Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 15, 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 0 64 79
Bald Eagle 5 30 30
Northern Harrier 30 212 245
Sharp-shinned Hawk 598 2735 2768
Cooper's Hawk 0 21 21
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 4441 7412 7445
Red-tailed Hawk 0 1 4
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 180 1436 1534
Merlin 1 17 27
Peregrine Falcon 0 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: 5255 11931 12158
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Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10 hours
Official Counter: Colin Horstead
Observers: Clive Hodder, Derek Lyon, Ian Capell, Jennifer Lyon,
Jim Dunn, Kathy, Mary Carnahan, Norm Murr, Ronnie Goodhand
Visitors:
A few visitors were out today to brave the wacky weather ...and it paid
off...Roger and Jane Harvey, Kathy and Kirk Mitchell and the Cunninghams
from London. Thanks to Norm Murr and Ian Capell for helping with today's
count along with Colin, Jen and Derek L., Keith S., Ronnie G., Kathy, Jim
D., Mary C., Clive H. and Eric S.
Weather:
Well..another strange day for weather at Hawk Cliff. It all started with a
mix of sun and cloud and a cooler temp of just 8C. The first couple of
hours saw the odd very brief shower....and then eventually it began to rain
much harder. It got really interesting as it began to hail about
mid-morning with the hail resulting in birds literally diving out of the
sky for cover.
With the passage of a strong cold front last night temps ranged from 8C to
just 15C...and in fact when the hail hit the temp dropped from 12C to 8C
very quickly. Once this weather cleared the skies were just about perfect
for hawkwatching with good visibility and lots of cloud as backdrop.
A check of the thermal updraft prediction maps for today showed that in
the area in and around the hawkwatch the lift in the thermals ranged from
300-500 fpm (feet per minute)...and in a small area immediately east of
Hawk Cliff this lift was as high as 600 fpm...even later into the
afternoon. This may well explain the fairly high numbers of especially
BW's right intot he last hour of the count period.
Raptor Observations:
The flight was (as expected) very good today with a total of 5,255 raptors.
Broadwings accounted for 4,441 of this count...with many kettles reaching
several hundred birds. There was also an excellent showing by Sharpies
(598) and Kestrels (180)....though the observers were somewhat disappointed
when not a single Osprey was spotted. A few Bald Eagles were also counted
(5) alogn with a single Merlin.
Non-raptor Observations:
This morning's early bird (and a definite highlight)was an American Bittern
which was flying westward along the cliff and spotted from the mound by
early hawkwatchers. As well, a Blue-Headed Vireo was seen early this
morning just south of the mound. Both of these species are first sightings
for this season for Hawk Cliff...and I would hazard a guess that not too
many American Bitterns have ever been observed during the fall hawkwatch
over the many years it's been running.
And things only got better as the anticipated influx of Warblers finally
happened. By mid-morning, visitors and regulars had reported 17 species
including: Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, Cape May,
Blackburnian, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Black-throated Green, Bay-breasted,
Blackpoll, Black & White, Am. Redstart, Tennessee, Nashville,
Orange-crowned, Northern Parula and Common Yellowthroat.
A Green heron was also reported crossing the hawkwatch area.
Predictions:
If I were a betting man I'd say tomorrow would be worth heading down to the
hawkwatch. Winds are predicted to be moderate to light from the N for the
day...and I suspect the BW's will be on the move in big numbers. With the
mix of sun and cloud there'll be a good backdrop to help spot the birds as
well.
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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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ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to [email protected]
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
