Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 13, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 95 1731 66029 Osprey 0 0 11 Bald Eagle 2 15 130 Northern Harrier 1 8 371 Sharp-shinned Hawk 12 62 3471 Cooper's Hawk 2 5 53 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 62 118 356 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 75181 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 2 Red-tailed Hawk 181 475 2109 Rough-legged Hawk 0 3 11 Golden Eagle 1 7 53 American Kestrel 0 0 741 Merlin 0 1 45 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 38 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 6 Unknown Buteo 2 8 54 Unknown Falcon 0 0 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 22 Total: 358 2434 148687 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours Official Counter: Gracie Sangmeister Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bella Maiwurm, Don Sherwood 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: As highly superstitious people by nature, we always approach Friday the thirteenth with some trepidation. The bad luck was not meant for us today but rather the owner of something that caught on fire in the Amherstburg vicinity sending black smoke billowing up into the sky. We hope everyone is safe. It was a dark day at times with squalls passing through complete with precipitation that looked like a charcoal sketch of a storm. The wind stayed in the north in a fairly consistent direction with the usual oscillations of speed in the ten to fifteen mph range. The barometer started a four day climb today that will take us to Monday. The temperature rose to forty-two degrees with real-feels about eight degrees lower than that. We cut the watch short by a few minutes after being pelted by graupel and rain at the end of the day. Those scattered squalls had finally got us in their sights. Raptor Observations: The day started early today. There was a movement that started late yesterday and it continued today. Red-tailed hawks finally claimed the top step as they should be doing in November. One hundred and eighty-one did the trick today. Turkey vultures are still moving in small groups, ninety-five showed up today. Their glory days are behind them now. Sharp-shins are keeping the dream alive with twelve birds today, most of them getting the A-ride from a strong gusty wind. Two bald eagles and two Cooper�s hawks were observed. The number one was reserved for a harrier and a golden eagle. Non-raptor Observations: It seemed like a late fall day today. November, enough of that mild-mannered genteel fluff, do your worst. Coinciding with the onset of more seasonal weather, we had more seasonal birds. Sandhill cranes were noted in the sky today, a group of four, and a solo bird as we left. Our first tundra swan flight was seen this morning, about fifteen birds. We also had a flight of Canada geese that had some hitchhikers today. We believe that there were five �blue� snow geese with them. Murky lighting did not help when trying to positively ID them. Our first tree sparrows posed for us today. Bonaparte�s gulls came in the slip to delicately pluck minnows from the buffet table. A male kingfisher flew overhead. The American crows were moving today with sixteen hundred and fifty-two rowing their way by. Predictions: The next couple of days look promising on paper. Northerly winds with a rising barometer are mother�s milk to hawk watches. It should be a less ominous sky with more blue of a cerulean hue, rather than the gun-metal blue that we had today. It still calls for a mostly cloudy sky for the next two days, however. Winds should be northwest at ten to twelve mph. The flight line will determine our fate tomorrow; today the birds seemed to fly to the north despite the headwind that would usually push them out to the lake. Let�s hope tomorrow is a repeat of today�s performance. ======================================================================== 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