Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 29, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 175 87377 89458 Osprey 0 1 29 Bald Eagle 0 52 149 Northern Harrier 1 113 476 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 914 3937 Cooper's Hawk 0 37 64 American Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 160 160 Broad-winged Hawk 0 47 51921 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 18 828 974 Rough-legged Hawk 0 3 3 Golden Eagle 0 32 34 American Kestrel 0 41 964 Merlin 1 15 48 Peregrine Falcon 0 13 43 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: 199 89642 148278 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Jo Patterson Observers: Andrew Sturgess 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: Another day of robust fifteen mph winds shifting from northeast to east-northeast. Whether due to yesterday’s even higher winds preventing birds from sitting down close, or the falling barometer today, we had a hard time getting out of the gate with very little traffic in the early hours. The clouds were in a migrating mode, as cumulus clouds, at first of such little perceived threat that you wouldn’t cross the street if you saw them coming, congealed into a dark monolithic slab of malignance that might have you pressing nine, then one, and keeping your finger hovering over the 1 button, just in case. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but it looked like the apocalypse might beat it here today. The temperature reached fifty-five, but felt a few degrees cooler. The barometer lost about a tenth and a half as it anticipates the rain. Raptor Observations: What if you had a hawk count and nobody came? It felt like that for the first four hours. It didn’t get a lot better later, but at least we had some birds to scan for. The turkey vultures are reluctant to relinquish their crown, but that only required a feeble effort on their part. One hundred and seventy-five totally crushed the opposition. Red-tails began to move in small numbers, most taking the “elevator” up by dynamic soaring to gain altitude, and then flying high overhead. We managed to see eighteen, but there may have been some over the lake that we missed. We had two red-shouldered hawks, and also two sharp-shinned hawks. One northern harrier and one merlin completed the tally. Non-raptor Observations: A flight of pelicans came into the slip to give us an early morning fly-by. Bonaparte’s gulls were also noted a couple of times today. Forster’s terns are still present. We learned today that we still have two ospreys in the hood, as we saw them both at the same time over Celeron Island. They like us so much they refuse to leave. Tree swallows are still here, but they are always one of the last birds to leave the party. Gulls were kettling today, for reasons known only to them. The crows were on the move in smaller numbers today, with one thousand and eighteen rowing by. The winds kept a lot of activity to a minimum in the slip as the ENE wind blew directly in. Predictions: Tomorrow has rain in the forecast and a plunging barometer. The winds are forecast to be strong again; in double digits at the start of the watch, and increasing to fifteen mph. Winds will be from a northerly direction, and unlike today’s winds, they will bring the cold air. Fifty should be the high temperature. It will feel at least five degrees cooler, so tomorrow is a multi-layer day for which you cannot overdress, you won’t be taking off any layers. It will be a sky full of clouds, so no help from the sun. I intend to take the day off and I suspect a lot of birds will do so too. ======================================================================== 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