This is an official posting from the High Park Hawk Watch.
Station: High Park, Toronto, Ontario
View Period: Sept. 26 - Oct. 1, 2005
Station coordinator: Don Barnett
Counters: D. Barnett, B. Carswell, H. Currie, M. Kelch, N. McHugh, & H.
Shapiro
This was a very slow week to cap off a slow month of September. It appears
that the migration of Broad-winged Hawks for 2005 has passed High Park by
with some of our lowest numbers ever. Usually about half of the raptors
observed in any year for High Park are counted in September.
With that in mind Don Barnett has supplied a comparison of the year to date
with annual averages in two 5-year time periods (1994-1998 and 1999-2004.
One should keep in mind that in terms of numbers some species are nearly
done their migration (Osprey, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk), others are
over half way through (Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Kestrel) and others have
yet to hit the peak of their migration (Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered
Hawk). So given the preliminary nature of the information and that weather
greatly impacts what we observe (but not necessarily the number of birds in
a population) - it appears that for this year Broad-winged Hawk and
Sharp-shinned Hawk numbers are very low, Bald Eagle numbers are high, and
Osprey and American Kestrel numbers are somewhere around average.
So in two tables are first the tally for this and the year to date and then
in the second table below a comparison of the year so far with historical
averages for the complete year:
Our totals for the past week and the year so far are:
Species Sept.26 - Oct.25 Year to Date
Turkey Vulture................41.................134.....
Osprey.........................1..................47.....
Bald Eagle.....................1..................27.....
Northern Harrier...............-..................23.....
Sharp-Shinned Hawk............42.................681.....
Cooper's Hawk..................1..................26.....
Northern Goshawk...............-...................-.....
Red-shouldered Hawk............-...................-.....
Broad-winged Hawk..............1.................627.....
Red-tailed Hawk...............-...................58.....
Rough-legged Hawk..............-...................-.....
Golden Eagle...................-...................-.....
American Kestrel...............1.................161.....
Merlin.........................1..................19.....
Peregrine Falcon...............1..................10.....
Other(Swainson's Hawk).........-...................-.....
Unidentified...................-..................19.....
Total.........................90................1832.....
Our totals for the year so far compared to other years:
Species 2005 so far 1994-1998 1999-2004
(annual avg.) (annual avg.)
Turkey Vulture..........134..........1505.............1634
Osprey...................47............57...............40
Bald Eagle...............27............23...............20
Northern Harrier.........23...........186..............115
Sharp-Shinned Hawk......681..........3260.............2296
Cooper's Hawk............26...........106...............85
Broad-winged Hawk.......627..........7002.............5780
Red-tailed Hawk..........58..........2424.............2414
American Kestrel........161...........599..............330
Merlin...................19............26...............23
Peregrine Falcon.........10.............9...............26
Unidentified.............19...........198..............160
Total..................1832.........15691............13125
High Park Site Description
High Park is a 400 acre wooded park dominated by a Black Oak Savannah
located just west of Downtown Toronto near Keele and Bloor. The park is
operated by the City of Toronto Parks Department.
The Count site (Hawk Hill) is located on a small hill
at the north end of the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. It is located
about 1.5km (1 mile) north of Lake Ontario, at an elevation of 110 metres
above sea level and 38 metres above Lake Ontario. The site location is N 43
degrees 37 minutes 03.8 seconds, W 79 degrees 28 minutes 56.5 seconds. This
station is at the highest point and near the centre of the park; a steep
slope that descends to a large pond is immediately west of the station. Full
time counts have been recorded here since 1993.
The following are partners in our raptor migration monitoring in the Greater
Toronto Region: City of Toronto Parks and Culture Department, Toronto
Ornithological Club, and Local Naturalist's Clubs.
More information including a summary of our past observations is available
at:
http://www.torontobirding.ca/~gtrw/
--
Howard Shapiro
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
