Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 28, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 2 7 7 Bald Eagle 3 3 3 Northern Harrier 18 35 35 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 4 4 Cooper's Hawk 0 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 25 37 37 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 112 127 127 Merlin 1 1 1 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 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: 163 216 216 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Dave Brown Observers: BJ, Jim Dunn, Mary Carnahan Visitors: Thanks to Jim, Mary and BJ for helping with the hawkwatch and "Other obs" reports for today. It was an excellent day for weather and raptors! Weather: Today was a great hawkwatching day...a nice mix of sun and cloud making it easier to spot the birds...with humidity dropping through the morning. Winds were moderate most of the day from the NNW and NW. Raptor Observations: A decent count today given we're still in August. Total birds tallied was 163...the bulk were Kestrels (112) with many passing through in groups of 3 to 6 at a time. A very good Harrier flight (18) including several adult females and even an adult male. These Harriers were observed at flight heights from a few feet above the ground to at least a couple of thousand feet or more (up with the Broadwings). There were several Broadwings (25) espied...from flight heights just above the tree tops up to the stratosphere! The remainder of the count included Osprey (2), Sharpies (2) and a single Merlin that took time to dive on a couple of adult Bald Ealges. Out of the many sightings of Bald Eagles today (most appeared to be local family groups) there were 3 older birds (determined based on their plumage and ongoing molt) that seemed to be actually migrating and were tallied. Non-raptor Observations: Wind an weather changes brought in a whole new wave of migrant songbirds, providing some great sightings without having to stray far from the knoll. Some species were obviously on the move...with numerous flocks of Am. Goldfinch and Cedar Waxwings passing through...and numerous observations of Eastern Kingbirds. Hummingbirds zoomed across the field throughout the day, with a big push around 3:00 PM (EST); earlier, a Black-billed Cuckoo flew in and perched on a low branch directly above the observers on the knoll, providing good photo ops; many swallows flew past throughout the day including mainly Barn and Tree Swallows, but also a few Banks; and Red-breasted Nuthatches were both visible and vocal in a number of locations from the Cliff north to the ravine. Our previous Warbler count of 11 rose today with sightings of 5 new species for this fall; these were Yellow-rumped, Bay-breasted, Tennessee, Nashville and Ovenbird. As well, today's warblers included Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Am. Redstart, Wilson's, Canada and a single Yellow. The bonus bird was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in the woods. The view from the mound was thick with dragonflies, mainly Black Saddlebags, Green Darners and 12-spotted Skimmers; several butterfly species were noteworthy including 2 Black Swallowtails, a Fiery Skipper right on the mound, and many Monarchs (probably at a rate of 10-20 every half hour) crossing the field, with more passing by below the cliff. ======================================================================== 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/
