Date: 11/7/26 7:44 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (07 Nov 2026) 562 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 07, 2026
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Gracie Sangmeister
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Bill Peregord, Don Sherwood,
Rebekah Graham, Rosemary Brady
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:
We arrived this morning to maples devoid of leaves. The last few blustery
days and the weight of Wednesday's rain must have ensured their final drop
to earth. Fall's brilliant display is in descent, and soon all we'll be
left with are scraggly brown branches swaying in the wind against a
backdrop of solid gray�much like today. We had rather unalluring weather
during the count with full cloud cover, northwesterly wind chill, low
temperatures, and a 30.1" barometer. Winter is peering round the corner,
blocking out the sun while doing so. But the barrenness of late fall and a
snowless winter holds its own beauty. Each branch that brings life to
leaves and flowers is outlined in raw form; each fallen piece of vegetation
is decaying richly, protecting plant roots from the cold and creating
pockets for insects; and no perennial is more alive than it is now, when
the sun does not distract it into growing leaves, and it can instead focus
on healthy root growth. The other three seasons may be showy, but winter is
the understated sibling, and one learns to look for the twinkle in its eye.
Raptor Observations:
The winter of our count has begun. We are nearing the end and noticing we
only have twenty-three more count days left. We are well past broad-wing
hawk days, and our other bread and butter, turkey vultures, are slowing as
well. Today brought us four hundred and eighty vultures, all of them pushed
to and fro by the wind. The red-tails came straight overhead, sixty-three
in number, high in the gray. Seven red-shoulders and sharp-shins each
pushed south, the sharpies in particular having a rough time of it with the
wind, small as they are. Two bald eagles and one cold weather rough-legged
made the journey as well. And, last but not least, our fifty-first golden
eagle of the season appeared, making us work for the ID by staying far and
rising high.
Non-raptor Observations:
The songbirds were quiet today, perhaps discouraged by the incessant
honking of over a hundred Canada geese holed up in the inlet first thing
this morning. Not quite a hundred mallards dabbled in the shallows with
their larger cousins, and the cormorant tree was respectably occupied if
not full. Sixteen crows migrated, but not even a wintering blue jay was
heard. Perhaps the best non-raptor observation was an entire flock of
forty-five Bonaparte's gulls flying delicately into the inlet, slowing off
their white outer primaries.
Predictions:
Tomorrow's sun and warmer temperatures is good news for counters required
to be present. Other than that, the day does not hold much promise. The
barometer will continue to fall, reaching a low of 29.83" by day's end.
Winds will be strong and gusty, progressing from southwest to west
southwest and finally just west. Birds come in many weathers, so I would
expect a handful, but not much beyond that.
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Report submitted by Erika Van Kirk (<erika_vankirk...>)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
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