Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 17, 2012 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 499 19260 21962 Osprey 1 12 78 Bald Eagle 1 24 122 Northern Harrier 0 81 316 Sharp-shinned Hawk 61 1332 4654 Cooper's Hawk 2 124 270 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 18 30 Broad-winged Hawk 0 94 6055 Red-tailed Hawk 12 215 490 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 3 5 American Kestrel 1 131 886 Merlin 1 17 69 Peregrine Falcon 0 18 43 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 8 Unknown Buteo 0 3 6 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 1 1 Unknown Raptor 0 0 5 Black Vulture 0 0 1 Gyrfalcon 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 2 Total: 579 21335 35004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours Official Counter: Jeremy Hatt Observers: Claude Radley, Jim McCoy Visitors: A few local visitors stopped by today but otherwise a quiet day. Weather: Beautiful day to be on the tower but like yesterday, not the best conditions for raptor migration. Temperatures ranged between 13C - 17C and winds were light, starting out of the south and then the southeast later in the afternoon. One hour there would be 80% cloud cover and the next there would be 5% cloud cover. Very variable. Raptor Observations: As predicted, a day similar to yesterday with Turkey Vultures making up the majority of raptors migrating. Many were far to the north requiring a scope to count them. One Bald Eagle in the morning flying right through was a highlight as well as a single Merlin zooming by the tower in the early afternoon. 579 birds of 8 species were counted. Non-raptor Observations: Migration of Blue Jays, blackbirds, and finches continues to impress. Blue Jay - 2,540, Red-winged Blackbird - 2,380, Common Grackle - 368, American Goldfinch - 68, Pine Siskin - 19. The highlight was a large number of Tree Swallows flying southeast over the tower in the morning, with a final tally of 1,032 individuals. Predictions: The forecast calls for rainy conditions all morning and clearing up between noon and 1pm. Temperatures will be between 13C - 15C with winds out of the southwest. Not the best conditions! The morning may see a few Sharp-shinned Hawks braving the weather but expect Turkey Vultures to start flying in the afternoon with perhaps a few Red-tailed Hawks and falcons mixed in. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jeremy Hatt ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Migration Observatory information may be found at: http://hbmo.org/ _______________________________________________ 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/
