Date: 10/12/24 5:58 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (12 Oct 2024) 4581 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Bill and Michelle Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Jo Patterson
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: Mainly sunny. Wind shifted from WNW to North-East around 10 AM and sustained at around 10 km/hour into mid-afternoon. At 3 PM, it shifted again, this time to south-east. Temperature gradually rose from +13 to 19 C (55 to 65 F), but it felt cooler in the shade!
Raptor Observations: Turkey Vultures, quite predictably, remained predominant species in our count. Today, we logged 4,484 of them (98% of our total of 4,581 birds). The vultures flew over the area practically non-stop. Over one thousand checked in between 11 AM and noon, but only 90 from 2 to 3 PM. In the last two hours, 35 Red-tailed Hawks showed up at the count site, bringing their total 47 (highest daily count in 2024). Sharp-shinned Hawks were relatively few (27), and other species even fewer numbers. We had a good view of several Red-shouldered Hawks though.
Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jays returned to the skies! They outnumbered vultures in the morning hours; between 11 AM and noon, Bill and Michelle counted 1,960 of them! Our total jay count amounted to 3,375. Today, we saw over one hundred of White Pelicans (perhaps as many as 120). Several flocks of them maneuvered over Canada and Celeron Island, sometimes crossing paths with streaming Turkey Vulture.
Predictions: Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow with 40 to 70% probability. We do not count on seeing many birds on Sunday, but will likely see some. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (<erika_vankirk...>) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
