Date: 11/15/26 2:20 pm From: <reports...> Subject: [birders] Detroit River Hawk Watch (15 Nov 2026) 51 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch
Brownstown, Michigan, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 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:
Gute arbeit L�wen! The Lions had a much more successful day in Germany than
we did on the shores of Lake Erie. Of course, we had a very good day
yesterday and it�s always hard to duplicate a �winner winner chicken
dinner� day. It was a drab day from the get-go with solid cumulostratus
clouds obscuring any hint of sunshine making all the birds that we did see
look like dark morphs. The temperature reached forty-three degrees; the
northwest winds gradually easing off the pedal from nine mph to seven, but
with regular oscillations of small amplitude. The barometer continued its
upward trend, reaching thirty point forty-two at the end of the watch.
Tomorrow should see a change to a brighter sky and warmer temps as the
winds will shift to the south.
Raptor Observations:
It was a tough day to track raptors as it was dark and they were mostly
well to the north. Red-tails again took the gold, but with a paltry count
of thirty-four. Perhaps we have seen the last of the parade of turkey
vultures as the sharpies beat them out today with a count of four to two.
Two was a number that was shared today with northern harriers and golden
eagles. We did manage to locate a light-morph rough-legged hawk today that
took some time to reach us, another potential candidate disappeared into
the haze over the lake. There was one red-shouldered hawk to round out the
total.
Non-raptor Observations:
The pelicans made an appearance today after a few days without them. Ten
were seen flying over the jetty for a short time. Bonaparte�s gulls are
showing in larger numbers as the season progresses. The sky was embroidered
with long lines of ducks this morning as several thousands were noted
flying down the river in the distance, a truly impressive sight. An eastern
bluebird was heard flying overhead. Also heard, a red-bellied woodpecker, a
white-breasted nuthatch and a flight of goldfinches. We had a sighting of
the bent-neck mute swan today as it landed in the slip for a short while.
It needs to see a chiropractor apparently. The cormorant tree was empty
this morning, although a few solo birds were noted. A very dreary day saw
even our local eagle sitting in the trees, although their occasional forays
usually had a rogue herring gull escort, even the golden eagle was not
immune from attacks from above as it flew by us.
Predictions:
As the clockwise winds of a high-pressure system produce the northerly
winds on the leading edge, the trailing edge will bring southerly winds. We
are now looking at six days of mostly southwest winds as the center of the
high is passing. These winds will bring warmer air northwards and sunnier
skies. Tomorrow�s temperature is predicted to be fifty-one degrees. As we
approach the back edge of the high where the winds are stronger, we should
see temperatures in the sixties later in the week. Much more comfortable
weather for the counters, but the southern winds tend to push the raptors
to the north and away from our site. Winds should be light tomorrow in the
five to eight mph range, sunshine will be present, and the barometer will
be high. Still some chance of seeing raptors, but we did not see many on a
northern wind today, perhaps the sunshine might improve things.
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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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