Date: 10/19/26 3:07 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (19 Oct 2026) 1672 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 19, 2026
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Gracie Sangmeister
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood,
Erika Van Kirk, Rebekah Graham
Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site at the Lake Erie Metropark Boat Launch. We
are always willing to discuss the events of the day. Let us share our
enthusiasm with you. There will be busy days, that may require our full
attention, but those are not that frequent, and they provide great thrills
for all. We can predict good days to some degree, but the exact hour is up
to the birds, so be prepared to put in some time for the best results. Pack
a lunch.
Weather:
The Beaufort Scale says that whitecaps begin to form at eight to twelve
mph. Lake Erie had whitecaps today despite the readings from our weather
site, which did not indicate that speed until later in the day. The wind
direction, which wandered a little from south-southwest to south gave it
free rein to run unimpeded across Lake Erie�s fetch. This was giving a
serious push to the migrants, who were passing to the north in a very hazy
sky. Like a magic act, turkey vultures would disappear in the haze, simply
melting away into nothingness. The light winds at the start of the watch
led to a very slow start, it took over two hours to see the first turkey
vultures. At the end of the watch the winds spiked to ten mph, twice the
predicted speed. The day was pleasant looking again. Clear blue skies
greeted us and stayed all day. The temperature reached sixty-seven degrees.
The barometer tumbled over a tenth of an inch but started at a very high
pressure; despite the drop, it was still over thirty point three at the end
of the watch.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey vultures bided their time getting started today, waiting for the
winds to pick up. The overhead flyovers from yesterday were a distant
memory today. Distant being the operative word, as we had to strain to see
them on the edge of visibility. Scope-eye was a real threat today. We
managed to find one thousand, four hundred and fifty-four of the elusive
travelers today. Red-tailed hawks were up for the move, mostly sticking
with the vultures� streams, but a few gave us closer looks. One hundred and
two, of many varied plumages, passed though our portal. Sharp-shinned hawks
were close with ninety specimens. We always seem to have about a ten to one
ratio of red-tails to red-shoulders, and so it was today with twelve
shoulders rapidly flapping along. Seven kestrels rolled through. One was
the number for Cooper�s hawks, merlins and bald eagles.
Non-raptor Observations:
The skies were clear of clouds and of most birds, other than raptors today.
The pelicans made brief appearances but in small numbers. Forster�s terns
are still plucking minnows from the river. There are still plenty of
cormorants around, although the monster raves they were holding out on the
lake seem to have run their course. The gulls were not seeking insects
today, staying closer to earth riding the waves. A seemingly crazed
yellow-rumped warbler took a run at Rebekah today, for reasons unknown. The
blue jays have nearly run their race with four hundred and twenty-one
today. The American crows were not far behind with three hundred and
sixteen. Two tardy monarchs were headed south for warmer climes.
Predictions:
If only we had wind predictions that we could trust. Tomorrow seems to
start off with good winds, northeast at around six mph, they will veer to
the east as the day progresses. The temperature should be about the same as
today, sixty-six degrees. Clouds are predicted to return to about half the
sky tomorrow. Perhaps they will provide relief from staring at the BSOD
that we have had to endure the last few days. If the wind predictions come
true, we should at least be able to see the migrants that are motivated to
move much better than today.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (<ajyes72...>)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
--
Birders is a service of the Great Lakes Commission. Visit us at www.glc.org
Messages and content distributed on Birders are the sole responsibility of the subscriber providing such content and
do not reflect the views, policy or position of the Great Lakes
Commission.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Birders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to birders+<unsubscribe...>
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/great-lakes.net/d/msgid/birders/<010101a15634c3a2-a3be3096-4dd0-410c-8862-867016d5215b-000000...>
