The OFO Convention weekend was a big success thanks to the hard work of Maris Apse, Don Barnett and the rest of the OFO Executive. Thanks to our speaker, Bruce Mactavish, and all the trip leaders, to Ron Tozer, to Jim Rising, and especially to all who participated. Special accolades to Jean Iron, retiring President, for her 9 years of stalwart service. Fieldtrips yielded a total of 125 species as of noon today. The weather was not conducive to lake-watching but many interesting species were found, including an Avocet at Van Wagners Beach, Hudsonian Godwit and Stilt Sandpiper at Grimsby Sewage lagoons, several Sharp-tailed Sparrows at Dundas Marsh, a probable Red Phalarope off 50 Point, a good number of warblers (eg. Parula, Orange-crowned ) and sparrows, ducks and shorebirds. Other late migrants were Barn, Tree swallows, Eastern Pewee, Marsh Wren, Great Egret, Red-throated Loon, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Dave Milsom [EMAIL PROTECTED] References 1. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 3 19:24:59 2004 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mugwump.taiga.com [68.165.54.133]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6A1D44822D for <ontbirds@hwcn.org>; Sun, 3 Oct 2004 19:24:59 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 554 invoked by uid 525); 3 Oct 2004 23:20:59 -0000 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 03 Oct 2004 07:10:59 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Holiday Beach (03 Oct 2004) 399 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 03 Oct 2004 23:25:00 -0000 Holiday Beach Migration Observatory Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 325 785 2021 Osprey 1 2 71 Bald Eagle 0 0 30 Northern Harrier 0 1 188 Sharp-shinned Hawk 51 98 3818 Cooper's Hawk 6 7 92 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 7 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 27842 Red-tailed Hawk 1 3 221 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 15 16 1236 Merlin 0 1 34 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 10 Unknown 0 0 38 Total: 399 914 35608 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Bob Hall-Brooks Observers: Olga Klekner Visitors: Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario were all represented on the Tower today. Thank you to all who made counting so enjoyable. Weather: >From cold to moderate temperatures today, sunny, few if any clouds, winds variable to South West, gusting to 10 mph. Observations: Turkey Vultures to the north with occasional Sharpies and Kestrels and a Coopers or two. Blue Jays reached 44,000 today, Goldfinches totalled 1890. The Passerine banders netted their first Phoebe and their first two Juncos. Predictions: Who knows what tomorowmay bring. I just know that Olga Klekner, our newest counter, will make everyone who shows up welcome. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bob Hall-Brooks ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ Holiday Beach Migration Observatory Information on southern Ontario's hawk migration and the Holiday Beach Conservation Area site ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Southwestern Ontario is largely an area of flat, featureless farmland. There are only two geographic features of note in the region. One is the proximity of the Great lakes, which influence bird migration in the area to a great extent, The second is the shape of the province, roughly funnel-shaped with the narrow end to the southwest. These features confine south-bound bird migrants, especially hawks, to specific flight corridors. Holiday Beach Conservation Area was formerly a Provincial Park, but is now administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA). It is strategically located at the extreme southwestern tip of southern Ontario. The park is on the eastern end of a large freshwater estuary known as Big Creek. (Specifically the site is 1.1 miles south of the junction Highway 20 (old 18) and Essex Road 50, Town of Amherstburg). The Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) (founded in 1986) is a non-profit, volunteer organization formed to promote the study and protection of migrating birds. Activities focus primarily on fall migration of raptors and other species. This site is in Essex County, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie near the Detroit River. In 1988, HBMO persuaded Detroit Edison to donate a 40 foot Hawk Tower which is now at the site. Southwestern Ontario has a funneling effect on migrating raptors due to the geography of the nearby lakes and the reluctance of most raptors to cross large bodies of water. Birds gain altitude over the flat farmland to the north and east, rising easily with the thermals that such areas provide in abundance. As the birds head south they meet Lake Erie and, reluctant to cross it , turn west. With appropriate wind and weather conditions, birds pile up along the lake shore and move west until they reach the narrow crossing at the Detroit River (or island hop within the river mouth).