Hot Day at Hawk Watch - 11 Sep 2025
I arrived at the Detroit River Hawk Watch shortly before 1 pm with the hopes of seeing some raptor flight. Winds were forecasted to be from the N-NE and hopes were high for a favorable flight. I was not disappointed.
Jo, Andy, Don, and Mark were busy counting squadrons of Broad-winged Hawks flying HIGH overhead. As I got set up we were close to breaking the 1000 mark for Broad-winged Hawks as well as double-digit numbers of Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and Northern Harriers.
By the time I'd leave at 3:40 pm we were pushing 4000 Broad-winged Hawks. Jo Patterson, our counter, was literally lying on her back on one of the benches and looking straight up at passing Broad-winged Hawks, or was scoping massive kettles to the N and W. We'd finish with over 7000 Broad-winged Hawks for the day!
The birds were flying high, and moving to the north as the wind shifted to a more SE direction, but a few birds came close enough to document. High flying Broad-winged Hawk,
a fly-over Red-tailed Hawk,
Northern Harriers,
as well as other non-raptor species: American White Pelicans,
and our resident Northern Water Snake about to shed its skin.
Official tally from Hawk Count:
| Observation start time: | 08:00:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:30:00 |
| Total observation time: | 9 hours |
| Official Counter | Jo Patterson |
| Observers: | Andrew Sturgess, Don Sherwood, Erika Van Kirk, Jerry Jourdan, Mark Hainen |
Visitors:
We welcome visitors to our site as we are eager to share the joys of hawk watching with one and all. Although there may be times in which we are all very busy and need alone-time to concentrate, those are the times that are most enjoyable for visitors as the skies are filled with migrating raptors.
Weather:
The wind oracles foretold that we may be in for a good day today. Northeast winds are like a cornucopia that spills forth nature’s bounty in our direction. The NE winds were there in the morning but as they have been doing lately, they flipped to the southeast, or thereabouts. That moved the flight line to the north as expected, but surprisingly, still within the sight of our sharp-eyed counter, Miss Jo, who apparently can see through solid objects, one of the blessings of young eyes, sans floaters. The winds speeds dropped from above six mph to zero a couple of times, before rebounding from a different direction… crazy winds, but not too strong to ruin our day. Temperatures were higher today, touching the eighty-degree mark, but the wind off the lake helped to temper the heat. The barometer was rising this morning, another sign to the birds that “good” winds are on the way. They are well aware of what the barometer is doing, much more so than humans. Clouds were a minor story today with a few cumuli forming around the perimeter but nothing like yesterday’s elbow to elbow squeeze.
Raptor Observations:
We got off to our usual slow start with little winds to provide lift for the frequent flyers. We are usually bageled in the first set, and so it was today. It wasn’t much better in the second hour, with only one bird counted. Then our first broadwings started to float by, gradually increasing during the day, until we felt compelled to put in OT to keep up with them. At the end of the long day, we had seen seven thousand, one hundred and eighty-two of these most elusive of raptors. They can be the devil to track, as when they stream out of a kettle, they present a very small side profile that is moving very fast. The other species that are September’s stars upped their game too. Sharpies broke the century mark with one hundred and five. Kestrels were speeding through in pairs, with sixty-three counted. Harriers had their best day with twenty-five specimens. Bald eagles were on the move with nine moving through that were unfamiliar in their plumage and pumping on a straight line. Our local osprey is still sitting on the nest at the entrance to the park, but we did count one migrant today. Red-tailed hawks numbered eight today. A late run of merlins in the overtime period, raised their number to six. Three peregrines sped by. One Cooper’s hawk as noted too. This brought our total for the day to seven thousand, four hundred and three birds, a full day’s work. Shout out to all who helped today.
Non-raptor Observations:
We did see some pelicans today in places that we don’t usually see them, but they are a nomadic species from day to day, so nothing is repetitive with them. A very long string of cormorants was noted coming out from behind of the Gibraltar’s islands, using their normal follow-the leader formation. Swallows are still present, but the hatch has been elsewhere, so they have not obscured our vision too much. The gulls were not too much of an issue today either. Lines of migrating ducks, in small numbers, were noted, perhaps shovelers, but too distant to confirm. A single nighthawk was seen just before we pulled the plug at the end of the day. Monarchs had a good day with two hundred and forty-six.
Predictions:
Tomorrow has similarities to today in that the temperature will be at the eighty-degree mark, the barometer will remain high in the 30.2-inch range in the morning hours. It should be a relatively cloudless day but Saturday may be a little unsettled, so the barometer will start to drop and clouds may begin to show in the afternoon. The very early winds are predicted to be NE at the beginning of the watch but in the two-mph range, which provides little lift. Once again, the winds will flip to the south but remain moderate with seven mph as a peak, although the winds have not been reading the forecasts lately. I hope there is still some broadwing movement tomorrow, but it’s still early in their season, so we may see a lull and hear the phrase, “You should have been here yesterday.” But I hope not. The other usual suspects, harriers, falcons and sharp-shins, seem to have started in earnest so we may be busy counting them.
Report submitted by Andrew Sturgess (ajyes72@gmail.com)
Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.
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