Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 32 3401 94021 Osprey 0 0 52 Bald Eagle 1 34 142 Northern Harrier 1 28 492 Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 154 6926 Cooper's Hawk 0 19 77 American Goshawk 0 1 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 169 446 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 103457 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 119 1859 3252 Rough-legged Hawk 1 6 21 Golden Eagle 19 101 114 American Kestrel 0 5 1277 Merlin 1 7 53 Peregrine Falcon 0 10 59 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: 183 5794 210396 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Jackie Quinones, Rosemary Brady, Sam Heilman 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: Jackie again back to you with my final narrative! The trees behind the count site may have blocked the strong winds, but the birds certainly felt it. They didn’t seem to mind as much in the morning when the winds were coming from the SW, but come afternoon when they switched to southerly, the birds became very distant. The morning also brought some much needed cloud cover. Clouds of different varieties covered the skies, each looking like different types of brush strokes. We marveled at how the cirrus clouds turned to small cumulus then to light stratus. Towards the afternoon the clouds disappeared leaving us to the hazy blue beyond. It felt like a nice summer day getting to the high 50s. Except it’s not summer- it’s late November! I constantly have to remind myself that the alternative is counting hawks bundled up in many layers while nestled in a sleeping bag. Raptor Observations: After getting 19 Golden Eagles today, we have finally hit over 100 for the season! It’s truly feeling like November- minus the warm weather. Our days are slower and filled with Red-tailed hawks and Golden eagles. With no birds in the first hour, we were worried. However, we had a pretty good run of Red-tails in the late morning. We also had quite an exciting 15 minutes when four Golden eagles flew close by, along with a light morph Rough-legged hawk in the mix. Tailing them was a Merlin looking for a fight as they normally do. The shift in winds in the afternoon slowed things down a bit, but we still managed to get some distant birds. Non-raptor Observations: The non-raptor category went as expected. Per usual, the height of the crow action occurred during peak raptor flight. We managed to count 30, but there were definitely more. One, lone Great Blue Heron was seen flying high near the stacks, perhaps to visit its friends that flew by yesterday. Some Mergansers were seen flying throughout the day in groups of three. No Little gull was seen nor did any visitors report it nearby. Predictions: Tomorrow’s constant cloud cover should be very helpful while we spot birds. We’ll need all the help we can get, because the winds are looking very similar to today’s- strong and southerly. We can expect another heat wave tomorrow, reaching around the same temps as today. Overall, not looking too great, but today didn’t look so great either. Look where we’re at now! 19 Golden eagles stronger. This will be my last summary, as tomorrow I will pass it off to my co-apprentice, Sam. Thanks for reading! - Jackie Quinones ======================================================================== 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