Date: 11/10/26 3:14 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (10 Nov 2026) 121 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 10, 2026
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Bella Maiwurm
Observers: Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, 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:
Let�s all take a moment from our sheltered lives to think of the
twenty-nine souls that lost their lives in a terrifying passage of a
turbulent Lake Superior fifty-one years ago today. May they rest in peace.
Today was an atypical day for this time of year, November has yet to show
its teeth, but the transition to more seasonal weather may start soon. The
temperature reached sixty-six degrees and the golfers responded by hitting
the links. Cirrocumulus clouds that made for a very attractive sunrise were
soon pushed aside by the Blue Sky of Death which held sway the rest of the
day. The winds were having trouble making up their minds today as no sway
was held. Varying both in strength and direction, generally from a western
origin, with occasional lurches to a more southerly area, it varied from
three to eleven mph in a nonlinear fashion. A look of confusion was seen of
some of the raptors that passed. The barometer was essentially flat today
but will drop tomorrow as a rainy patch approaches.
Raptor Observations:
A relatively slow day today but we did hit triple digits, which is probably
the best we can do at this time of year. We did have a special guest today,
Mackinaw the Red Tail, a red-tailed hawk carrying a transmitter on its
back, like a mini backpack, was spotted by the sharp eye of Miss Bella, our
excellent apprentice. This bird was fitted with the device by Nick Alioto
in 1922. It breeds in Quebec and winters in southern Ohio. It has taken
various routes between the two places and today we were lucky enough that
it was close enough to see and photograph. Turkey vultures are still
tenaciously clinging to the top step, but it took a strong last hour to
save them. Sixty-two took home Participation T shirts today. Red-tailed
hawks played hide-and-seek today as the inconsistent winds caused in
consistent flight lines. Twenty-nine widely spread birds came through.
Red-shoulders are also on the move with sixteen noted. Sharpies were flying
today with eleven specimens. Our bird of the day, with all due respect to
Mackinaw, was a dark morph rough-legged hawk that gave us some good looks
at its plumage before flying back out over the lake to cross.
Non-raptor Observations:
The fight of the day took place between an angry merlin, (is there any
other kind) and a terrified sharp-shin. The local merlin stooped on the
sharpie which managed to avoid contact at the last moment. The sharpie
decided that to continue to fly in that airspace was not a viable option
and stooped to the safety of the trees below. Bonaparte�s gulls came into
the slip in small numbers today. There are many more out by the jetty, but
they are satisfied where they are. The brown creeper was back today, as was
the red-bellied woodpecker. The maple next to our site was starting to fill
with mourning doves at the end of the watch for some unknown reason. At
least six took up residence. A kingfisher made a fly-by today. A local bald
pulled out a large common carp that was ripe enough to float for an early
brunch, no bottomless mimosas though. The crows were moving today with
twenty-two hundred and eight coming through. The warm weather must have
woke up some late monarch butterflies as four were spotted today.
Predictions:
Tomorrow looks like a low-pressure system will brush by us. The barometer
will fall, the temperature will drop by eleven degrees, and showers may
occur. Most of the rain looks to be in the evening though. Winds are
predicted to be very low from the southwest, then switching to northeast
near the end of the watch. Cloud cover will be back in significant
percentages of the sky. The rain looks like it will hang around on
Thursday so the birds may sit this one out until it clears. There are
northerly winds coming over the next few days with a rising barometer.
Those will probably be better days than tomorrow.
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Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (<ajyes72...>)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org
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