Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 06, 2010
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 47 2169 38004
Osprey 0 1 134
Bald Eagle 0 6 153
Northern Harrier 2 46 679
Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 82 9405
Cooper's Hawk 3 75 487
Northern Goshawk 0 2 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 243 444
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 16133
Red-tailed Hawk 103 2292 3414
Rough-legged Hawk 0 27 30
Golden Eagle 0 18 26
American Kestrel 0 0 1445
Merlin 0 4 123
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 50
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 2
Unknown Buteo 1 1 13
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 2
Mississippi Kite 0 0 1
Total: 170 4966 70552
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Observation start time: 07:30:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Bob Pettit
Observers: Charlotte Harrison, Larry Ludwicki, Merry MacRae,
Ryan Sokolowski
Visitors:
Ryan Sokolowski from Livonia,MI assisted with the red-tails. Char Harrison
from Caro, MI and Merry MacRae from Royal Oak returned for a good day of
birding and assisted in spotting the high ones. John Craft, Bob
Hall-Brooks, and Todd Pepper showed for a while.
Weather:
Started out at 0.4C, NW wind 12-19km/hr (8-12m/hr); humidity 65% Barometer
29.96; cloud cover65% with visibility 29km and no precipitation. Wind held
steady until about 12:30 pm EST when it became almost calm and by 1 PM EST
it was due southwest (SW) for the remainder of the count at less that 3
m'hr or 5 km/hr. It warmed to 6.1C by the last hour of the count.
Raptor Observations:
Raptors were slow to arrive. One harrier at 7:36 am EST and not another
raptor until 9-10 hour. There was a good cloud cover over the tower that
aided in sighting birds. The red-tails were high and at times vanished in
the clouds only to reappear closer but higher in the sky.
The flight was NOT on the shore with birds coming off the lake BUT rather
inland either just over the count tower or 300 yards north of the tower.
This line held until the wind shifted to the SW and the few birds sighted
were high and north of the tower 300-500 yards. By the 2-3 hour the flight
was not sighted until the last few minutes 5 red-tails were low over the
marsh or just at the northern horizon and were easily spotted.
NO GE, RL or falcons.
Non-raptor Observations:
A few passerines passed in small groups or singles. Crows were few.
Starlings were many with several 300-500 flocks just to the east over the
woods being harassed by passing red-tails. The starlings perched in the
wooded edge in tall leafless trees for most of the afternoon. No
significant passage of starlings was noted.
Others included: Ring-billed Gull 50,Goldfinch-35, Tundra Swan-56,
Mallard-100, Am Crow 75, Am Robin- 5, Redwings-150, mixed blackbird
flocks-300. One each of the following: Song Sparrow, N. Flicker, B.Capped
Chickadee-5, Red-bellied Woodpecker, N. Cardinal, Killdeer, E. Bluebird,
Red-breasted Nuthatch,
Predictions:
Windsor - Leamington - Essex County.
Tonight..Cloudy. Low plus 2.
Sunday..Clearing in the morning. Wind becoming southwest 20 km/h in
the morning. High 10.
Sunday night..Clear. Low zero.
Fair day for birds.
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Report submitted by Bob Pettit ([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.
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