Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 14, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 36 311 311 Osprey 4 24 24 Bald Eagle 15 31 31 Northern Harrier 39 118 118 Sharp-shinned Hawk 268 1304 1304 Cooper's Hawk 0 8 8 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 26190 47899 47899 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 9 35 35 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 114 440 440 Merlin 3 17 17 Peregrine Falcon 1 5 5 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 26679 50193 50193 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk, Frank Kitakis, Jerry Jourdan 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: The wind graph today looks like what describe as a period of volatility on Wall Street; many jagged peaks and valleys as the wind rose and fell. Fortunately, the strength of the wind was always on the anemic side and even at its peak was only seven mph. It seemed to change directions 180 degrees at times, hitting both north and south poles as it rose and fell. The final hours were from mostly SSE but still the broadwings came. Multiple flight lines were a result as, at times, they flew over the lake, but also very far to the north of us. A clear blue dome greeted us at the start of the day but gradually filled part of the sky with beefy cumulus clouds that served as a backdrop to help us track distant birds. The barometer was rising until midday and fell slightly later on. Temperatures were knocking on seventy’s door but it never opened. Another Michigan Chamber of Commerce fall day that was enjoyed by all. Raptor Observations: Broadwings: the bird of the month, and the bird of the day. Once again, we had large kettles drifting across the sky and huge streams as they changed to horizontal rain formations. It truly is special to see so many raptors of one species traveling in huge collectives. Although they are hard to follow at times, they are always worth the effort. Today we counted 26,190. We stayed a couple of extra hours as the kettle train was still rolling down the tracks. Sharp-shins were a distant second with 268 of their ilk counted. Kestrels were busier today as they broke out of the seventy range to hit 114. Turkey vultures are still moving but most are waiting for October to bust a move. Only thirty-six were noted today. We continue to have a very good harrier count compared to most recent years with thirty-nine counted today. We did hit the falcon trifecta again with three merlins and one peregrine falcon to complement the kestrels. Bald eagles and osprey are both above our usual early season counts with fifteen and four today, respectively. Non-raptor Observations: We have been seeing a common loon fly by on occasion. They are usually on the same flight path but I’m never sure where they are bound as they leave the lake flying over the tree line on Gibraltar. In the last hour tonight, we saw our first common nighthawk. The usual suspects rounded out the cast with great blue herons and great egrets occasionally disputing a prized fishing spot. We discovered that the newly apparent hole by the picnic table was occupied by Lenny the Vole. He pops out from time to time to harvest some grass. The local tree surgeons continue to have Black Friday like income as they clean up the tornado damage. Predictions: I will say right off the bat that I don’t trust any wind predictions where the wind will be in the two-mph hour range. We have seen that these forecasts usually end up with rising and falling wind strength with no direction home. The rest of the forecast looks like another sunny fall day with high pressure, temps near seventy, and a few clouds to break up the blue. Humidity will be high, but it should still be a comfortable day. Dare we hope for a fourth day of significant broadwing migration? Of course we can! Whether they appear may be another matter. Winds will be easterly, but light, so they will not be pushed too far away if they choose to come. ======================================================================== 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 Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - Project info at: https://dunkadoo.org/explore/detroit-river-international-wildlife-refuge/detroit-river-hawk-watch-fall-2023