14 weeks gone already, it’s the end of the spring 2024 Raptor Count at the Mackinac Straits. It’s been an incredible season, with new records broken and plenty to look back on. Today we will review the final three days of the season but be sure to keep an eye out for the full season recap coming soon!
601 was the total for week 14, consisting only of three days, June 2, June 3, and June 4. Seven species were sighted overall. Broad-winged Hawks made up 77% of the count. Turkey Vultures and Bald Eagles were the second and third most counted species this week. The rest of the species this week saw few individuals but included Northern Harrier, one Sharp-shinned and one Cooper’s Hawk, and a few Red-tails. The overall total for the month of June (just four days this year) came to 698 raptors. This is significantly lower than past counts in the month of June, which from 2020-2023 average at over 3,000 birds counted. This could be due to favorable migration weather earlier in the season than usual, encouraging birds to migrate sooner.
June 2 saw the highest count for the month and the week at 459 birds. It was a pleasantly busy late season day, with some kettles appearing when the clouds moved out.
June 3 and 4 saw the numbers dwindling despite nice weather. Flights were scattered and few and far between. Although it is customary for the count to conclude on June 5, because of predicted rain this year the count ended on June 4.
This week brought us a slow but pleasant end to the season. The 2024 Spring Raptor Migration Review will be available shortly! Thank you for reading and stay tuned!
