Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 29, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 2983 65220 Osprey 0 0 18 Bald Eagle 10 85 223 Northern Harrier 0 28 348 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 100 3496 Cooper's Hawk 0 44 119 American Goshawk 0 3 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 163 336 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 6785 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 1097 2028 Rough-legged Hawk 0 7 21 Golden Eagle 0 76 120 American Kestrel 0 1 410 Merlin 0 4 27 Peregrine Falcon 0 5 33 Unknown Accipiter 0 4 19 Unknown Buteo 0 19 50 Unknown Falcon 0 1 14 Unknown Eagle 0 4 7 Unknown Raptor 0 2 30 Total: 11 4626 79308 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Dan Atherton, Don Sherwood, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark. We have brochures and educational information we are happy to share. Let us share our enthusiasm for migration and raptors with you! While we welcome your questions and company, please know that our professional counter, apprentices, and volunteers must communicate with each other frequently to successfully conduct the count, and they also must maintain an unobstructed view of the horizon. Weather: It was snowing for the first three hours of the count (perhaps as much as 5 mm accumulated). At times, visibility was next to zero. Strong winds from WSW, and later West; up to 29 km/hour (18 mi/hr). Temperature steady between -1 and -2C (30-35F). Raptor Observations: Bald Eagle was our bird of the day. We tried to count them conservatively, but by now we know most of the resident adults and some juveniles by sight (e.g., missing flight or tail feathers, amount of grey on head and tail. etc.). Although we saw almost all of the resident birds, we also witnessed juveniles crossing over Lake Erie (from approximately Amherst Pointe towards Pointe Mouillee) and not coming back. We also observed two Red-tailed Hawks, but counted only one, because another traveled in the opposite direction. Non-raptor Observations: Herons and egrets are leaving the area in a hurry. Today, we saw only one Great Egret in the park, and several Great Blue Heron flying across the river; just about 16:00 hrs, eleven more Great Blues came from over the Gibraltar. Three Common Loons were spotted far out in the lake. Don spotted a male Gadwall in a group of Mallards, and it was quite a treat. We also observed Hooded Mergansers, perhaps as few as eight or as many as twenty (same birds might have been involved in these sightings). One American Tree Sparrow. Bonaparte's, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. Predictions: It will remain cold tomorrow with winds, presumably, coming from SSW. However, a mix of sun and cloud, and no precipitation is expected, giving us some hope to see more raptors on the last day of the 2024 count. ======================================================================== 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