Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 08, 2013
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 325 416 1871
Osprey 1 4 117
Bald Eagle 13 14 129
Northern Harrier 8 27 307
Sharp-shinned Hawk 54 108 4496
Cooper's Hawk 3 7 51
Northern Goshawk 0 0 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 8
Broad-winged Hawk 0 3 59365
Red-tailed Hawk 7 8 62
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 11 78 1524
Merlin 0 2 54
Peregrine Falcon 1 37 59
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
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 2
Total: 423 705 68046
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 13:30:00
Total observation time: 5.5 hours
Official Counter: Tom Bolohan
Observers: Alf Rider, Dave Verkley, Ernie Gribble, Jim Dunn,
Mary Carnahan
Visitors:
Thanks to Tom B., Ernie G., Dave V., Mary C., Jim D. and Alf R. for getting
today's count done.
Weather:
Winds were light from the ESE to start then began to swing round through
the SSW, SW to WSW. Temp to a high of 18 by the end of the count period.
Skies were clear and blue with a few clouds moving in as the day
progressed. As always, the clear blue skies made spotting the birds
difficult, but at least the air was drier!
Raptor Observations:
Well...the better weather brought a few more birds today with a total of
423. The majority of today's flight was Turkey Vultures (325) with most
passing well to the north of the observation knoll and quite high up in the
blue. Raptors observed today included a single Osprey, a good flight of
Bald Eagles (13) for this time of the season, several nice looks at
Northern Harriers (8), a decent flight of Sharpies (54) but only a few
Cooper's Hawks (3). The only buteos spotted today were Redtails (7) while
on the falcon front there were some American Kestrels (11) and a lone
Peregrine.
Non-raptor Observations:
Several of our regular observers contributed to today's non-raptor list of
47 species. We didn't have to go far to see them, although there were
songbirds galore starting in the field at the north end of the road where
many Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Nashville, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Robins,
Hermit Thrush (New for this season) plus White-throated, Song and Field
Sparrows were moving through the bushes on both sides of the road. Good
views of 10 other Warblers species (Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Palm,
Black-throated Green, Blackpoll, American Redstart, Orange-crowned, a late
Wilson's and Common Yellowthroat) were had up and down the road.
Other noteworthy sightings included a very late Swainson's Thrush spotted
by Ernie Gribble. As well, a family of 3 Pileated Woodpeckers flew back
and forth several times across the field providing great looks to all
observers on the mound and early in the watch, Tom Bolohan spotted a Tree
Swallow from the mound.
Downy Woodpeckers were found by a couple of observers and Yellow-bellied
Sapsuckers were found in abundance near the cliff as well as near Sharpie
Alley. These species were also seen today: Golden-crowned Kinglet,
Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Killdeer, Gray
Catbird, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Cardinal White-breasted Nuthatch,
Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Towhee, American Goldfinch, American Crow
and Blue Jays which began their westward migration early this morning, but
the flights dropped off after about 9:30 AM with very few seen migrating
after that.
A few Monarch Butterflies continued their flight today; Cabbage White,
Orange Sulphur, Mourning Cloak and an Eastern Tailed Blue were also seen
today. A few Black Saddlebags and Green Darners were also flying today.
Predictions:
I would suspect more of the same tomorrow as winds are predicted to be even
lighter from the SE under clear blue skies.
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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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