Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 12, 2014
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 2 21 21
Bald Eagle 15 16 16
Northern Harrier 4 51 61
Sharp-shinned Hawk 139 468 478
Cooper's Hawk 6 17 18
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 334 378 409
Red-tailed Hawk 7 8 8
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 13 194 227
Merlin 2 8 9
Peregrine Falcon 5 8 8
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 1 1 1
Total: 528 1170 1256
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Jim Dunn, Keith Sealy
Observers: Bob Johnstone, Chris Burris, Ernie Gribble, Ian Cannell,
Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan, Mike Street, Norm Murr,
Ronnie Goodhand
Visitors:
Lots of visitors today though only a few names were noted...a big thanks to
everyone who helped with the spotting, id'ing and counting for
today...Mary, Jim, Keith, Ernie, Ronnie, Chris B, Bob J, Mike Street, Ian
Cannell, Norm Murr and Carey S.
Weather:
Not a bad day for migration with NE to ENE to NNE winds...light to start
then increasing to moderate before dropping back a bit in the afternoon.
Some cloud around for the morning and then increasing cloud into the
afternoon. Temp started out much cooler at 8C and never got higher than
14C. What really helped today was the humidity which dropped quickly and
remained 70s to 60s for the rest of the count period.
Raptor Observations:
A pretty good flight today with a total of 528 raptors tallied. No surprise
that the bulk of today's flight was Broadwings (334) with small numbers
passing through each hour. This will be the vanguard for the big push by
this species over the next week or two. Only a couple of Ospreys were seen
today but we finally had a number of Bald Eagles (15) counted as migrants
as they passed high above the hawkwatch headed westbound (till now most BEs
seen were local family groups working back and forth along the lake
shore).
Sharpies continued to push through with another 137 today, some Kestrels
(15), a couple of Merlins, just a few N. Harriers (4), Cooper's Hawks (6)
and Redtails (7).
There were 3 HIGHLIGHTS today:
1) ADULT SWAINSON'S HAWK - Spotted by Mary C. and Mike S. and observed by
everyone at the watch (of course it couldn't have waited one more day till
I could get down to the hawkwatch!!)
2) DARK MORPH BROAD-WINGED HAWK - Spotted by Mike S. and observed by
everyone on the knoll.
3) PEREGRINES - A total of 5 Peregrines were noted today...not bad for this
point in September. These birds will put on their main push as we cross
into the 1st week of October.
Non-raptor Observations:
Many thanks to regulars Ernie Gribble, Keith Sealy, Chris Burris, Ronnie
Goodhand and Bob Johnstone and visitors, Norm Murr, Ian Cannell, Mike
Street and Paul Nicholson for today's non-raptor list, which is extensive.
We had a some highlights including 18 warbler species. 2 new species for
this season were Palm and Parula; as well, observers reported Wilson's,
Black & White, Magnolia, Nashville, Tennessee, Black-throated Green,
Black-Throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, Common Yellowthroat, Orange-crowned,
Blackburnian, Canada, American Redstart, Pine and Blackpoll. In addition,
2 Common Nighthawks were seen today; one was seen flying across the field
and the other was found perched in a tree just north of Sharpie Alley, and
provided great views and photo ops for a good part of the day.
Other highlights today included Eastern Bluebirds flying across the field,
lots of Tree Swallows plus a few Barn Swallows, Chimney Swifts and
Rough-winged Swallows flying overhead, a Brown Thrasher, and 3 Vireo
species (Red-eyed, Warbling and Philadelphia). A few Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds were seen in jewelweed patches, but there wasn't much of a
flight across the field.
Few Monarch Butterflies were seen today, although a few were found in the
cornfield just west of the parking area along with some Clouded Sulphurs, 2
Orange Sulphurs and a few Cabbage Whites. Black Saddlebags and Green
Darners were seen patrolling mainly in the cornfield and 2 Lance-tipped
Darners were found cruising one of the ponds.
Predictions:
Tomorrow may be similar to today....BUT it will depend very much on how
fast the predicted rain moves through overnight. IF we can get into fairly
clear drier air by mid-morning then we have a chance at a decent flight.
The winds are supposed to be moderate out of the N to NNW which is a
definite plus.
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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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