Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 08, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 49 346 90294 Osprey 0 0 29 Bald Eagle 4 12 161 Northern Harrier 6 15 494 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 29 3973 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 65 American Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 21 190 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 51921 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Red-tailed Hawk 23 121 1163 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 3 Golden Eagle 2 6 41 American Kestrel 0 0 964 Merlin 0 2 52 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 46 Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 1 Unknown Buteo 0 0 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 3 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 10 Total: 88 554 149415 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Jo Patterson Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood, Frank Kitakis, Johannes Postma, Michelle Peregord, 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 count lay smothered beneath a canopy of cloud that stretched from horizon to horizon. The stratus was textured with deep striations, gray as a dead man’s ribs. Its cold, empty stare cast a somber mood, daring us to find raptors within its folds. Silvered veils, curled and scalloped, hinted at the sun beyond, but the sky never broke. The northern currents blew gently against our faces, and the wind chill kept the temperature below forty degrees. The barometer made a feeble attempt to rise but could not top thirty inches. Although it was cold and the sky mostly vacant, it could have been worse—it could have been raining. Raptor Observations: Although the winds seemed as though they should have provided a highway for aerial travel, the raptors did not find it as appealing as we had hoped. Forty-nine Turkey Vultures took gold on the podium today, clinging to the limelight even into November. With over ninety thousand counted this season, they’ve had an excellent year. In second place were the Red-tails—no surprise there—with twenty-three representatives. Six Northern Harriers came in third, followed by four Bald Eagles, three Red-shoulders, two Golden Eagles, and one Sharp-shin. Non-raptor Observations: Bonaparte’s Gulls and Forster’s Terns joined the usual Ring-bills and Herring Gulls in front of us. An impressive flight of several hundred pelicans was strung out in two long lines over Lake Erie. Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, and Common Loon passed overhead—all flying north toward the river. The new resident Merlin hunted the Metropark marsh before returning to Gibraltar. Predictions: Tomorrow could bring the first snow of the season! More likely, though, it will be a slushy, wet mess falling from the sky. The forecast currently calls for precipitation all day, so the count will likely be canceled. Monday’s winds are expected to blow at fourteen miles per hour out of the north. Although it will be gusty, we may see a few migrants before the weather shifts again. ======================================================================== 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