Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2014
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 6 57 57
Bald Eagle 15 49 49
Northern Harrier 22 142 152
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1667 2981 2991
Cooper's Hawk 6 28 29
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 15436 36884 36915
Red-tailed Hawk 1 20 20
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 292 987 1020
Merlin 0 26 27
Peregrine Falcon 1 16 16
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 1 1
Total: 17446 41192 41278
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Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10 hours
Official Counter: Jennifer Lyon
Observers: Bob Johnstone, Clive Hodder, Dave Sked, Dave Verkley,
Derek Lyon, Don Campbell, Mary Carnahan, Ronnie Goodhand,
Tom Stewart, Tom Thomas, Wayne Parnall
Visitors:
Approx. 40 visitors throughout the day. The observation knoll was full
with watchers at peak time! A BIG thanks to the whole crew who helped with
spotting and counting the birds today!
Weather:
Another beautiful day to start at the hawkwatch with some sun and lots of
cloud...then complete overcast and a bit of drizzle...then the skies opened
back up nicely with a mix of sun and cloud. Temp got to a high of 18C and
the winds were light to moderate from the NW and NNE for the day.
Raptor Observations:
Well! The numbers show it! Excellent day with a total of 17,446 raptors
tallied. Started off sunny, then cloud & drizzle with Sharpies and
Kestrels coming through in decent numbers. Then the skies opened up and
the Broadwings poured on through! At times there were 3 to 4 kettles in
the sky at once with streaming Broadwings even out on the lakeside.
Kettles were fairly low in the morning providing spectacular views as they
streamed overhead. The kettles grew higher as the day went on but still a
great show! Spectacular viewing for all of the counters and the many
visitors.
The bulk of the flight was Broadwings (15,436)...but the Sharpies (1,667)
put in the excellent showing with consistent numbers every hour. Another
good count for Kestrels (292) along with Ospreys (6), Bald Eagles (15), N.
Harriers (22), Cooper's Hawks (6), a single Redtail that appeared to be
migrating and a lone Peregrine in the latter part of the count period.
Non-raptor Observations:
Some good non-raptors today...10 Nighthawks (mixing in with the shins!),
White-breasted Nuthatch, RT Hummingbirds (not as many today), Killdeer, Red
bellied woodpecker, Common Loons (2), Great Blue Heron (flyover),
Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Green
Warbler, half a dozen Catbirds, Crows, E. Starlings, Chickadees, N.
Cardinal, Ring-billed Gull, Palm Warbler, Wilsons, Tennessee, B.
Kingfisher, Blue Jays - 396 counted today.
Approx 30 Monarchs - not nearly as many as yesterday and some that I saw
were roosting rather than migrating. Other species were Orange & Clouded
Sulphur, Cabbage White, Painted Lady.
Dragonflies were the usual Black Saddlebags and Green Darners, neither as
active or as many as yesterday.
Predictions:
Not the best forecast for wind direction tomorrow SE though there will be
lots of sun, but the flight will likely be pushed inland.
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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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