Date: 10/20/25 2:57 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (20 Oct 2025) 2054 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 20, 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, Bill Peregord, Jerry Jourdan,
Johannes Postma, Mark Hainen, 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:
Normally, when a tempest such as yesterdays had passed, we expect northerly
winds as a new high comes in. However, we are situated at the very top end
of a high, and therefore, getting westerly winds, at least to start the
day. Six mph eventually became a brisk sixteen, before our usual change of
direction in the afternoon. The wind backed around, settling in the south.
That required us to search harder for the birds than we had in the morning,
as the flight lines changed further to the north. The temperature reached
sixty-two degrees, which doesn’t sound too bad, except with a sixteen-mph
wind and the shade of a determined maple which did not give up many leaves
yesterday, as many trees did. It is finally starting to feel like fall.
Cloud cover was sparse today, with occasional cirrus and small cumulus
clouds making cameo appearances, but not staying in the frame very long.
The barometer climbed, but that is only temporary, as there is a low to the
west of us and more rain and low pressure are soon to arrive.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey vultures carried the day, as expected. We tallied nineteen hundred
and forty-four. They came fairly close until the wind pushed them to the
north in the afternoon. The sharp-shins had a good day with eighty-one
specimens being seen. We had thought that they were nearly done with the
big runs, but this is a respectable number for our site. Red-tailed hawks
were not as plentiful as we hoped for, with only twelve of them passing
through. Their sometimes doppelganger, the red-shouldered hawk, nearly
matched them with nine birds. We had three harriers today, two, traveling
together, were gray ghosts. These birds are blown around by gusty winds so
they were probably staying low behind the trees today. Two peregrines were
seen, handling the winds very well, as they usually do. The golden eagles
outnumbered the bald eagles today by a two to one count. The local bald
eagles were up in force today as this is the kind of brisk winds that they
enjoy. There were also providing escort service to the city limits for one
of the goldens, reminding it of whose territory it was traveling through.
Non-raptor Observations:
Turkey vultures carried the day, as expected. We tallied nineteen hundred
and forty-four. They came fairly close until the wind pushed them to the
north in the afternoon. The sharp-shins had a good day with eighty-one
specimens being seen. We had thought that they were nearly done with the
big runs, but this is a respectable number for our site. Red-tailed hawks
were not as plentiful as we hoped for, with only twelve of them passing
through. Their sometimes doppelganger, the red-shouldered hawk, nearly
matched them with nine birds. We had three harriers today, two, traveling
together, were gray ghosts. These birds are blown around by gusty winds so
they were probably staying low behind the trees today. Two peregrines were
seen, handling the winds very well, as they usually do. The golden eagles
outnumbered the bald eagles today by a two to one count. The local bald
eagles were up in force today as this is the kind of brisk winds that they
enjoy. There were also providing escort service to the city limits for one
of the goldens, reminding it of whose territory it was traveling through.
Predictions:
Another drop in pressure tomorrow, and potential showers, along with
southern winds. does not make for a promising day. The next two days look a
little wet, with high winds from a direction containing the word south. It
should be much cloudier, with temperatures reaching the very high fifties
tomorrow, and maybe just falling short of the mark on Wednesday. Neither
look to be promising days, but hope springs eternal, and the birds don’t
read weather reports.
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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (<ajyes72...>)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
