Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2012
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 4018 15544 18935
Osprey 0 13 193
Bald Eagle 0 36 175
Northern Harrier 19 89 641
Sharp-shinned Hawk 532 1555 7208
Cooper's Hawk 19 50 136
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 18 20 23
Broad-winged Hawk 1 4 37168
Red-tailed Hawk 268 327 698
Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1
Golden Eagle 1 2 3
American Kestrel 14 156 2900
Merlin 1 10 74
Peregrine Falcon 1 33 113
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: 4892 17842 68270
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Colin Horstead
Observers: Bruce Parker, Eric Single, Kathy, Mac McAlpine,
Mary Carnahan, Ronnie Goodhand, Tom Stewart, Tom Thomas
Visitors:
Thanks to all the crew that was out today...with counter Colin and
observers Eric, Mac, Tom T., Mary, Ronnie, Kathy, Tom F., Tom S. and Bruce.
Weather:
One of the best hawkwatching days weatherwise this fall and the birds
definitely responded. Skies were a wonderful mix of bright blue sky and
some very helpful clouds...a classic fall day. Winds were moderate then
light from NW then N helping push the birds down to the lake. Temp was
colder with a high of 10C...though it felt even cooler with the N winds.
Raptor Observations:
An excellent flight today with a number of species on the move. The day's
total was 4,892 birds of 11 different species...including a large push of
TVs (4,018) and Sharpies (532),,,along with the first really decent push of
the buteos with Redtails (268) and Red-shoulders (18) with another single
Broadwing. Also spotted today were Cooper's Hawks (19), Kestrels (14) and
N. Harriers (19).
Big thanks to Kathy for spotting the only Peregrine of the day which was
then observed by everyone on the knoll...and to Mac for managing to spot
the day's only Golden Eagle.
Non-raptor Observations:
It was another great day for non-raptor sightings with 38 bird species, 5
butterfly species and still a few Black Saddlebags and a Green Darner
reported by observers. The predominant species was Yellow-rumped Warbler
along with multiples of Nashville & Orange-crowned, 2 Wilson's and a Palm.
Once again there were numerous sighitngs of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and the
Golden-crowned Kinglet population had noticeably expanded overnight
providing observers with many sightings up and down Hawk Cliff Rd. Eastern
Bluebirds were seen in the usual place on the wire at Roberts Ln plus
flocks of bluebirds were noted overhead. American Robins were seen and
heard in several locations as well as 2 Hermit Thrush. As of today there
was still at least one Gray Catbird at Hawk Cliff, early birders saw the
Kingfisher this morning and 6 Tree Swallows were seen flying west.
There are still many Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches along the
road and a couple of Brown Creepers were reported. For Woodpeckers today
we had 3 Red-bellied, a Downy and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Many
American Goldfinch were seen in the cornfield east of the parking lot this
morning, and in the weeds near Sharpie Alley this afternoon. In addition to
an Eastern Towhee and a couple of Dark-eyed Juncos, observers also saw 6
Sparrow species this morning including Chipping, White-crowned,
White-throated, Song, Lincolns and Swamp.
There were still some noteworthy butterfly sightings today with a single
Monarchs, several Orange Sulphurs seen throughout the day plu 2 Clouded
Sulphurs, a Common Buckeye, a Mourning Cloak and a Comma or Question Mark.
A few Black Saddlebags were still patrolling the cornfield this morning as
well.
Predictions:
A very messy, wet weekend with windy unfavourable windy conditions...not
looking too promising for the next couple of days.
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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/
