Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 23 13107 13227 Osprey 0 33 116 Bald Eagle 0 14 72 Northern Harrier 6 126 519 Sharp-shinned Hawk 110 2156 6732 Cooper's Hawk 1 70 140 Northern Goshawk 0 2 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 4 4 Broad-winged Hawk 2 133 70697 Red-tailed Hawk 0 234 260 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 2 2 American Kestrel 0 495 2240 Merlin 0 16 58 Peregrine Falcon 1 111 156 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 1 Total: 143 16504 94228 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Cary Graham Observers: Don Taylor, Jim Dunn, Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan Visitors: No visitors today. A big thanks to Cary G., Don T., Jim, Mary and Keith for doing the count today. Weather: For a day that started out as a complete washout; Fog then Haze then drizzle...it turned into a pretty good day with very light N and NW winds then swinging around to the WSW in the afternoon. Temp was still above seasonal hitting a high of 16C. The cloud cover was complete to start but started to break out as the day progressed. Raptor Observations: Once the weather cleared a bit the flight got going and the total for the day was 143...with TVs (23), N. Harriers (6), Sharpies (110), a single Cooper's Hawk, believe it or not a couple of very late Broadwings and the only falcon for the day a Peregrine in the afternoon. Non-raptor Observations: It was another musical day at Hawk Cliff although today's symphony was a little different from yesterday's, with a chorus composed mainly of Robin- and Grackle-song and a few strains of Red-winged Blackbird. Very few other birds joined in although once in a while a White-throated Sparrow, along with the resident Carolina Wren, sang a few notes. When the crowd moved on, things became very quiet very quickly; nevertheless, observers had lots to look at when the music stopped including flocks of the aforementioned Robins & Grackles plus Bluejays, Starlings, Goldfinches, Crows and Bonaparte's Gulls. Also seen from the knoll were Herring and Ring-billed Gulls, a Killdeer, 2 Wood Ducks, Canada Geese, a Cormorant, several Northern Flickers, a Pileated Woodpecker, our resident Red-belly, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Blue-headed Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch and the star of the morning, a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker spotted by Cary as it flew past, then into the trees across from the knoll. Also found today were Downy Woodpecker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, giving us 6 Woodpecker species as well as Chickadees, Hermit Thrush, 2 Eastern Bluebirds, Rusty Blackbirds in the cornfield at the north end of HC Rd., spotted by Keith. Also seen were Northern Cardinal, Eastern Towhee and Song Sparrow. 15 Monarch Butterflies were seen crossing the field today as well as 3 Black Saddlebags, 2 Green Darners, a Shadow Darner and an unidentified Meadowhawk. Predictions: A windy day predicted for Friday with strong SW winds...and just a small chance of rain in the afternoon. Not sure what to expect on these winds though you could see some falcons along the cliff. Keep an eye on the weekend weather which is more promising with winds forecast to be NW both days. ======================================================================== 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
