Date: 10/3/25 5:44 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (03 Oct 2025) 122 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 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: Jerry Jourdan
Visitors:
Huge thank you to GMAS, whose members helped out with the count today.
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:
A hazy, azure-blue sky stretched overhead, and the drought-stressed leaves
still stubbornly cling to their green color. Lake Erie shimmered in the
sunlight as summer hung on, with temperatures nudging 80 degrees and a
gentle southern breeze prevailing. The winds stayed light, never topping 5
mph, but their unhelpful direction—combined with a thickening haze—made
spotting raptors a real challenge. Despite our best efforts, only vague,
shadowy silhouettes appeared to the north, and the south was mostly empty
of migrants.
Raptor Observations:
We got skunked in the first hour, and things didn’t improve much after
that. Only three hours reached double digits, and we barely cracked triple
digits for the day. An unimpressive flight of sixty-two Turkey Vultures
took top honors, mostly gathered in three small kettles around noon. Later
in the afternoon, two were spotted far to the north, a painful reminder
that more were likely crossing the Detroit River closer to Wyandotte, out
of our view—especially with the low visibility. Sharp-shinned Hawks did
their best to keep us entertained, trickling by one at a time every few
minutes, totaling forty-nine for the day. After a particularly long stretch
of “sharpie, sharpie, sharpie,” the count turned into a game of
“sharpie… sharpie… not sharpie.” The “not sharpie” list
included five harriers, two coops, one Bald Eagle, one red-tail, one
kestrel, and one Merlin.
Non-raptor Observations:
Common Terns, Caspian Terns, and Forster’s Terns fished the Trenton
Channel. A local Cooper’s Hawk made a low pass, and the local Osprey was
glimpsed by Celeron. Kinglets and warblers rustled about the shrubs. Blue
Jays made a decent effort, with over two thousand counted; Monarchs, not so
much, with only twenty-three.
Predictions:
Tomorrow doesn't look much more promising than today. The winds will remain
out of the south, but higher velocities are predicted. Turkey Vultures may
find any wind better than no wind and could make an appearance.
Temperatures are set to top 80, and clouds are unlikely. At the very least,
we can look forward to another round of the always-entertaining game:
sharpie… sharpie… not sharpie.
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Report submitted by Jerry Jourdan (<jerry.jourdan...>)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
