HawkFest, Day 1 - 16 Sep 2023
HawkFest at Lake Erie Metropark turned out to be surprisingly productive. A good turnout of visitors to the Boat Launch was a welcome moment for the Detroit River Hawk Watch. With winds at 0-2 mph from the SW we hoped to see some flights of Broad-winged Hawks, but expected the day to be dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks that are less wind-dependent as their larger buteo cousins.
First hour was slow with Monarch Butterflies (dozens) keeping the counters awake. The bright skies showed thin cirrus clouds and Sharp-shinned Hawks did not start to fly until after 10 am. Luckily, a few birds flew overhead close enough so we could alert visitors to their presence. Most birds, however, were flying either south or north of the count site or VERY high overhead. Still, they were showing by the two's and three's and coming at a steady clip.
At the 11 o'clock hour the first Broad-winged Hawks appeared over the northern horizon with several birds streaming just west of the DTE Energy stacks and kettling into a massive storm of several hundred birds. Visitors were treated to distant-but-viewable kettles of Broad-winged Hawks that started appearing on the north side and south side of the count site. By the time I left at 11:45 am there were plenty of birds to keep counters and visitors happily busy.
We would finish the day with 2840 raptors with 2153 Broad-winged Hawks leading the way. Results and summary by Andrew Sturgess are below:
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 15:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 7 hours |
| Official Counter | Kevin Georg |
| Observers: | Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Mark Hainen |
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:
Today was the first day of Hawk Fest at Lake Erie Metropark. It’s always on the third weekend of September in the hopes that the broadwings will provide the awe-inspiring displays for which they are known. Although they were present in some numbers in the morning, the winds were not in our favor as they vacillated, then picked up strength from a direction that pushes them into the hazy sky to the north. Some kettles were visible to our visitors but it was not the show we wished to present. The clouds did fill in as predicted, with thin icy cirrus at first, becoming denser with cumulus, and even alto cumulus later on. Temperatures were near the seventy-degree mark at their height, and with the cooling breeze, albeit not our favored wind, it was another benign fall day. The barometer was falling as a rain system approaches, but it appears to be less threatening as the blue, wet portion of the graph is shrinking. Although we did have a fairly decent day, we did reach a point of diminishing returns at the end of the normal watch hours and, unlike the last three days, no OT was deemed necessary.
Raptor Observations:
Broadwings, despite their diminished numbers, still led the parade today with 2153 of them in stealth mode, as per usual, most of them in the morning hours. The sharp-shinned hawks continue to impress with 544 of them coming at us from all angles. American kestrels came by in twos and threes, totaling seventy-three at the end of the day. One merlin and one peregrine completed the falcon hat-trick. Northern harriers are nearly at last September’s total only halfway through the month. Today we counted twenty-five. Turkey vultures are holding back until October before they begin in earnest, today only thirty-five were noted. Four bald eagles and three ospreys pumped by; one red-tailed hawk was also tallied.
Non-raptor Observations:
A pair of sandhill cranes have been seen several times along the entrance road to the park. Today we could see long strings of migrating ducks off in the eastern sky. Mallards and some blue-winged teal were seen close by. A single pied-billed grebe is spotted on occasion in the slip, but usually, we see more of them in a normal season. The cormorants are still seen in their follow the leader lines low over the water but also, migrating groups can be seen. The kingfisher continues to be active. Some swallows and swifts were seen today but not in the large numbers that we have become accustomed to in seasons past.
Predictions:
Well, it should be cloudy. That is probably the only certainty for tomorrow. The winds again will probably be a nothing-burger since their predicted speeds are so low that they will be variable once more. There is some NNE predicted in the morning but those predictions have meant little the last few days. Perhaps we will get those winds and those in attendance at the Hawk Fest will be treated to the show they deserve. It’s certainly better than the southerly winds we ended up with today. Sharpies, kestrels and harriers should continue to pour into the country, ignoring the delays on the Ambassador Bridge.
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.
Count data submitted via Dunkadoo - [Project Details]
