Date: 11/18/25 3:50 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (18 Nov 2025) Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 18, 2025
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 3 hours
Official Counter: Jo Patterson
Observers:
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:
Morning snow and sleet forced a two-hour delay to the count, and a second
round of mixed precipitation in the afternoon limited us to just three
hours of observation. The air remained mostly still, offering only the
faintest eastward drift when the wind stirred at all. The barometer wavered
and slipped a few notches as the system moved through. Temperatures crept
from 36°F to 40°F, and with no wind to cut through it, the day felt
milder than the numbers suggested. Ice sprinkled down throughout the
morning, and the sky remained a dull, wintry wash.
Raptor Observations:
No migrants were observed today.
Non-raptor Observations:
Bonaparte’s Gulls worked the slip, dipping and pivoting over the water as
they fed. Dark-eyed Juncos shuffled through the damp grass. The local
juvenile Cooper’s Hawk settled into the maple beside us for a brief
moment. A Bald Eagle perched stubbornly on a riverside snag and refused to
take to the air.
Predictions:
Tomorrow appears more promising. Winds will increase slightly but stay
manageable, holding around 6 mph out of the northeast. Temperatures should
mirror today’s, but with a rising barometer. November has not treated us
kindly so far, but tomorrow may yet bring a better flight.
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Report submitted by Jo Patterson (<jopatterson06...>)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
