Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2012
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 888 2701 2701
Osprey 3 65 65
Bald Eagle 0 96 96
Northern Harrier 19 235 235
Sharp-shinned Hawk 641 3319 3319
Cooper's Hawk 13 146 146
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 7 12 12
Broad-winged Hawk 188 5961 5961
Red-tailed Hawk 94 275 275
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 2 2
American Kestrel 37 755 755
Merlin 1 51 51
Peregrine Falcon 3 25 25
Unknown Accipiter 0 8 8
Unknown Buteo 0 3 3
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 5 5
Black Vulture 0 1 1
Swainson's Hawk 0 1 1
Total: 1894 13661 13661
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Observation start time: 06:30:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter: Todd Pepper
Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Chris Craft, Jason Craft, Jim McCoy,
John Craft, John Winebrenner, Kory Renaud, Lisa Silvey,
Rene Kielbasa
Visitors:
I continue to be thrilled by the number of Windsor-Essex County residents
who came out today for their first visit ever, or first visit in 20 or 30
years, to the hawk tower because of the recent media coverage about our
ranking as the 3rd best raptor migration experience in North America. The
tower had a constant flow of 10 - 20 visitors at all times during the day.
The long distance migrants today came from: Sudbury; Ottawa; Whitby;
Toronto; Hamilton; London; Chatham; Detroit; Dearborn, Birmingham and Ann
Arbor in Michigan; and our regular visiting friends from Indiana.
Weather:
Another beautiful fall day. How long can this last?
It was cool up on the tower, ranging from 11 - 19.5C, with the moderately
strong north winds of 12 - 20 km/hr making it feel colder than it was on
the ground.
It was a mostly sunny day, with some fog and haze early in the a.m.
Raptor Observations:
A nice mix of birds today with 1,894 birds of 11 species. A good
opportunity to look at Broad-winged, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks
all together within kettles of Vultures and compare their size and plumage
patterns. The highlight was probably the Peregrine Falcon chasing an
American Kestrel, followed shortly thereafter by a Merlin.
Non-raptor Observations:
The high winds reduced passerine migration today. The Blue Jay migration
only had 24,461 birds today. Other highlights include: Chimney Swifts - 4;
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2; Red-breasted Nuthatch - 5, including one
that flew in and landed on the north-east corner of the tower for a short
rest; and 98 American Goldfinch.
Predictions:
A sunny day with temperatures between 7 & 18C; light winds out of the north
in the a.m. at 5 km/hr, shifting to SE in the afternoon at up to 10 km/hr.
The morning should be good for migration.
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Report submitted by Todd Pepper ([email protected])
Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at:
http://hbmo.org/
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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/
