Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 08, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 59 59 746 Osprey 2 3 118 Bald Eagle 2 5 143 Northern Harrier 1 3 345 Sharp-shinned Hawk 97 110 3819 Cooper's Hawk 4 4 140 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 10 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 14894 Red-tailed Hawk 2 2 461 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 1 American Kestrel 11 14 2431 Merlin 4 5 40 Peregrine Falcon 19 21 38 Unknown 0 0 13 Total: 201 226 23200 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Su Ross-Redmond Observers: Alf Ryder, Barry Cherriere, Ches, Linda Visitors: I guess the Peregrines were waiting for Barry and Linda to get down from Hamilton. Only one had gone through before they arrived. Good timing guys...and as usual thanks for helping with the count. Thanks too to Alf Ryder and Ches Caister for helping spot the birds. Weather: A beautiful breezy Fall day with moderate SW winds and lots of cloud cover. Temp in the low 20's. Interestingly, the TUV=3 (Poor) for today...so not surprisingly the best of today's flight was birds riding the updraft along the cliff created by the SW winds striking the cliff face and pushing upward. Observations: Finally....PEREGRINES!!!!!!!! The moderate SW winds today came through with 19 Peregrines; 1 @ 9:10, 1 @10:12, 1 @ 11:02, 11:15, 11:27, 11:40, 1 @ 12:01, 12:25, 12:59, 1 @ 1:30, 1:35, 1:37, 1:40, 1:48, 1 @ 2:03, 2:11, 2 @ 2:24, 1 @ 3:42. Majority were adult birds with perhaps 3 or 4 immatures. All nice and low just above the line of willow trees to the east of the count area and passing by right along the cliff. One did a nice fly-by in front of the counters...everyone got a great look! Note that this is really the first "good" day for Peregrines this Fall. Up to this point our Peregrine total for September 2004 was just 17...10 less than our September average of 27 over the last decade. Hardly any Peregrines have been counted this year at any of the hawkwatches along Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. On the flip side Cape May is well on their way to a typical year with over 500 Peregrines counted already!! Predictions: Not sure how good Saturday will be with winds switching midday from SW to NW and scattered showers Might be better on Sunday with mainly N or NE winds and fairer weather. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch: Oldest Hawkwatch in Ontario - since 1931 - located just east of Port Stanley on the cliff overlooking Lake Erie
