Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 06, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 365 3505 3987 Osprey 0 6 136 Bald Eagle 0 25 187 Northern Harrier 2 44 325 Sharp-shinned Hawk 112 867 4881 Cooper's Hawk 3 24 101 Northern Goshawk 1 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 3 6 Broad-winged Hawk 11 64 22145 Red-tailed Hawk 0 9 61 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 1 American Kestrel 18 155 2171 Merlin 1 1 51 Peregrine Falcon 1 45 101 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 515 4749 34154 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours Official Counter: Colin Horstead Observers: Jim Dunn, Mary Carnahan Visitors: A couple of visitors helping out today...Terry Shire (Sheddon) and Craig Potter (Guelph). Thanks to those that stuck it out in such unfavourable weather. :) Weather: A strange day weatherwise...calm to start and slowly building to moderate S and SE winds. Temp made it to 17C with a mix of sun and cloud until pretty much 100% coverage at the end of the count period. Raptor Observations: The total today was 515 birds...again mostly TV's (365)...another decent flight of Sharpies (112) with very steady hourly counts. The counters got the first Goshawk of the season (a nice adult) and another Red-shoulder...and a Peregrine was spotted hunting the area before heading westward. Non-raptor Observations: Some good passerines today including Orange-crowned Nashville, Yellow-rumped Warblers...4 species of woodpecker: Northern Flicker, YB Sapsucker, Downie, Red-bellied...Tufted titmouse, both RC and GC kinglets and both RB and WB Nuthatch and large flocks of Blue Jays, Crows, Blackbirds, Canada Geese and Am. Goldfinch. Predictions: A strong cold front is poised to sweep across Southern Ontario tonight and there are wind warnings up for the north shore of Lake Erie. Rain and thunderstorms are predicted overnight with strong NW winds. if it clears up reasonably early tomorrow morning the flight could get rolling. Otherwise, if this system takes a while to clear to the east the flight will be seriously delayed or non-existent. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm Site Description: The Hawk Cliff Hawk watch is located just east of Port Stanley on the cliff overlooking Lake Erie. Over the years the Hawk Cliff site has grown in popularity and today it is recognized as one of the prime fall migration hawk watching destinations in North America. Every year hundreds of birders (and non-birders!) from Canada, the U.S. and other countries visit the site. Knowledgeable volunteers are always on hand to assist visitors with raptor identification and to raise public awareness on the subject of raptor migration. Birders can normally expect to see some 15 different raptor species with typical count totals reaching several thousand birds per day. The count season is from September 1st to November 30th. On a few exceptional occasions lucky visitors have witnessed the amazing spectacle of over 100,000 raptors of various species migrating past Hawk Cliff in a single day! Hawk Cliff hawkwatch is a great location for visitors to come to learn about raptors and their migration. We cater to school groups, and will arrange to provide special live bird demos for the kids (if possible) depending on the day's flight. Please visit the Hawk Cliff Foundation website listed above for more detailed information and special events. Directions to site: >From east 401, take the Highbury south cut off at London, follow Highbury (Hwy 30) south to St. Thomas. Highbury changes into South Edgeware at a large curve in the road to the west. Follow South Edgeware west to the first set of traffic lights - Burwell Road, turn left (south) and stay on this road. It becomes Fairview Ave (Regional Road 22), which runs directly into Hawk Cliff Road. You will see a sign for Hawkes Cliff Farm, where they sell fresh vegetables and a gravel road just beyond sign. Just continue down gravel road to viewing area. >From west 401, take the Highway # 4 (Colonel Talbot Rd.) exit south, through Talbotville, road now is Sunset Rd. continue towards St. Thomas; you will come to a veer in the road, straight up to St. Thomas, veer to the right for Port Stanley, follow Highway 4, now Sunset to Port Stanley. As you approach Port Stanley you will come to a large curve in the road with a sign saying East St, to the left. Take East St., and follow it to the first road left, (opposite Port Stanley Water Tower) Dexter Line. Follow Dexter Line approximately 2 km. and turn right down gravel road at Hawkes Cliff Farm, and follow gravel road to viewing area _______________________________________________ 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/
