Date: 10/14/24 6:01 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (14 Oct 2024) 7933 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 14, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:15:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Johannes Postma
Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark. If you plan to visit us from October 14th - 17th, please note the count site is only accessible by foot! The road and trail leading to the count site will be closed just past the Marshlands Museum. Please park at the museum, walk along the bike path, and take the second left on the Cherry Island trail. This trail will lead you around to the count site. It is comprised of pavement, boardwalk, and gravel and is about a .75 mile walk. This closure is due to extensive tree work happening along the roadway. The maintenance is scheduled to end October 17th, with road and parking access restored the 18th. We will provide an update here if the schedule changes.
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: Cold westerly and northerly winds reaching velocity of up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/hr). Temperature stayed below +13C (55F). A mix of sun and cloud, becoming more cloudy in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations: It did not look very exiting at the beginning. Some wet and not very happy Turkey Vultures took of from somewhere in Gibraltar, totaling only 120 in the first two hours. However, it was only the overture. At about 1 PM, the skies have burst, and thousands of vultures poured in. Between 2:00 and 2:10, there were at least 1,100 Turkey Vultures in the air over the tip of Canada and Lake Erie! A a somewhat poor imitation of the passenger pigeon flight. In the last three hours, we counted nearly seven thousand of them. It looked like many were crossing from Amherst Pointe to Maple Beach. However, many more materialized over the lake, seemingly appearing from nowhere. Perhaps, the vultures were carried south, and over the lake, by the strong northern wind. Unless, they were trying to reach Pointe Mouillee. Other raptor species were sighted in the their ranks, including our first golden Eagle, finally! Twenty-eight of each Red-tailed and Sharp-shinned Hawks, and eight Red-shouldered Hawks, at least. were also in the mix. Others might nave been missed in the midst of the streaming vultures. Bald Eagles were also on the move. We logged 12 (all adults) traveling with the vulture. The final score was 7,933 birds, our highest daily count this far!
Our neighbors at the Holiday Beach had even greater success, but they were many compared vs. only two of us.
Non-raptor Observations: American Crows were sighted in the count area in the afternoon (we counted 62). Blue Jay migration is probably slowing down. We recorded only 150 today. Over 100 White Pelicans were seen again over the tip of Canada and Celeron. In addition, Johannes spotted 6 Sandhill Cranes.
In addition, a crazed Monarch and few smaller butteries fluttered in the cold wind.
Predictions: It will be cooler and windier tomorrow, and we project that Turkey Vultures will continue to press on, heading for warmer climes! Expect another rush hour in the afternoon! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (<erika_vankirk...>) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
