Holiday Beach Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 28, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 1066 41462 42717 Osprey 2 22 94 Bald Eagle 1 55 147 Northern Harrier 31 246 581 Sharp-shinned Hawk 85 4337 9499 Cooper's Hawk 31 613 797 Northern Goshawk 1 15 16 Red-shouldered Hawk 47 739 744 Broad-winged Hawk 0 120 18292 Red-tailed Hawk 389 3671 3893 Rough-legged Hawk 2 4 4 Golden Eagle 14 39 40 American Kestrel 9 710 1730 Merlin 1 56 120 Peregrine Falcon 4 64 98 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 7 Unknown Buteo 0 4 11 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 2 2 Total: 1683 52160 78794 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 10 hours Official Counter: Justin Bosler Observers: Jim McCoy, Mike Fitzpatrick, Olga Klekner Visitors: Jim McCoy, Mike Fitzpatrick, and Olga Klekner were out to help spot, but most importantly, to enjoy the flight. An additional seven visitors stopped by, including an enthusiastic young birder from Amherstburg, Casey Lloyd, who has been out several days this fall. Weather: Overcast to partly cloudy skies with Northwest to North-northwest winds at 1 to 7 mph then slacking off by early PM and eventually becoming South-southeast at 1 to 5 mph by 1430 EST. Temps. ranged from 11 to about 16.5 C. Visibility poor to fair. Raptor Observations: As soon as the clouds broke up and the sun peaked through, the raptors started flying. Good numbers of vultures and Redtails were moving throughout the afternoon. Two latish Ospreys passed in the morning; both relatively high. A nice showing of Golden Eagles with 5 in the 1300-1400 (EST) hour and 3 in the 1500-1600 (EST) hour. Also making an appearance were 2 light morph Roughlegs. Easily one of our best raptor days this October, particularly from a diversity standpoint. Non-raptor Observations: 17 species of waterfowl, including 5 Tundra Swans, 264 Canvasbacks, and a raft of 250-300 Ruddy Ducks on the lake. Great Blue Heron- 25, Great Egret- 10, Black-crowned Night-Heron- 3 (1 subad., 2 juv.) Sandhill Crane- 2+ (heard only), Killdeer- 12, Greater Yellowlegs- 1, N. Saw-whet Owl- season high of 57 netted and banded in about 11 hours (43 were banded by the time I left at 2:10 AM). Hairy Woodpecker- 1, Horned Lark- 485, Tree Swallow- 5, N. Rough-winged Swallow- 2 (late), Blue Jay- 30, Am. Crow- 43,400, Am. Robin- 390, Eastern Bluebird- 25+, Am. Pipit- 1,400 (good count), Cedar Waxwing- 400, Common Yellowthroat- 1 (lingering), Chipping Sparrow- 5, Lapland Longspur- 10+, Snow Bunting- 1, Rusty Blackbird- 45+ (likely more among mixed blackbird flocks), Purple Finch- 17, House Finch- 11, Am. Goldfinch- 515. Other: Monarch- 1. Predictions: Mostly to partly cloudy skies with areas of dense fog in the AM. Light and variable winds becoming East-southeast at 5 to 10 mph. High of 15C. A few raptors may move once the fog clears, clouds diminish, and the barometric pressure begins to rise. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Justin Bosler ([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/
