Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 09, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1682 11865 13586 Osprey 0 2 9 Bald Eagle 0 6 73 Northern Harrier 15 77 248 Sharp-shinned Hawk 146 573 2527 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 10 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 3 Broad-winged Hawk 2 17 75165 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 3 33 151 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 1 1 1 American Kestrel 21 116 644 Merlin 0 6 27 Peregrine Falcon 1 10 22 Unknown Accipitrine 0 1 6 Unknown Buteo 0 1 19 Unknown Falcon 0 1 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 16 Total: 1871 12714 92511 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Johannes Postma, 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: A curious cloud day today with broad cirrus furrows and rows set on a bright blue background at the start of the day. An amalgamation of various forms of cirrostratus and cirrocumulus gradually formed a much denser mat that what we had started with. The ambient light had diminished considerably. Some of the ceiling was dark as if grey paint had been spilled on the �floor�. This passed to the east and gradually we began to see occasional patches of blue again. The wind was inconsistent in speed, usually in the five to ten mph range but dropping to a baby�s breath at one point. The direction was consistently from the southwest. The barometer was climbing a little most of the day but it is reaching its high plateau for today and tomorrow before falling on Sunday, when rain is predicted. The temperature reached sixty-eight degrees but with the changes in wind and sun condition it meant some wardrobe adjustments were in order during the day. Raptor Observations: Let�s start with the gold. No, not the medal, but the golden eagle that flew by. Our first of the season. Mark H. had willed this bird to our site with a combination of mind-melding and positive thinking. He is migrating to Florida soon and wanted this bird badly. Mission accomplished! The gold medal went to the turkey vultures, as it will for most of October. They played hard to get again today, taking the secret route behind the trees and emerging in our version of �the hell of the north,� an evaporation-induced haze that makes viewing iffy. We managed to snag sixteen hundred and eighty-two of the wily birds. The sharp-shins had a nice day with one hundred and forty-six birds flying into the wind. Our best day in some time. Kestrels came by in smaller numbers, twenty-one to be precise. Harriers were not far behind with some fifteen specimens. Red-tailed hawks managed to send three representatives. The broad-wings are still coming in a very slow trickle with two birds today. One peregrine falcon managed to thwart a very spirited chase by a determined herring gull to make the clicker today. Non-raptor Observations: Nearly a hundred pelicans were noted in the morning in an ever-shifting line dance. The rest of the day was not as bountiful for that species. The swallows were present in good numbers, mostly over Gibraltar, so their interference was minimal. Some common fall warblers were noted at the site. A red-bellied woodpecker has been seen flying over the slip in recent days. Canada geese are flying by in formations but probably not migrating, unfortunately. Mute swans are stretching their wings with occasional fly-bys. They share roosting space with the pelicans by the Celeron Island jetty. The blue jays were coming by today, but I don�t think this is an exceptional year for them as we haven�t been seeing the really big flocks. Forty-three hundred and twelve fluttered by on their rounded wings. Monarchs are still filtering through, seventeen were counted today. Predictions: The winds should switch tomorrow, southeast instead of southwest. We will see if that helps our cause. They are predicted to hang around the five mph level. Temperatures are expected to reach seventy-two degees. The barometer will remain well above thirty inches in the high pressure zone but the skies are predicted to be mostly cloudy. They appear to be that way for most of the coming week with some chance of light rain during that time. Sunday morning looks suspect at this time. Tomorrow will probably resemble today in most respects, the southeast winds may not be as punishing as the southwest has been to us, but we are on the naughty list of the wind gods this year, so expect the worst:) ======================================================================== 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