Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 09, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 2 2 Bald Eagle 0 18 18 Northern Harrier 1 33 33 Sharp-shinned Hawk 6 186 186 Cooper's Hawk 0 2 2 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 656 656 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 27 27 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 0 73 73 Merlin 0 6 6 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown Accipitrine 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 5 5 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 3 3 Total: 7 1016 1016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 12:30:00 Total observation time: 4.5 hours Official Counter: Gracie Sangmeister Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bella Maiwurm 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: Today�s report will be a novella rather than the tome that usually flows from my keyboard. Although we did get a few hours in today, persistent rain discouraged further effort and the watch was abandoned a couple of hours short of closing time. The rain was shearing to the northwest in the morning hours but finally moved into our space and was covering the Canadian peninsular from where our birds come. It was a warm and very humid day with winds from the southwest bringing the heat. The barometer was falling from the start of the day, losing two tenths and further frightening the birds away. Raptor Observations: We only counted seven birds today, the usual suspects in this kind of weather, harriers and sharp-shinned hawks. One harrier and six sharp-shins came by in the early hours, but the off and on rain slowed things down to a standstill. Non-raptor Observations: The local ospreys seemed to enjoy the weather, but they are wet frequently so what the hey. A large congregation of cormorants were seen feasting on baitfish out on the lake. A few mute swans hung out near the jetty. Our family of young mallards were peeping this morning. It�s always fun to hear their voices change as they mature. We seem to have a resident family grow up in front of us every year. Predictions: Tomorrow will be another cloudy day, but the threat of rain will be less than today. We were not supposed to get as much as we did today, so who knows. The winds will start northwest before the watch starts and probably be west-northwest during the watch. The barometer will try to rebound but its heart may not be in it until Friday, it looks like a Cedar Point thrill ride over the next few days. The back side of lows are usually unpredictable with changeable weather. There is a cold front off to the west that may affect us, although I see no real drop in temps in the coming days. Northwest winds associated with an advancing high are usually good news, but this is not that wind. ======================================================================== 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