Sunday, 9/17/2023 wrapped up Week 4 of the fall hawk count.
Raptor sightings jumped from 861 the previous week to a whopping 2155! If you wanted to catch a glimpse of a broad-winged kettle, this was the week to do it. Broad-winged hawks made up an even 50% of our total observations this week. 9/13/2023 saw a season high of 788 broad-winged hawks making their way across the Straits, with some large kettles of 80-100 birds.
A season high of 220 sharp-shinned hawks was recorded on 9/12/2023. On 9/15/2023, there were fairly close fly-bys of two northern harriers, the highlight of an otherwise slow day (52 total observations). Calvin also recorded a season-high of 76 bald eagles on 9/16/2023.
98 turkey vultures passed through on 9/17/2023, another season high. We can expect to see higher numbers of turkey vultures in the coming weeks.
