Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 06, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 0 Northern Harrier 1 12 12 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 83 83 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 16 16 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 1 9 9 Merlin 0 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 2 125 125 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Jo Patterson Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan, Johannes Postma Visitors: We welcome visitors to our site as we are eager to share the joys of hawk watching with one and all. Although there may be times in which we are all very busy and need alone-time to concentrate, those are the times that are most enjoyable for visitors as the skies are filled with migrating raptors. Weather: The fate of every hawk watch rises and falls with the winds that cross its location. Unfortunately, we seem to have fallen and can’t get up. Rising westerly winds sealed our fate today, hovering around the ten-mph mark with occasional forays above that into double digits, it pushed birds to a flight path that was not within the limits of 10X binoculars. The clouds were everchanging, with cumulus clouds that increasingly filled the sky until we had a tectonic plate of surly gray strata with a few blue rifts overhead. That began to revert to a more open sky with plenty of blue. Our clothing requirements varied as to whether the sun was shining on us, or buried by an impenetrable blanket of heavily laden dark clouds. Out over the lake to our right seemed a much more hospitable place, with widely spaced clouds and plenty of sunshine. Temperatures hit the mid-sixties mark, but the real feels were constantly changing. The barometer reached 30 inches, only to retreat a little, as we are still in transitional weather from the recent low-pressure system. Raptor Observations: We had a little spike of hope for the day as we spotted a harrier out over the lake in the second hour. Usually, we have a bagel for the first hour on most days, so this seemed a promising start. It was not to be. Our second bird came in the afternoon when our sharp-eyed counter, Jo, spotted a kestrel overhead. By then, we knew what we knew, so it raised little renewed hope in the assembled watchers. Non-raptor Observations: A smaller batch of pelicans made an appearance today. It must be the weekend gang, a skeleton crew of less than twenty birds. Their almost doppelganger, the mute swan, continues to reside out by the jetty, with six being counted. Cedar waxwings continue their quest for protein from the skies nearby. Caspian terns and Forster’s terns were back in action today. Cormorants continue their assault on the local fish schools, with aid from any nearby gull. I saw an odd thing today where an osprey was carrying an obviously dead and rotted fish. Usually, they leave those to the eagles and capture live fish. Most of the swallows were off in the distance today, but one northern rough-winged did come close. Chimney swifts were also spotted, numbering about ten. Usually, they are less in number. We did see one nighthawk a few days back that I forgot to mention. Predictions: Tomorrow should be mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid-sixties. The barometer will still be rising. Those are the good things. Unfortunately, the wind will still be mostly westerly, with an occasional veer into WNW. Starting at five mph, they are predicted to rise just above ten mph during the course of the watch. Hope springs eternal, of course, so we will be there with the clicker at the ready. It’s in good shape as it is low mileage this season, but we hope to change that in the near future. ======================================================================== 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