted to a more southerly direction. Cumulus clouds treated us to their impression of meringue in the making with their soft peaks and at times over-beaten appearance. Overall, it was a pleasant day for humans at the count site, with tolerable humidity and temperatures topping out at 70. Raptor Observations: If variety really is the spice of life, we were fully seasoned today. We had our biggest northern harrier day of 2022 by far with 19 making a move, and an even, satisfying 100 kestrels were tallied. Our trusty sharpies totaled 138 today. We also spotted 23 turkey vultures making a run for it and five bald eagles heading decisively out of town. We had one merlin and six red-tails also make an appearance. Once the clouds cleared a bit in the mid-afternoon the birds started flowing in earnest like quarters from a triple cherry payout. We observed massive kettles of broad-winged hawks, each comprising thousands of birds. The kettles were pretty far off and kept filling up from the bottom, with more and more birds creating ever-shifting bowl, sphere, and column forms. All-in-all we had 14,164 broad-wings move through with 11,900 between 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. After that power hour, a volunteer suggested we pour ice water on our counter’s clicker thumb to stop the smoldering. This was a great day at the count site, and as a volunteer put it, “This is more like it.” Non-raptor Observations: A kingfisher repeatedly ripped past us just barely above the surface of the water time and time again, all the while laughing its head off at everyone who was too slow to grab a photo. Swallows made their daily late afternoon snack run and were seen zipping around over the water. Predictions: Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for S and SW winds, but at least they are fairly light. When there are so many birds moving so late in the day, we are likely to have some leftovers for breakfast or brunch the next day. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan (jerry.jourdan@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