Date: 10/20/24 6:01 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (20 Oct 2024) 127 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 20, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Ben Sehl, Don Sherwood, Shelly Andrews
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: Warm and sunny! Temperature reached +22C (72F) in mid- afternoon. Prevailing winds were from the south-west, up to 18 km or 11 miles per hour.
Raptor Observations: This beautiful sunny day will be remembered as one of the least fruitful for raptor migration in October 2024. We logged 127 birds, including only 77 Turkey Vultures, 30 Sharp-shinned Hawks, nine Red-tails, four kestrels and four harriers. A distant Golden Eagle sweetened the pill somewhat.
Non-raptor Observations: American Crow migration is picking up (315 counted), while Blue Jays trickled down to only six.
Today, we were reminded of harm posed by lost fishing gear to birds. A Ring-billed Gull snatched a small perch, which was at an end of a broken fishing line. While the gull was manipulating the fish in its beak, it got attacked by a fellow gull, which tried to steal the catch. Soon, the aggressor became entangled; the fishing line likely wrapped around its wing or legs. The first gull abandoned the scene shortly, leaving the fish to the entangled competitor. It remained afloat for a while, likely incapable of taking off, drawing attention of at least a dozen of conspecifics. Other gulls, one after another, were pulling on the fish, dragging the entangled bird around. At the end, the hapless Ring-bill was able to take off and fled, with the fishing dangling from the line in the tow.
Predictions: Another warm sunny day with southwestern winds is expected tomorrow. Both people and raptors will enjoy nice summer-like weather. We'll be on the watch, whereas, hawks and vultures likely holiday on a nice sunny beach! Perhaps the Holiday Beach!! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (<erika_vankirk...>) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
