Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 11, 2025
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 1 4 4
Bald Eagle 9 16 16
Northern Harrier 25 54 54
Sharp-shinned Hawk 105 133 133
Cooper's Hawk 1 1 1
American Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 7182 7418 7418
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 8 41 41
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 63 98 98
Merlin 6 8 8
Peregrine Falcon 3 11 11
Unknown Accipitrine 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 1 1
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 1 1
Total: 7403 7787 7787
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Jo Patterson
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk,
Jerry Jourdan, Mark Hainen
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 wind oracles foretold that we may be in for a good day today. Northeast
winds are like a cornucopia that spills forth natureâs bounty in our
direction. The NE winds were there in the morning but as they have been
doing lately, they flipped to the southeast, or thereabouts. That moved the
flight line to the north as expected, but surprisingly, still within the
sight of our sharp-eyed counter, Miss Jo, who apparently can see through
solid objects, one of the blessings of young eyes, sans floaters. The winds
speeds dropped from above six mph to zero a couple of times, before
rebounding from a different direction⦠crazy winds, but not too strong to
ruin our day. Temperatures were higher today, touching the eighty-degree
mark, but the wind off the lake helped to temper the heat. The barometer
was rising this morning, another sign to the birds that âgoodâ winds
are on the way. They are well aware of what the barometer is doing, much
more so than humans. Clouds were a minor story today with a few cumuli
forming around the perimeter but nothing like yesterdayâs elbow to elbow
squeeze.
Raptor Observations:
We got off to our usual slow start with little winds to provide lift for
the frequent flyers. We are usually bageled in the first set, and so it was
today. It wasnât much better in the second hour, with only one bird
counted. Then our first broadwings started to float by, gradually
increasing during the day, until we felt compelled to put in OT to keep up
with them. At the end of the long day, we had seen seven thousand, one
hundred and eighty-two of these most elusive of raptors. They can be the
devil to track, as when they stream out of a kettle, they present a very
small side profile that is moving very fast. The other species that are
Septemberâs stars upped their game too. Sharpies broke the century mark
with one hundred and five. Kestrels were speeding through in pairs, with
sixty-three counted. Harriers had their best day with twenty-five
specimens. Bald eagles were on the move with nine moving through that were
unfamiliar in their plumage and pumping on a straight line. Our local
osprey is still sitting on the nest at the entrance to the park, but we did
count one migrant today. Red-tailed hawks numbered eight today. A late run
of merlins in the overtime period, raised their number to six. Three
peregrines sped by. One Cooperâs hawk as noted too. This brought our
total for the day to seven thousand, four hundred and three birds, a full
dayâs work. Shout out to all who helped today.
Non-raptor Observations:
We did see some pelicans today in places that we donât usually see them,
but they are a nomadic species from day to day, so nothing is repetitive
with them. A very long string of cormorants was noted coming out from
behind of the Gibraltarâs islands, using their normal follow-the leader
formation. Swallows are still present, but the hatch has been elsewhere, so
they have not obscured our vision too much. The gulls were not too much of
an issue today either. Lines of migrating ducks, in small numbers, were
noted, perhaps shovelers, but too distant to confirm. A single nighthawk
was seen just before we pulled the plug at the end of the day. Monarchs had
a good day with two hundred and forty-six.
Predictions:
Tomorrow has similarities to today in that the temperature will be at the
eighty-degree mark, the barometer will remain high in the 30.2-inch range
in the morning hours. It should be a relatively cloudless day but Saturday
may be a little unsettled, so the barometer will start to drop and clouds
may begin to show in the afternoon. The very early winds are predicted to
be NE at the beginning of the watch but in the two-mph range, which
provides little lift. Once again, the winds will flip to the south but
remain moderate with seven mph as a peak, although the winds have not been
reading the forecasts lately. I hope there is still some broadwing movement
tomorrow, but itâs still early in their season, so we may see a lull and
hear the phrase, âYou should have been here yesterday.â But I hope not.
The other usual suspects, harriers, falcons and sharp-shins, seem to have
started in earnest so we may be busy counting them.
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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess ([email protected])
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
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