Holiday Beach Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 35 1463 2718 Osprey 0 1 73 Bald Eagle 2 4 96 Northern Harrier 0 9 344 Sharp-shinned Hawk 47 229 5391 Cooper's Hawk 1 27 211 Northern Goshawk 0 0 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 5 Broad-winged Hawk 0 13 18185 Red-tailed Hawk 1 8 230 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 1 American Kestrel 2 33 1053 Merlin 1 7 70 Peregrine Falcon 6 12 46 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 6 Unknown Buteo 1 1 8 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Total: 96 1807 28440 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Bob Pettit Observers: Donald Pye, Jason Sodergren, Jim McCoy, Rayfield Pye Visitors: Donald and Rayfield Pye of the Greater Toronto Raptor Watch gave much assistance today - Thanks. Dr. Daniel Mennill brought his University of Windsor ornithology students to the conservation area to see the raptor and passerine banding process, The group visited the tower for a view of the marsh and some raptor identification pointers. We all had a good time having these eager learners get closer to the avian world. The Ontario Field Ornithologists 2009 Annual Convention is being held in Leamington, ON. HBMO member, Todd Pepper, hosted one of their field trips to HBCA to view raptors and songbirds. They were rewarded with a few falcons and several raptors in hand along with some songbirds. Weather: A very wet and cold day. Temperatures were between 12 and 15 degrees C. Rain began the day and was off and on drizzle that kept the binocs clean and the data sheets damp (wet). Wind was mostly steady from the SW with swings to the SSW and WSW with speeds ranging 4-12 mph. Sky was overcast 100% until the last hours when clearing sky prevailed. Raptor Observations: The few birds that migrated were ruffed up by the wind. Sharp-shinneds looked like falcons with their wings tucked bracing the strong head-wind. Peregrines used the lake shoreline and marshland just north of the tower as their flight path being either high up or low down on the marsh water area. Turkey Vultures arrived late after the clearing began. Most were north of the tower. Non-raptor Observations: Blue Jays were in good form after several days of high numbers. 20,000 individuals were observed. A few were harassed by Sharp-shinneds but no takers. Tree Swallows (100) were again hawking for insects north of the tower throughout the day. Predictions: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60F. West wind between 14 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jason Sodergren ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
