Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 04, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 92 1524 3605 Osprey 0 0 28 Bald Eagle 0 3 100 Northern Harrier 3 24 387 Sharp-shinned Hawk 61 249 3272 Cooper's Hawk 0 4 31 American Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2 Broad-winged Hawk 0 37 51911 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 23 169 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 2 American Kestrel 1 4 927 Merlin 0 1 34 Peregrine Falcon 1 4 34 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 1 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 3 Total: 158 1876 60512 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Andrew Sturgess, Jo Patterson Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Johannes Postma, Rosemary Brady 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 haze was worse than yesterday and thickened as the day went on. It was heavy and gray, stretching up from the horizon and blocking nearly a vertical mile of our view. Canada was nothing more than a faint shadow across the lake and the antenna were completely obscured. A few scattered cumulus clouds in the morning vanished by 10 a.m. Raptor Observations: Raptors appeared suddenly overhead, hidden by the haze until they broke above it. Instead of scanning the treetops, we had to search along the haze line for movement. Sharpies started the day once again, and it took more than three hours before another species joined the count. Sharp-shinned Hawks totaled sixty-one but were still outnumbered by Turkey Vultures, who tallied ninety-two. The vultures arrived in two kettles low over Celeron, and instead of their usual lazy back-and-forth drifting, they streamed out quickly and vanished into the haze. The day also brought three harriers, one peregrine, and one kestrel—marking a notably low species diversity. Non-raptor Observations: Even local birds were quiet today. Highlights included an adult Bald Eagle, a juvenile Osprey, and a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk. An Indigo Bunting made its presence known from the top of the red maple. Over six thousand Blue Jays were counted, along with thirty-eight monarchs. Predictions: Warm temperatures and southern winds continue tomorrow. We expect another slow day, especially if the haze lingers. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jo Patterson (jopatterson06@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