Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 24, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4112 70357 72438 Osprey 0 1 29 Bald Eagle 4 45 142 Northern Harrier 8 102 465 Sharp-shinned Hawk 25 870 3893 Cooper's Hawk 2 35 62 American Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 6 91 91 Broad-winged Hawk 0 47 51921 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 58 512 658 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 5 22 24 American Kestrel 1 41 964 Merlin 1 12 45 Peregrine Falcon 1 13 43 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 1 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 6 9 Total: 4223 72157 130793 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jo Patterson Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Jerry Jourdan 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: Someone vandalized our Sistine Chapel of a sky that we had yesterday, leaving us with a monochromatic, flat-gray ceiling of a mausoleum today. It happened before our eyes. The morning’s sparse altocumulus clouds drifted away, to be replaced by an ever-increasing mass of non-descript, unattractive colored clouds until we were left with near-solid, low stratus clouds that blocked any warmth we had hoped to receive from the sun. The winds were mostly of a western flavor with variations coming from a slightly more northern position. Ranging from nine mph to eleven at one point, they kept the real-feels lower than the actual high temperature of fifty-one degrees. The barometer continued to climb in the high-pressure range, but that was belied by the cloud laden appearance of the sky. We had hoped for better. Raptor Observations: The birds still came, but taking zig-zag flight paths that demanded attention to follow. The turkey vultures tend to tack into an adverse wind and today was a good example. They started in the first hour and pursued many paths into the western wind, but in the end, we managed to track and count four thousand, one hundred and ten of them. October’s stars continue to shine. Red-tailed hawks took the second step on the podium with a respectable fifty-eight, most of them tagging along with the TVs. Twenty-five sharpies took the lowest step; most having a little easier ride than yesterday’s bouncy flight. Eight northern harriers rode the winds today. Six red-shouldered hawks hitched a ride with the flow of migrants. Four bald eagles flew high overhead. We had the falcon hat-trick today with one of each species, kestrel, merlin and peregrine. Both the merlin and peregrine were hungry and aggressive. Last, but certainly not least, we had five golden eagles today. We always enjoy seeing these beautiful birds, but just wish they would come a little closer. Non-raptor Observations: The pelicans and cormorants are still feeding on the schools of fish in the Detroit River, they have been coming nearer in the past couple of days. We had a nice flight of relatively close pelicans today. It’s only in the last couple of days that we have seen the pelicans in their traditional feeding groups, tightly bunched, elbow to elbow, and dipping their huge bills together. We have all heard the expression “to eat crow.” Today, a merlin took that expression quite literally and attacked a member of the first group of crows that passed over this morning. It happened starting on the other side of the slip, and proceeded over our heads, and continued behind us. The crow managed to make an escape, but the merlin, as always, is never afraid to fight above its weight class, taking on any bird that may come too close. The peregrine was also feeling a bit peckish and went after a swallow. Failing in that attempt, it developed a sudden taste for duck. He also continued to endure hunger pangs after unsuccessful attacks. The crows continue to increase in number. Today we counted nine-hundred and thirty-nine. Predictions: Tomorrow the high pressure will be fully established and the winds will diminish. Possibly, a little too much. Predicted strengths are in the two to four mph range and that usually means variable winds with lulls, and changes in direction. It may mean the birds will seek out stronger winds higher up. The temperature will be a little warmer and thankfully, the low winds should not create the wind chill that we have felt the last two days. Cloud cover looks to be in the fifty percent range, which, unless it gets out of control, like today, could make for a pleasant, more attractive day. The vultures should still be moving, and hopefully, the buteos will tag along. Let’s hope we have a flight path that we can easily see. ======================================================================== 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