Date: 11/8/24 7:10 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (08 Nov 2024) 553 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 08, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Don Sherwood, Jo Patterson, Johannes Postma, Rosemary Brady
Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site by the boat launch in Lake Erie Metropark. 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: Westerly winds, shifting between West and North-west, up to 24 km per hour (15 mi/hr). Temperature rose from +9C in the morning to +16C in late afternoon (48 to 61F).
Raptor Observations: Slight improvement from yesterday, by ca. two hundred birds. Steady, but rather sparse trickle of Turkey Vultures (the largest kettles were of 30-35). Twice as many Red-shouldered Hawks as on Thursday, but only a third of Golden Eagles. The number of Red-tails was similar. Cooper's Hawks seem to be on the move; we recorded almost as many of them as of Sharp-shins (9 vs. 10). A large raptor, either a large Cooper's Hawk or small Goshawk crossed the river and circled overhead. The bird was photographed, but the jury is still out. Please stay tuned.
Non-raptor Observations: We counted 281 American Crows (280 of them flew between 11 AM and noon). Also of interest were female Pintail, a flock of 20 Killdeer, and two groups of Great Egrets (35-40 total) which crossed the river over Gibraltar.
Predictions: Easterly winds and cool temperatures are expected tomorrow. It may be a nearly ideal day for migrating raptors. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (<erika_vankirk...>) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
