Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 15, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 5728 49198 51279 Osprey 0 0 28 Bald Eagle 2 29 126 Northern Harrier 2 50 413 Sharp-shinned Hawk 34 542 3565 Cooper's Hawk 1 25 52 American Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 10 47 47 Broad-winged Hawk 0 46 51920 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 49 268 414 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 2 6 8 American Kestrel 2 35 958 Merlin 1 7 40 Peregrine Falcon 0 10 40 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 1 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 6 9 Total: 5831 50272 108908 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Jo Patterson Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen, Rosemary Brady Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site as we are eager to share the joys of hawk watching with one and all. Although there may be times in which we are all very busy and need alone-time to concentrate, those are the times that are most enjoyable for visitors as the skies are filled with migrating raptors. Weather: We sat patiently through the light rain that started the watch, and patiently through the first two hours of the watch, as we saw very few birds. At the very end of the watch, we were rewarded with many squadrons of turkey vultures, most near our location, where we could closely observe them as strains of Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries ran through the auditory cortex. The winds were mostly light northwest winds, veering around to the north during our final, most productive hours. The cloud cover after the rain was a forty-nine-shades-of-gray, rumpled duvet cover of a sky, but as the day progressed, we saw more bright white cumulus clouds appear, only to move on to the south, until the sky was a higher percentage of blue than white. Temperatures reached the sixty-three-degree mark, but as the wind turned more to the north, it felt like it was dropping. The barometer stayed high, not moving in any significant way. Raptor Observations: The turkey vultures were the boss of all the other birds with a grand total of five thousand, seven hundred, and twenty-eight. As soon as one kettle cleared, another would appear in the haze as if coming through the NCAA portal. The northwest wind does not do us any favors with most other species, but we were able to rack up forty-nine red-tails today. The sharpies are still in the game with thirty-four souls. Red-shouldered hawks are becoming more a frequent visitor with ten making it past today. Two was a common number today with bald eagles, American kestrels, northern harriers and last, but certainly not least, two golden eagles. Cooper’s hawks and merlins said that one is the loneliest number. Non-raptor Observations: There are still some summer birds to be seen in the park. An eastern phoebe was seen hawking insects, and a blue-headed vireo was in the vicinity, along with other warblers. The pelicans continue to put on impressive displays of their flight capabilities with numbers in the hundreds. A pair of sandhill cranes were soaring high overhead. Caspian and Forster’s terns were seen today. The blue jay’s race is nearly run, with only eighty counted today. American crows showed a three hundred percent increase with twelve birds. Monarchs could only muster two today. Predictions: We have one more day of northerly winds before we have to pay the price with three days of southern winds, and a potential rainout on Sunday. The winds will be below five mph, so the birds will again go aloft in search of stronger winds. Temperatures will reach the same mark as today, perhaps a degree higher. The barometer will remain high, but it will dip on the weekend when the rains come. Skies should be clear. I would expect a slow start to the day, to which we have become accustomed, but hopefully, our favorite carrion eaters will continue to fly. ======================================================================== 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