Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 01, 2013 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 38 38 3650 Osprey 0 0 57 Bald Eagle 1 1 224 Northern Harrier 1 1 220 Sharp-shinned Hawk 17 17 4528 Cooper's Hawk 1 1 253 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 18 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 48626 Red-tailed Hawk 2 2 369 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 2 American Kestrel 5 5 895 Merlin 2 2 62 Peregrine Falcon 2 2 22 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 6 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Mississippi Kite 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 7 Total: 69 69 58941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Todd Pepper Observers: Claude Radley, Larry Ludwicki Visitors: Two groups of students, one of 23 and one of 24, from Maranatha School in Windsor, with their teachers and parent supervisors, visited the tower today as part of ERCA's outdoor education program. Weather: Fogged in for the first five and a half hours of the count. I could see the edge of the forest to the east and the tree line along the beach, but if the birds flew behind the beach tree line they were out of sight. When the sun finally broke through it revealed clear blue skies and visibility gradually improved. The temperature ranged from 17 - 21C. Winds were out of the SW the entire count period, although they never exceeded 12 km/hr. Raptor Observations: Another slow day, as expected. At the end of the 1200 - 1300 hour I was actually at -4 Turkey Vultures. At least I ended the day on the plus side with 67 birds (38 Turkey Vultures) of 8 species. One of the 2 Peregrines that passed through today when I had 24 children on the tower and it hung off the south-west corner of the tower for several minutes before folding up it's wings and peeled away much to their delight. Non-raptor Observations: The Blue Jays were back in good numbers today with 6,969 flying at me out of the fog. Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warbler also flew through in good numbers. I had my first White-throated Sparrow for the count year, just a single WTSP. Predictions: Another sunny day is predicted with temperatures between 17 and 25C. Winds are expected to be out of the W in the a.m. at 10 km/hr shifting to the NW in the p.m. Expect a late movement of Turkey Vultures. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Todd Pepper ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/ Site Description: Holiday Beach Conservation Area was formerly a Provincial Park, but is now administered by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA). It is strategically located at the extreme southwestern tip of southern Ontario. The park is on the eastern end of a large freshwater estuary known as Big Creek. (Specifically the site is 1.1 miles south of the junction Highway 20 (old 18) and Essex Road 50, Town of Amherstburg). Southwestern Ontario has a funneling effect on migrating raptors due to the geography of the nearby lakes and the reluctance of most raptors to cross large bodies of water. Birds gain altitude over the flat farmland to the north and east, rising easily with the thermals that such areas provide in abundance. As the birds head south they meet Lake Erie and, reluctant to cross it , turn west. With appropriate wind and weather conditions, birds pile up along the lake shore and move west until they reach the narrow crossing at the Detroit River (or island hop within the river mouth). _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
