Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 37 37 970
Osprey 0 0 16
Bald Eagle 5 5 38
Northern Harrier 8 8 191
Sharp-shinned Hawk 89 89 2226
Cooper's Hawk 1 1 40
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 8 8 6756
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 1 1 56
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 3 3 282
Merlin 0 0 14
Peregrine Falcon 2 2 10
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 5
Unknown Buteo 2 2 15
Unknown Falcon 0 0 8
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 3 3 25
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Ben Sehl, Jo Patterson, Mark Hainen, Rosemary Brady
Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park.
We are willing to spread the word with pamphlets and information cards,
along with tips on raptors identification. Let us share our enthusiasm for
this miracle of nature with you.
Weather:
Overcast in the morning, but breaks in the clouds appeared around 1 PM, and
then mainly sunny by 3 PM. Southerly and southeasterly winds, weak at
first, and picking up to 13 km/hr (8 miles per hour) in late afternoon.
Temperature rose to +23C (73F) by 4 PM EDT.
Raptor Observations:
We ended up with a meager count of 159 birds, mainly Sharp-shinned Hawks
(89). It was clearly not the day for soaring species, only 37 Turkey
Vultures and 8 Broad-winged Hawks showed up at the count site, while the
rest were held up elsewhere by the weak southerly winds. Adult Bald Eagles
are moving through the area.
Non-raptor Observations:
Blue Jays, flying en masse, outnumbered migrating raptors 35 to one.
Nonetheless, we saw fewer jays today, counting 5822 of them. A raft of
90-100 American Coots was spotted downstream.
Predictions:
A slight drop in temperature is expected tomorrow, but prevailing southerly
winds will likely keep hawk numbers relatively low, except perhaps the
Sharp-shinned Hawks.
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Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (erika_vankirk@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