This is an official posting from the High Park Hawk Watch. Station: High Park, Toronto, Ontario View Period: October 3 - October 9, 2011 Station coordinator: Don Barnett Counters: D. Barnett, J. DeMarco, H. Elliott, B. Kalthoff, M. Kelch, A.M. Leger, I. Maione, N. McHugh, H. Shapiro and J. Winearls. GTRW Webmasters: D. Woods
The first Golden Eagle of the year for HPRW was observed this week. Turkey Vultures made up most of the 1315 birds seen this week followed by Sharp-shinned Hawks a distant second. Our best day was October 4th when 821 total raptors were observed, including 659 Turkey Vultures, 103 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 31 Red-tailed Hawks, 7 Bald Eagles and and our first Golden Eagle of the year. Our totals for the week and the year to date are: Species. Oct. 3 - 9 Year to Date Turkey Vulture................1060............1972 Osprey..................................-................23 Bald Eagle..........................11................37 Northern Harrier...................7................46 Sharp-Shinned Hawk.......148..............961 Cooper's Hawk.....................5................36 Northern Goshawk................-..................- Red-shouldered Hawk...........-.................- Broad-winged Hawk..............2..........8629 Swainson's Hawk..................-.................- Red-tailed Hawk....................1...........147 Rough-legged Hawk..............-................- Golden Eagle.........................1.................1 American Kestrel...................7.............143 Merlin.....................................1................8 Peregrine Falcon...................1................6 Unidentified..........................11..............36 Total................................1315............9650 High Park Site Description High Park is a 400 acre wooded park dominated by a Black Oak Savannah located just west of Downtown Toronto near Keele and Bloor. The park is operated by the City of Toronto Parks Department. The Count site (Hawk Hill) is located on a small hill at the north end of the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. It is located about 1.5km (1 mile) north of Lake Ontario, at an elevation of 110 metres above sea level and 38 metres above Lake Ontario. The site location is N 43 degrees 37 minutes 03.8 seconds, W 79 degrees 28 minutes 56.5 seconds. This station is at the highest point and near the centre of the park; a steep slope that descends to a large pond is immediately west of the station. Full time counts have been recorded here since 1993. The following are partners in our raptor migration monitoring in the Greater Toronto Region: City of Toronto Parks and Culture Department, Toronto Ornithological Club, and Local Naturalist's Clubs. More information including a summary of our past observations is available at: http://www.greatertorontohawkwatch.com/ -- Howard Shapiro email: [email protected] _______________________________________________ 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/
