Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 29, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 134 136 Osprey 2 121 136 Bald Eagle 0 99 99 Northern Harrier 4 435 468 Sharp-shinned Hawk 30 5075 5108 Cooper's Hawk 0 46 46 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 72221 72254 Red-tailed Hawk 0 21 24 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 17 2562 2660 Merlin 1 44 54 Peregrine Falcon 4 20 20 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 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1 Total: 58 80779 81006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: 1Counter, Colin Horstead Observers: Jim Dunn, Kathy, Keith Sealy, Mac McAlpine Visitors: The only visitor today was Ken Wootton (London)...and thanks to the counters today Colin, Jim, Mary, Mac, Keith and Kathy...another rotten day to observe. Weather: Another crappy weather day....with rain for a couple of hours and winds not as hoped...though they started NE but soon went SE then S and when they finally swung to the SW...but it was just too late in the day to get any good flight going. Temp ranged from a start of 12C and getting to a high of just 18C. Cloud cover was pretty much solid most of the day...with a few breaks that just closed right in again. Raptor Observations: Total raptors today 58....with Osprey (2) , Harriers (4) Sharpies (30) , Kesterls (17), Merlin (1) and Peregrines (4). One Peregrine was observed with prey, eating on the wing...while being harrassed by a Merlin! Non-raptor Observations: Despite a few episodes of inclement weather Blue Jays continued to migrate past Hawk Cliff for a count of 4200. Around lunch time, a large flock of Blue Jays descended noisily into the treeline near the mound, streaming southward deftly weaving among the trees -- and the hawk watchers! A few birds when screaming past about waist height. When the view cleared, a single sharpie was spotted also flying in a southward direction across the field and we assumed this was what had disturbed the Jays. During the sunny periods, there was lots of songbird action up and down Hawk Cliff Rd including Red-eyed Vireo, Least Flycatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, an Eastern Towhee, many Gray Catbirds and 11 warbler species (including a Tennessee, not seen for a few days). Song Sparrows, which have been very quiet for the past week, were visible, some singing, in the bushes lining the path south of the parking area. A single Lincoln's Sparrow (new for this fall) was spotted among the many Songs. A midmorning stroll up the road to Sharpie Alley yielded a few more of the same warbler species plus one each of Red-headed Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and (new for this fall) a Golden-crowned Kinglet. Predictions: Friday may well be a washout with predictions of lots of rain. However, the weekend is looking better with strong northerly winds and lots of sunshine. Though not the best winds for a big Peregrine flight...this will eb the first really strong cold front pushing across the region and may jump start some birds into migrating. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm _______________________________________________ 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/
