Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 17, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 47 68 68 Osprey 0 7 7 Bald Eagle 0 16 16 Northern Harrier 4 59 59 Sharp-shinned Hawk 35 586 586 Cooper's Hawk 1 7 7 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 325 2346 2346 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 32 32 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 8 90 90 Merlin 1 7 7 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 4 Unknown Buteo 0 6 6 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 13 13 Total: 424 3244 3244 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Ben Sehl, Bill and Michelle Peregord, Jerry Jourdan, Jo Patterson, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park. We are willing to spread the gospel with pamphlets and information cards, along with tips on IDing the raptors, and photography tips for those behind the cameras. Let us share our enthusiasm for this miracle of nature with you. Weather: Mainly clear skies (less than 10% cloud cover). The wind changed from NNE in the morning to South in the mid-afternoon, turning around by almost 180 degrees, with speed increasing from 3.5 to 10 miles per hour (6-16 km/hr). Temperature rose to 74 Fahrenheit (+23 C) in mid-afternoon. Raptor Observations: Broad-winged Hawks accounted for over 75% of all raptors recorded today (325 of 424). The main action occurred in the afternoon, when groups of up to fifty were seen streaming over the count site. This is still quite a shortfall from the thousands expected in the 3rd week of September. Today, we noticed first signs of Turkey Vulture migration. Small, but determined groups of 5-7 headed west and northwest; forty-seven were logged as migrants. Sharp-shinned Hawks were few and far between (35 birds), spread nearly evenly throughout the day. Eight kestrels were also seen, one interacting with a passing Merlin, and the latter was clearly getting the upper hand. Of other raptors, we saw four harriers and three Red-tailed Hawks, as well as several resident Bald Eagles and Ospreys. Non-raptor Observations: Noticeable migration of Blue Jays occurred for second day in the row, with nearly one thousand birds recorded. Several large flew across the river between 11:00 hrs and noon. Common waterbirds (Mallards, Caspian Terns and Ring-billed Gulls) were present, but in lower numbers than last week. One Belted Kingfisher was seen flying and hunting over the river. Predictions: Weather forecast promises no significant changes for Wednesday, September 18th. Although they call for easterly and southeasterly winds, we noticed that wind forecasts for the area are not always reliable. It's expected that Broad-winged Hawks will continue streaming over the site, but whether in low hundreds or thousands remains to be seen. ======================================================================== 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