Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 28, 2013 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 2220 35585 39197 Osprey 0 19 76 Bald Eagle 12 98 321 Northern Harrier 6 153 372 Sharp-shinned Hawk 62 1899 6410 Cooper's Hawk 26 280 532 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 77 195 213 Broad-winged Hawk 0 3 48629 Red-tailed Hawk 604 1216 1583 Rough-legged Hawk 1 7 7 Golden Eagle 9 16 18 American Kestrel 1 248 1138 Merlin 1 23 83 Peregrine Falcon 0 13 33 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 1 7 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Gyrfalcon 0 1 1 Mississippi Kite 0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 7 Total: 3019 39757 98629 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 10 hours Official Counter: Todd Pepper Observers: Claude Radley, Jim McCoy, Olga Klekner, Roland Klekner Visitors: Despite the north winds only 2 visitors today; Greg from Windsor was back again for his regular Monday visit, and another photographer came out, but the birds were in the clouds and he did not stay long. A big thank you to Jim, Claude, Olga and Roland for covering the north and south sides of the tower today. I could not have counted almost 120,000 birds today without their assistance. Weather: A brisk and windy day today. The temperature ranged from 4 - 11.5C. The winds had a northern component all day. They started out of the NW, shifted N, then NE. Winds were generally in the 10 - 15 km/hr range. It was partly cloudy all day under a rising barometric pressure. Raptor Observations: What a day! While not a huge number of raptors at 3,019, there was a nice mix of species in every flock. We added an amazing additional 12 Bald Eagles to a total already 50% higher than any year in our 40 year history. Also 9 Golden Eagles in all age groups. It was also our first big day for Red-tailed Hawks at 604 birds. Non-raptor Observations: As if not busy enough with raptors I counted 116,568 non-raptors today. There was a huge movement of Red-winged Blackbirds today with 79,518 birds counted. Another 5,500 "blackbirds" were counted, and somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50,000 Eurasian Starlings constantly flew back and forth out over the north tree line. Also a big American Crow day with 30,955 birds counted. Predictions: The forecast for Tuesday is mostly sunny with a temperature between 3 and 7C. The winds are predicted to be out of the NE again tomorrow in the 15 km/hr range. It should be another good day for Red-tailed Hawks and, hopefully, more Golden Eagles. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Todd Pepper ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/ _______________________________________________ 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
