My prediction for Monday's Broadwing migration was correct. There was a good push of upwards of 30,000. Due to the strong north wind they were visible from the Point Mouillee Headquarters instead of the Lake Erie Metropark Hawkwatch site. Their flight path for most of the day was perhaps as far south as Roberts Rd. Then about 3:30 the winds lightened up and the stream of hawks moved closer to the Headquarters observation deck giving better but still distant views of the birds at a great altitude.
There were decent views of other birds but the broadwings were little more than specks even as their flightpath came close to overhead.
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| Immature Redtail |
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| American Kestrel |
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| Northern Harrier |
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| Broadwings close to overhead |
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| Streaming out of a kettle |
Today and Wednesday the East and Southeast winds should take the streams of hawks back to the official Lake Erie Metropark Hawk Count site or farther north. As stated in Sunday's post, 20 years of data shows that by Sept 16 only 17% of the Broadwings have migrated through, while September 17 and 18 historically have accounted for 31% and 26% respectively. So the birds will be crossing from Canada today and tomorrow whether they will be detected is another matter.
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