Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 14, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 53 119 119 Osprey 0 5 5 Bald Eagle 2 50 50 Northern Harrier 1 65 65 Sharp-shinned Hawk 42 596 596 Cooper's Hawk 0 3 3 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 230 2324 2324 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 5 39 39 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 23 152 152 Merlin 0 10 10 Peregrine Falcon 1 6 6 Unknown Accipitrine 0 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 7 7 Unknown Falcon 0 2 2 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 1 4 4 Total: 358 3384 3384 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Gracie Sangmeister Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Michelle Peregord, Rebekah Graham 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: It turned out that the fly in the martini (wind direction change) that I mentioned yesterday, was not only large, it consumed most of the drink. Winds that made today an interesting day to contemplate, soon turned on us, then turned again, and turned again. Even the weather station gave up and just called it variable. The wind turbines in Canada were chasing their tails today, trying to stay up. It was a portent of fall to come today, with cool temperatures that barely broke the seventy mark and had us sampling our extra layers from the trunks of our vehicles. Winds, that rose and fell suddenly from seemingly all directions, kept the real-feels, for us on the edge of the lake, in a fall-like zone. The sky was mostly sunny with a few high cirrus clouds that were of some help in the later afternoon when bird traffic resumed a little. The barometer peaked at 30.32� around noon before falling back a little. Raptor Observations: Our Amish friends from Holmes County visited today, usually a good sign. We started off fairly well with the winds that were as predicted. However, this was not to last and our broadwings were soon blown out over the lake. Our friends went to a more productive location at Pte. Mouille Headquarters. I received reports of multiple thousands of birds at that location. Our location was not so lucky, despite being less than three miles away as the crow flies. Broad-winged hawks took the top prize with two hundred and thirty birds, but we only saw a very small fraction of their movement today. What might have been. Turkey vultures took the second step on the podium with fifty-three rockers. Sharp-shins took the next lower step with forty-two participants. Kestrels did not take a medal but were in the hunt with twenty-three orange missiles streaking through. Five red-tailed hawks were noted soaring through. Two bald eagles were counted and a one-count was shared by bald eagles and harriers. Non-raptor Observations: The pelicans were seen elsewhere today with a reported count of fifty-five. A small flight of eight killdeer was seen early. A noisy red-bellied woodpecker made its presence known, frequently. Kettles of gulls were up hawking insects today, as per usual. The erratic winds kept the sky fairly empty of civilian traffic today for most of the day. Forster�s and Caspian terns are still at work. Wild turkeys were noted on the drive today. They are becoming a more frequent sight. The monarchs were pushed around today, one hundred and seventy-four came by. Predictions: Tomorrow, it looks like the wind has finally settled on a direction. Unfortunately, it is from the south at over ten miles per hour. The temperatures will rise accordingly. Eight-two degrees is predicted; with high humidity it will feel a bit warmer. It looks like more substantial clouds are in the offing with a threat of rain, but it should be post-watch. The barometer will be falling for part of the day, but still hang on to thirty inches plus. I would not expect a monster day given the winds and falling barometer, I hope they prove me wrong. ======================================================================== 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