Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 16, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 15 21 21 Osprey 0 7 7 Bald Eagle 0 16 16 Northern Harrier 1 55 55 Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 551 551 Cooper's Hawk 0 6 6 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 295 2021 2021 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 29 29 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 1 82 82 Merlin 0 6 6 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 1 13 13 Total: 326 2820 2820 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Ben Sehl, Erika Van Kirk, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie MetroPark. 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: Another 180 switch from north to south in the direction of the winds caused another day of moderate activity in the morning hours and not so much in the afternoon. Our hot and dry September continues with little chance of rain in the forecast. The barometer did start to fall in the afternoon hours and we may have increased cloud cover tomorrow afternoon, but there was a clear blue canvas today. Temperatures were supposed to be a little lower but still reached eighty degrees. The white horses were running on the lake today as wind speeds were up in the ten-mph range. Raptor Observations: Broadwings were in the lead today, as expected, but in a smaller density than wanted. Two hundred and ninety-five of them made the clicker. Turkey vultures have been showing signs that the migration sap is rising, fifteen of them were noted today. Close behind were sharp-shins with thirteen members. One northern harrier flopped by. One American kestrel was seen. Non-raptor Observations: Flickers continue to make noise around us and scour the grass for sustenance. We saw nearly 300 blue jays today. The winds seem to keep the swallows and gulls at bay, but there was little to see even if they were there acting as flak to block our view. Wild turkeys were seen again in the park this morning. Predictions: The temperatures will still be in the higher half of the seventies tomorrow with a little more cloud in the afternoon. Winds are supposed to be more easterly so that may help keep more birds in sight. The trend of rising throughout the day continues but the top speed should be a little less. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@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