Date: 10/18/24 4:44 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (18 Oct 2024) 1066 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Jo Patterson, Michelle Peregord
Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metro Park. 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: Clear sky and light southerly winds; hazy. Temperature rose to +14C (57F), falling short of the promised +18C.
Raptor Observations: It was not an outstanding day for raptor migration due to the southerly winds. We ended up with 1,066 birds, including 1,000 Turkey Vultures even. The vultures circled over Celeron, hardly moving from there at all. Between noon and 1 PM, there were 665 of them in the air. They streamed out of sight over treetops, hardly visible in the hazy skies. All other species amounted to 66 birds, including 45 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 15 Red-tails. On the positive side, there were two Rough-legged Hawks, and a Golden Eagle, although the latter was quite far away.
Non-raptor Observations: Uneventful day for corvids; we counted only 4 American Crows and 30 Blue Jays.
Predictions: Westerly and southerly winds and unseasonably warm temperatures (up to +22C or 72F) are predicted for tomorrow and Sunday. It likely means that we won't see huge flights of vultures in the next couple of days, although, that is not carved in stone. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (<erika_vankirk...>) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
