Welcome to Week 3 of the 2023 fall raptor migration! Weather has continued to be variable, leading to several slow days, but this week brought about our first days in the triple digits (301 on 9/7/2023, 129 on 9/8/2023, and 324 on 9/9/2023).
This week was dominated by sharp-shinned hawks. Of the total 861 raptors observed, sharp-shinned hawks made up 46%. 9/7/2023 saw a season high daily total of 189 sharp-shinned hawks. We are also consistently seeing high numbers of bald eagles, with a season high daily total of 73 set on 9/9/2023.
In addition to raptors, Calvin sighted many species of warblers, several common nighthawks, and a substantial number of Canada geese (1331 on 9/7/2023!). For those keeping up with the monarch migration, numbers have been low with the highest being 139 on 9/5/2023.
The highlight of this week was a Mississippi kite sighting on 9/8/2023. Mississippi kites are uncommon as far north as Michigan, and this was the first recorded sighting for the MSRW count site. Additionally, the first goshawk of the season passed through on 9/7/2023.
