Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 17, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 3 122 122 Osprey 0 6 6 Bald Eagle 1 52 52 Northern Harrier 0 67 67 Sharp-shinned Hawk 16 685 685 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 3 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1970 4321 4321 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 40 40 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 166 166 Merlin 1 14 14 Peregrine Falcon 0 6 6 Unknown Accipitrine 1 4 4 Unknown Buteo 0 7 7 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 4 4 Total: 1997 5499 5499 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Bella Maiwurm Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Johannes Postma, Mark Hainen, 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: Marlane Ainsworth described the frustrating, windless calm of an equatorial doldrum as a �time out from intense living. Doldrums are where new seeds have a chance to grow and be noticed,� and boy was that proven later in our day. The morning began achingly slow, with winds beginning from the northeast at five mph. By noon the winds dropped to a scant breeze, with temperatures hovering around sixty-five degrees, humidity in the nineties, and a barometer around thirty point twenty-six. Thick stratus clouds boxed us in, keeping the ceiling low and Canada hidden from view. By the end of the count, the winds reemerged from the northwest and Canada had returned from the mist. Raptor Observations: The morning hours tested the limits of our picnic-table sailors, riding out the doldrum with a single kestrel, merlin, and two sharp-shins between hours one and six. The seeds of our patient labor bloomed after three pm, when the broad-wings kicked off. Kettles of one hundred to one-fifty birds appearing out of the mist. One thousand and seventy broadies were tallied by the end of the day, a modest amount for the count�s standards, but a lovely uptick from the previous days. Four more kestrels, fourteen sharpies, an immature bald eagle, and three turkey vultures rounded out the day. Our usual Cooper�s hawk, osprey, and bald eagles made appearances throughout the day as well. Non-raptor Observations: Turkey hens and their poults greeted us upon arrival this morning, eighteen of them viewable in the tall grass. Double-crested cormorants were on the move today. Lines and lines of these fish-eaters, over a thousand worth, were making their way south. Eight American white pelicans continued to mingle with the mute swans by the break wall. Purple martins, tree swallows, and northern rough-winged swallows decided to make life trickier for the counters, debuting at the same time as the broad-wings. The large oak trees at our back were full of passerines, including cedar waxwings, magnolia warblers, blackpoll warblers, gray catbirds, and red-winged blackbirds. A downy woodpecker and carolina wren kept up their calls, encouragement in the form of rattling birdsong. A new muskrat friend appeared, dipping in and out of view in the water just beyond the picnic tables. Fourty-four monarchs made a mad dash across. Predictions: Ever the optimist, I hope for a higher count tomorrow. It will be a short reprieve between rain systems, an opportunity we theorize the broad-wings will take advantage of (if they have been hunkered down as we hope). The sun should reemerge, providing mostly blue skies and highs in the mid-seventies. Winds are predicted to continue from the northeast at an increased ten to fifteen mph. The barometer will be up towards thirty point two, providing that necessary lift our migrating birds prefer. The combination of sunnier skies, higher winds continuing from the northeast, and high barometer bodes well, but who knows that the birds will ultimately do. Time will tell! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (erika_vankirk@fws.gov) 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