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2011 Counters
 Jonathan Stein
Jonathan is the 2011 contract counter and has spent his last two fall seasons at hawk watches on both coasts, first as an observer for the Ashland Hawk Watch near his Delaware home and then as an intern for the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, whose annual count is conducted from atop Hawk Hill, overlooking San Francisco. When not hawk watching, he has been traveling the country looking for birds, mainly raptors, and participating in avian field research, most recently assisting with a project involving prothonotary warblers in Illinois. Jonathan graduated from Goucher College with BA in American Studies.  Josh HaasThis is Josh's 6th year at the watch. He relieved Rob on a number of weekends. He's committed to the hawk watch as he drives two hours one way to count each week. He is an excellent photographer and his nature photography can be found here.
 John ElliotA long-time volunteer of the hawk watch, John brings over 15 years of experience studying raptors at the mouth of the Detroit River. He has been retired from the Ford Motor Company for several years, but is extremely active in volunteer pursuits, including the Red Cross blanket committee and year-round sports events for his son.
 Raburn HowlandAnother veteran counter, Raburn has committed a decade to this hawk watch. He has been studying birds as a hobby for many years and has been a member of the Cornell Feeder Watch since 1989. Raburn is from Ann Arbor where he has been working for the University of Michigan in some capacity for over 30 years, mostly in the academic administration field.
 Rodney LauraRodney is from Rockwood, MI, making his commute shorter than anyone else in getting to the count sites! Born and raised Downriver, he has spent his life around the Great Lakes coastal marshes. Rodney worked over 30 years for Chrysler in numerous capacities. He has broad interests in birds, especially as photographic subjects in which he has an impressive collection of work. His contribution as a spotter during the 2008 season was critical as he showed up to the count almost daily, regardless of weather and flight volume. He is incredibly adept at locating distant raptors as they fly in over the trees between Celeron and Horse Islands.
Pat Mulawa
Pat is from Taylor, Michigan and has been coming to the count for over ten years. He is passionate about birding and hiking and is able to spend more time in the field since his retirement from Detroit Marine Terminals where he was an accountant for over 31 years. He enjoys counting raptors and spotting the rare birds. This is his second year as an assistant counter. Currently, he is taking computer classes and hopes to dive into photography this season.
 On October 6, 1991, Jeff first appears in the records as a counter where he sat at Woodruff Road with Mel Stahl for a few hours tallying 412 migrant raptors. Over the next 20 years Jeff was a regular, especially in the late 1990s and 2000s. Over the years he has taken time away from work to absorb himself into the migration at the Detroit River and in spring at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, along with short stints out west working with raptors. He is one of the most skilled hawk watchers in the country. Jeff became president of the Southeastern Michigan Raptor Research for two years and has been a leader of the count, dedicating more hours in the field than anyone. Jeff is a die-hard and is consistently helping cover the count throughout the season, especially during the peak times in September and October. His blog and photography work can be found here.
Data Analysis
 Drew Panko and Trudy Battaly, Data Analysis
Drew started hawk watching in the mid-70s on Hook Mountain in Rockland County, NY. After he realized that most falcons migrate through that area along the barrier beach,and that their passage was undocumented, he gathered a few watchers together and started the Fire Island Hawk Watch in 1982. Having a background in data analysis (physics and statistics), he began recording the stats right away, beginning with means and record days in the early years, and expanding to trends and seasonal distributions as the data accumulated across the years. His goals are to make sense of Detroit River Hawk Watch data, and to incorporate as much relevant ecology as possible. In the photo is Drew's significant other, Trudy Battaly, who has been a co-worker with Drew on many projects. Please see the Fire Island Hawk Watch website. The accessibility of so much data in text, as well as video form, is the best we have seen from any hawk watch. Check out their videos on falcon trends! Drew and Trudy are the authors of the large summary statistics on the Detroit River Hawk Watch data found here. DRHW 2011 Outreach Volunteers
Joe Chordash
Emily Cichon Tom Fountain
Rodney Laura
Rita Montague
Denise Ward
DRHW Advisory Committee
International Wildlife Refuge Alliance Board Member (Vacant)
Rosemary Brady
Dave Ewert, Director of Conservation Science, The Nature Conservancy
Raburn Howland
Jerry Jourdan
Greg Norwood, SCEP Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Darrin O’Brien
Matt Stuber, Wildlife Biologist (eagle specialist), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Will Weber
[Last updated 05/2010] |
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