Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 25, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 48 1046 1046 Osprey 0 6 6 Bald Eagle 0 65 65 Northern Harrier 0 126 126 Sharp-shinned Hawk 21 1533 1533 Cooper's Hawk 0 6 6 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 6 75087 75087 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 97 97 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3 447 447 Merlin 0 18 18 Peregrine Falcon 0 12 12 Unknown Accipitrine 0 5 5 Unknown Buteo 0 12 12 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 15 15 Total: 79 78478 78478 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Don Sherwood, Mark Hainen, 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: After four days of exfoliation at the mercy of abrasive winds, we looked forward to a less aggressive weather day. It turns out that another part of our body was assaulted. Hurst Marine is constructing a sheet piling breakwall directly across the slip. Today we listened to the rapid rat-a-tat-tat of a pile driver for most of the watch. Communication was difficult, although we had little to communicate. Wind speed was erratic and surpassed the forecast strength, reaching nine mph at one point. The direction was fairly consistent, remaining in the north-northeast to northeast area of the compass. The barometer did drop a tenth of an inch and perhaps that explains an unusually quiet sky. The clouds were interesting today with a mix of icy cirrus and contrails, spread and shaped exuberantly by the winds aloft, while under that, a collection of altostratus clouds of inconsistent forms. The temperature reached sixty-eight degrees. Raptor Observations: We expected a little more action today. The birds decided that this was not the day to move, at least in our area. Turkey vultures, which have been building up in numbers lately, even though not all are departing yet, were few and far between. Forty-eight were counted. Sharp-shins were not rushing through the turnstiles either. Twenty-one were noted. Six broadwing stragglers were observed. Most of their brethren are approaching Corpus Christi right now. Only three kestrels made the clicker. A disappointing day during which we failed to break the century mark. We are between major species but the supporting cast did not show up today. Non-raptor Observations: The pelicans were out in force with two hundred and forty of them observed wheeling in formation. They splintered into break-out groups, as they are wont to do, and were seen in smaller assemblies during the day. Gulls continue to fill the sky, although I was told by a visitor from Wagner�s Gap that their visual flak is lantern flies, so I guess we should not complain. Our day is coming with those invaders though. We�ll see if our gulls are a match for them. Two great egrets continue to play musical chairs with a favored log floating in the water. The Forster�s terns were busy diving today. Yesterday, we had some common eider ducks in the southern part of the park. They were tracked from Canada and were seen at various locations in Ohio and Michigan. Five thousand, four hundred and seventy-three blue jays passed through, along with twenty-five monarchs. Predictions: Tomorrow looks to be a sunnier day and hopefully that will brighten the spirits of the birds, encouraging them to move. Temperatures will break the seventy-degree mark tomorrow, but just by a degree. The barometer will fall by a couple of tenths. That is not a good sign as lower pressure is approaching with rain possible next week. Winds look to be similar to today, NNE in the five to ten mph range. Hopefully, we will see more activity than today. Hopefully, Hurst Marine takes the weekend off. ======================================================================== 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