Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 14, 2011
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 2
Osprey 3 64 79
Bald Eagle 7 25 25
Northern Harrier 22 182 215
Sharp-shinned Hawk 155 2137 2170
Cooper's Hawk 2 21 21
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 2699 2971 3004
Red-tailed Hawk 0 1 4
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 175 1256 1354
Merlin 2 16 26
Peregrine Falcon 1 3 3
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: 3066 6676 6903
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Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Colin Horstead
Observers: Eric Single, Jim Dunn, Mary Carnahan, Mike Street,
Ronnie Goodhand, Su Ross-Redmond
Visitors:
Some visitors today....Brenda and Ben Kulon (Brights Grove) and Brian
Coleman (St. Marys), Bill Reid...and several others whose names weren;t
recorded. Thanks to all of today's observers and counters...Colin H., Jim
D., Mary C., Ronnie G., Mike Street, Eric Single and Su R.
Weather:
Pretty much clear blue skies with some high cirrus for a backdrop for the
majority of the day...with some heavier cloud moving in the last hour of
the count....a sign of the rain aprroaching from the west. Wind was
variable ...NW to NE to W and back to W. Temp was definitely cooler today
as the cold front approached with a starting temp of 12C and then making it
to 22C. Even colder air is on the way for tomorrow.
Raptor Observations:
As expected, the Broadwings began to make their move today (it's primetime
for this species) and by day's end a total of 3,066 raptors had been
tallied...of which 2,699 were Broadwings. The first of the kettles was
spotted by Ronnie G. just before noon (EST) with more kettles forming over
the next couple of hours. The largest of these kettles was around 500
birds...an amazing sight! Obviously, on such clear blue skies there were
likely many more BW's that were missed as they crossed the hawkwatch area
in the starosphere. Today's flight is likely just the vanguard for the main
flight which I would expect will happen over the next 2 or 3 days.
Interestingly, when Colin and Jim arrived at 7:00 a.m. on the knoll the
first 15 birds spotted were Sharpies..BUT they were already way up and
flapping non-stop to the west. This was surprising given early morning
flights are usually much lower...especially for this species. It makes you
wonder where these birds were coming from and how long they'd already been
underway.
Other species spotted today included....Osprey (3), Bald Eagle (7),
Sharpies (155), a couple of cooper's , Kesrels (175), a couple of Merlins
and another single Peregrine.
Non-raptor Observations:
Early birds today were treated to some great photo and viewing ops this
morning right across from the mound where there were two Monarch roosts
totalling 120 butterflies. Another roost comprised of approximately 100
Monarchs was found closer to the cliff. In addition, 6 Common Loons were
seen heading towards the lake and the Pileated Woodpeckers did fly-by.
Observers who ventured a little further from the mound were disappointed
in the apparent shortage of warbler species, though there were 3 species
spotted including Redstart, Magnolia and a female Hooded which was warbler
species # 25 for this season. Red-eyed and Philadelphia Vireos were
spotted as well as a couple of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Only 2 Tree
Swallows were seen today, but woodpeckers were well represented with
several sightings of both Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker in addition
to Red-bellied and a Hairy for a total of 5 species (see Pileated above).
There were some excellent dragonfly and butterfly sightings this
afternoon, with both being in abundance. Black and Carolina Saddlebags,
many (various species of) Meadowhawks and numerous Darners were reported,
including 3 darner species perched and providing great views. These were
Common Green Darner (female), plus Shadow and Lance-tipped Darner.
Butterfly sightings included the above-mentioned Monarchs and many more
throughout the day, 2 Viceroys, a Question Mark, lots of Orange & Clouded
Sulphurs as well as a few Summer Azures and Eastern Tailed Blues, a Silver
Spotted Skipper and a Fiery Skipper which is a first for the Hawk Cliff
records. (Thanks to Jim Dunn for the tip!)
Predictions:
Well...if I could get away from work (which I can't short of faking
sickness!!!) I would be headed to Hawk Cliff for the next few days. Winds
are predicted to swing to the NW behind the strong cold front currently
moving across Ontario. As long as the rain clears pretty much east of
Toronto Thursday morning then a good flight could get on the move tomorrow.
Otherwise, I would expect the bulk of the BW's to move through on Friday
with more on Saturday.
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Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected])
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm
_______________________________________________
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Send bird reports to [email protected]
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