Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 29, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 235 1721 1721 Osprey 1 7 7 Bald Eagle 2 67 67 Northern Harrier 31 170 170 Sharp-shinned Hawk 164 1946 1946 Cooper's Hawk 0 7 7 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2 Broad-winged Hawk 0 75148 75148 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 3 118 118 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 19 526 526 Merlin 0 19 19 Peregrine Falcon 0 12 12 Unknown Accipitrine 0 5 5 Unknown Buteo 3 18 18 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 15 15 Total: 458 79784 79784 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Gracie Sangmeister Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bella Maiwurm, Bill Peregord, Michelle Peregord, Rebekah Graham , Rosemary Brady Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site at the Lake Erie Metropark Boat Launch. We are always willing to discuss the events of the day. Let us share our enthusiasm with you. There will be busy days, that may require our full attention, but those are not that frequent, and they provide great thrills for all. We can predict good days to some degree, but the exact hour is up to the birds, so be prepared to put in some time for the best results. Pack a lunch😊 Weather: The huge high-pressure system that has been punishing us, at first with high in-your-face winds, then gentler blows, but sufficient enough to deflect our normal supply of birds at this time of year, has finally moved on. It was so bad we were thinking of going to Holiday Beach to see if we could borrow a cup of sharpies. Today, the winds slowly veered around the compass to the south before picking up steam. The transition period was a window of opportunity for some of the birds to come our way. The wind speed was shown at zero in the early hours as it changed from north to south before slowly increasing to a peak of ten mph in the late afternoon. As a result, the flight slowed to a bare minimum. The temperature reached seventy-six degrees. The barometer is easing down as rain is in the forecast over the next few days. Clouds, except for convection clouds along the shoreline, were nowhere to be seen today. Raptor Observations: Although turkey vultures took the gold today with two hundred and thirty-five birds, for most of the day, they were just off camera for us. M.I.A. in the haze of evaporation from Lake Erie. Nearly all the birds we counted came in a one-hour period. Sharp-shins were a little more evenly spread out. One hundred and sixty-four came by, the most we have had for a week. Northern harriers gave us a season-high thirty-one birds today, a pleasant change from recent single-digit days. Kestrels provided nineteen clicks today. Three red-tailed hawks were counted. Two bald eagles were noted pumping through with a purpose. One osprey flew by. Non-raptor Observations: Our aural bliss was maintained for the most part today, but the future looks bleak as more sheet pilings were placed in position to be hammered down. The pelicans were busy today, two hundred plus, making appearances in breakout groups of thirty to forty members. This morning they joined the cormorants out on the lake for a brunch with bottomless mimosas. Another tightly bunched group fed by the Celeron Island jetty. Forster�s terns were busy this morning, ten were gathered together in the slip, slightly more than usual. The Caspian terns are still present. Pied-billed grebes were noted in the slip. A black duck was observed flying by. A Carolina wren was spinning the discs today keeping the rave going. Blackpoll and yellow-rumped warblers were seen on the trail. Five hundred and twenty-three blue jays were counted. Eleven monarchs continued the long trek. Predictions: Tomorrow should be a cloudier day. The pressure will be falling for a couple of days as wet weather approaches. Rain may fall tomorrow night. The temperature will drop about five degrees. The winds will not be favorable. Coming from the south, or south-southwest, and predicted to stay in the five mile per hour range, it is hoped that they are not strong enough to divert the birds to a more northerly path. Given the low-pressure and cloud cover, they may skirt the area. Fingers crossed that they don�t. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@gmail.com) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org More site information at hawkcount.org: https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285