Date: 11/20/24 2:50 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (20 Nov 2024) Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 20, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 4 hours
Official Counter: Michael Patrikeev
Observers: Jo Patterson
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: A dark November sky was our unwanted companion today. We have become well aquatinted with overcast and rainy this week. Rain began at 1pm sharp. It downgraded to a drizzle around 2pm, which continued until the end of the count. The barometer fell and then rose again with the rain. The temperature undulated inversely: rising from 8C to 10C, then falling down to 5C. Winds from the West, bringing rain across the state.
Raptor Observations: Two local Bald Eagles perched low in the parking lot trees. Another distant raptor, likely the local Red-tail, sat in a tree on Celeron; it presented as nothing more than a soggy mass of feathers. None of the raptors were inclined to leave their branches.
Non-raptor Observations: Great Blue Heron were moving today. They came in steady singles in the morning. The afternoon brought two groups of about 15 each.
Predictions: We could be getting our first snow in the early hours of tomorrow morning. The snow showers are predicted to give way to a mixture of rain and snow in the afternoon. Winds will be W at 10 to 15 mph. The temperature will stay in the 30s F. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (<erika_vankirk...>) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
