Date: 10/21/26 3:24 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (21 Oct 2026) 2584 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2026
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Bella Maiwurm, Gracie Sangmeister
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bella Maiwurm, 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:
You could tell that the wind speed chart today was going to be jagged, full
of peaks and valleys, by watching the speed of the wind turbines over in
Canada. They sped up, or slowed, even stopping at times, hoping like we
were for a steady speed. The flight lines were all over the place depending
on that speed, which topped out at six mph but did not stay there for long,
two or three flatlines were included in today�s wind�s excellent adventure.
The temperature reached sixty-seven degrees. The barometer did fall a tenth
and a half today, ending at thirty point one nine inches. We once again
stared into the Blue Sky of Death with no cloud sign posts to guide us
locating raptors. Not all of the raptors paid heed to the shenanigans of
the wind, so we did have something to count.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey vultures ruled today, as they should in October. Two thousand, three
hundred and sixty-six flew by. Some to the north, some very high, some,
thankfully, came close enough to prevent further eye strain to our tired
peepers. The vultures continued to show the way to the buteos. Red-tailed
hawks totaled one hundred and twenty birds, red-shoulders are frequent
flyers this year with forty-three birds today. Twenty-seven sharp-shins
joined the festivities. Six Cooper�s hawks stiffed armed their way through.
Three bald eagles were noted. Two northern harriers flopped though. Falcons
were one apiece for merlins and peregrines, but no kestrels were seen
today. Our special birds today included one late broad-winged hawk, four
golden eagles, and two rough-legged hawks, one of each morph, kettling
together.
Non-raptor Observations:
The light winds kept a lot of the birds out of the sky today. One lone
pelican was up testing the lift later in the day. A Carolina wren and a
nuthatch made some noise. A red-bellied woodpecker showed his wing patches
as he undulated over the slip. Two kingfishers flew together in front of us
today. We had not seen those birds for a little while, but now they seem to
have made up and returned. They stayed through the entire watch last year.
The crows are picking up the pace, sixteen hundred and ninety-eight flapped
their way through today. Bluejay numbers are in decline with three hundred
and eighty-six today. The monarchs refuse to take no for an answer, two of
them answered the call today.
Predictions:
I am beginning to think that I could save some time by cutting and pasting
yesterday�s forecast for the next few days. Once again, we will look into
uncontaminated blue skies with sixty-eight degrees of heat. The winds are
predicted to be northerly in the four to six mph range. The winds are
usually the least accurate part of the forecast so we will see what
actually happens. The barometer will be rising slightly. I would expect
more of the same with raptors. Usually, the numbers fall off as a high
continues due to the light winds but we have been seeing, or straining to
see, some interesting birds the last few days. Fingers crossed for more
tomorrow.
========================================================================
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/<010101a1609090a3-2239ec4f-f439-4748-8590-ba1ff712ad67-000000...>
