Hawk Watch Numbers Increasing - 10 Sep 2023

Expectations were growing for a good flight of raptors at the Detroit River Hawk Watch this morning. Winds were forecasted to be NE and skies were supposed to clear. However, at 9 am winds were from the NW (which tends to favor Holiday Beach Hawk Watch) and cloud cover was still heavy. Still, we'd finish with the best flight of the early season.

The day started with a Belted Kingfisher. She posed nicely in the morning light in the trees at the edge of the woods and the Lake Erie shoreline. A few trips to one of the buoys and back gave us something to watch while waiting for birds to fly.

Northern Flickers were playing on the other side of the watch. This one was posing on the bench near the boat launch and allowed for some digiscoping.

A few Sharp-shinned Hawks appeared shortly after 9 am, but were scattered and mostly high north and south of our position. Shortly around 10 am the first Broad-winged Hawks appeared. Along with more scattered Sharp-shinned Hawks we managed to pick up our first kettle of a dozen birds.

Monarch Butterflies continue to cross the channel, and we made sure to let Bill (Peregord) know; he was official butterfly counter today.

Caspian Terns gave us a show today with several juveniles foraging and diving close to shore.

Early afternoon came and the Northern Flickers returned. This time they, and a Cedar Waxwing, were posing in the maple tree next to the site. 

A little bit of cloud clearing occurred and the Broad-winged Hawks started to fly again. We even saw a few Northern Harriers and Peregrine Falcons.

My day would end with a Belted Kingfisher returning to its morning perch!

Observation start time:	08:00:00
Observation end time:	16:00:00
Total observation time:	7.5 hours
Official Counter	Andrew Sturgess, Kevin Georg
Observers:	Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Kevin Georg, Mark Hainen, Michelle Peregord

Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site and are very willing to share migration information, photography and ID tips with them. We have cards and pamphlets, so come and talk to us. However, during times of high traffic, requiring extra focus and concentration, we would respectfully ask that everyone use their indoor voices and allow us to fulfill our mission to the best of our abilities. Thank you.

Weather:
We ask them to do one thing. Who are you going to believe, the weather forecast, or your lying eyes? Although the wind did turn to the east in the later hours of the afternoon, and the clouds finally broke their solid stratus layer around the same time, it was not as predicted once more. Winds, what there were of them, started in the NW and rose and fell during the day, changing positions like a struggling politician reacting to the polls. At times, we were becalmed, the speed never rising above five mph, rarely coming from the same direction when we took weather stats on the hour. Temperatures managed to break the seventy-degree mark by a couple of degrees. The solid cloud cover kept the sun from providing any heat so the light jackets stayed on till later in the day. The barometer, over thirty-inches all day, started to fall as rain is forecast for tomorrow night and some of Tuesday.

Raptor Observations:
It was another day of tiny silhouettes up in the stratosphere as the raptors chose to take the high road again. We had fairly steady traffic and had our best day so far with 464 birds counted. Broad-wings led the way with 177 but only beating the sharp-shins by the number of toes on Hemingway’s cat. The largest kettle we saw was just over 50 birds, so no big accretions yet. Sharpies had their best day with 171 present and accounted for. They far outnumbered the kestrels today with only thirty-six showing up. Most of them determined to put a dent in the dragonfly population as they juked across the sky. Turkey vultures continue to drift by in small groups, totaling sixty-two at the end of the watch. With their big wings, they were able to mine energy from the winds at lower altitudes than the others. We once again hit the trifecta for falcons with two peregrines, one merlin, and the previously mentioned kestrels. Seven red-tailed hawks made the passage today. Two ospreys were counted, along with four northern harriers. A pair of Cooper’s hawks made the clicker. Our local Cooper’s seemed a rude host today as he seemed to get up in the grill of some travelers that were just passing through.

Non-raptor Observations:
Our cedar waxwings were back today, along with a few warblers that were seen from a distance but not IDed. King fishers continued their Hatfield vs McCoy relationship. I misspoke yesterday when I said that a number of blue-winged teal had flown into our area, they were actually green-winged. They were not seen again today. It seems that we are seeing more gulls of different ages, in different plumages than at the start of the watch. All ring-bills and herring gulls so far. The surprise of the day for me was, as I exited, there were a few wild turkeys in the park.

Predictions:
Fool me once….. We should start off with light NE winds at the beginning of the watch tomorrow but there will be a sudden shift to the SE around midday. The barometer will not be steady, eventually falling as the rain approaches. Cloud cover looks like it will be light in the morning but increasing back to stratus conditions in the afternoon. Temperatures will match todays at seventy-two. It looks like the two halves of the watch will be completely different on paper. Light winds from opposing directions with rain approaching make this one a little tricky to call. Sometimes the edges of a disturbance can create traffic as the winds pick up, but light winds are forecast. Hopefully the traffic continues, at least in the morning hours.

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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@gmail.com)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - [Project Details]