Date: 9/26/25 2:49 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (26 Sep 2025) 485 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 26, 2025
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Jo Patterson
Observers: Andrew Sturgess
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:
As the days grow shorter, the time that we arrive at the watch is closer to
sunrise and the glare off the lake grows more intense every day. Couple
that with a bright clear blue sky, with light winds that caused the birds
to go very high to seek stronger breezes, and you could say that Jo and I
earned our money today. We may need retina transplants in the near future,
but our dedication to the mission was unwavering. The morning was a bear,
but gradually we gained a little relief from cumulus clouds that formed in
a scattered haphazard manner over the sky. The winds, as usual, were not
really as forecast, rising and falling, and despite the weather channel’s
insistence that they came from the northern end of things, there were small
whitecaps on Lake Erie that testified to a different, more southernly
origin. The temperatures reached the upper seventies. The barometer started
to climb but had a relapse and ended at 29.85”, slightly lower that it
started the day.
Raptor Observations:
We had to chase the flight lines today as the wind conditions were in
constant flux, early flights were very high, but as the wind picked up, the
lines came down and assumed a more normal pattern in the afternoon hours.
The turkey vultures took the gold today, thanks to a group of over one
hundred that streamed by together. Altogether, we counted one hundred and
seventy-nine. Broadwings barely beat the sharp-shins for the silver with a
one hundred and twenty-eight to one hundred and twenty-five count. We had
to go to the cameras to determine a winner but the broadwings won by a
beak. We are starting to see more second year sharpies with the transverse
streaking on the breast, but not full adult plumage, or red eyes. Kestrels
are still zipping through at a breakneck pace, but we only managed thirty
today. A lot of these birds may have been pushed to the north into a very
hazy sky due to the southerly winds. The harriers waited until the
afternoon to be counted with ten making the clicker. We counted seven
Cooper’s hawks today. Four bald eagles were seen pumping through in a
determined manner, eager to get to the wintering grounds. One red-tailed
hawk was also noted.
Non-raptor Observations:
The pelicans were back in force today. Small numbers have been seen
roosting by the Celeron Island jetty, but today they took to the air in
numbers approaching two hundred. Thankfully, the gulls were kettling a
little further away today and were not running as much interference as
yesterday. Although, it was sometimes rewarding to search the top of their
kettles to find broadwings and sharpies. Blue jays totaled two thousand and
twenty-six today. Monarchs had a slow morning but picked up the pace in the
afternoon, reaching forty-five total.
Predictions:
Tomorrow looks to be another painful day for the eyes. No mention of
clouds, and a strengthening southwest wind, starting at four mph and ending
at nine. The barometer will rise again but it will be a dead cat bounce,
returning to its starting point of 29.85”. Temperatures will be very
warm, reaching the eighty-degree mark, but feeling like a couple of degrees
more. Southwest winds are not our favorite but if they are light enough, we
may see some traffic. It looks more promising next week with NE winds
forecast as the barometer rises, and that should get the turkey vultures
moving.
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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (<ajyes72...>)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
