Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 28, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 0 Northern Harrier 9 10 10 Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 7 7 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 28 28 28 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 25 28 28 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 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: 69 73 73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Jim Dunn Observers: Bob Johnstone, Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan, Ronnie Goodhand Visitors: Thanks to Jim, Mary, Ronnie, Keith and Bob Johnstone for doing today's count. Weather: Winds today were light initially from the W then backed around to the NW and finally the NE. Under clear skies with little cloud the flight was quite high. Temp was still a bit cooler than normal getting to a high of 19C. Raptor Observations: August is never a big flight month for the raptors but there's normally a bit of a push of young AKs, Sharpies and Osprey. Birds were extremely high for the most part, Harriers were lower but AKs and BROADWINGS were very high. The Broadwing number (28) is slightly below the August average of 43 over the past several years though there are a few days left in the month. Total raptors tallied today was 69 with the two main species being Broadwings (28) and Kestrels (25) along with N. Harriers (9) and Sharpies (7). Several local Bald Eagles continue to patrol the lakeshore but will not be counted at this point in the season. Non-raptor Observations: We've had great views of many songbird species over the past two weeks and today was no exception. The early bird was a Caspian Tern, viewed from the Cliff early in the watch. Most birds today were seen in the mulberry on the west side of the parking circle and extending from there down to the cliff's edge in the bushes on either side of the path. Warbler species seen today were Chestnut-sided, Wilson's, Redstart, Yellow-rumped, Tennessee, Nashville, Blackburnian, Black & White, Magnolia and Cape May. Other highlights included Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Great Crested Flycatcher, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, many Cedar Waxwings, a juvenile Towhee, Red-eyed and Warbling Vireo, Gray Catbird and a Belted Kingfisher fishing along the beach below. Canada geese, Mallards, Double-crested Cormorants and Ring-billed Gulls were seen flying near the Cliff and Barn Swallows were flying everywhere and among them, were 1 Chimney Swift, a few Bank Swallows and a Purple Martin spotted by a couple of keen-eyed observers. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were spotted in several locations, but the best views are in the patches of jewelweed especially at the gate in the low spot about a hundred metres north of the knoll and on the west side of Hawk Cliff Rd directly across from the knoll. We are beginning to see a few Monarch Butterflies heading west and several dragonfly species have been noted as well, including Common Green Darner, Black Saddlebags, Red Saddlebags and 12-spotted Skimmer. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Dave Brown ([email protected]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm _______________________________________________ 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
