Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 21, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 734 19749 19869 Osprey 0 35 118 Bald Eagle 0 18 76 Northern Harrier 11 197 590 Sharp-shinned Hawk 332 3235 7811 Cooper's Hawk 8 119 189 Northern Goshawk 0 4 5 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 70 70 Broad-winged Hawk 0 142 70706 Red-tailed Hawk 15 704 730 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 1 6 6 American Kestrel 24 675 2420 Merlin 1 30 72 Peregrine Falcon 1 116 161 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: 1130 25101 102825 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 13:30:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Jim Dunn Observers: Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan Visitors: No visitors today. Thanks to Jim, Mary and Keith for hanging in today to get a count done. Weather: Winds were moderate from the N, NW and NNW and a temp that was fairly consistent from 7C to 8C. The rain never developed in the Hawk Cliff area though the cloud deck was solid for the day. The humidity did remain high for the entire count period. Raptor Observations: With the lack of precipitation many birds obviously decided to head westward along the lake and observers tallied a total of 1130 for the day. The bulk of today's flight was TVs (734) along with N. Harriers (11), Sharpies (332), Cooper's Hawk (8), only a few buteos today which was no surprise with the heavy overcast and high humidity...with Red-shoulders (3) and Redtails (15), some falcons with Kestrels (24) and singles of Merlin and Peregrine. And a single Golden Eagle. Non-raptor Observations: Early this morning, songbirds were busy foraging for bugs in the bushes around the knoll, including 2 Downy and 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker, a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, DE Juncos, White-throated and Song Sparrows and a Phoebe. Observers soon moved north to Sharpie Alley where we also found a few birds in the surrounding area, notably a small flock of Hermit Thrush in the dogwoods right behind us, Chickdaees, Blue Jays screaming from the woods across the road and a Northern Flicker that flew east across the field, perched and called for several minutes. Flocks of Blue Jays were also seen flying west along the ravine along with mixed Blackbirds, Am. Crows, Eastern Bluebirds, Am. Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, and may Am. Robins. Several flocks of waterfowl were also seen from our position at the Alley including 7 Tundra Swans, a large flock of Mallards (60) Canada Geese and a small flock of Red-breasted Mergansers. Predictions: Well, tomorrow looks promising with predicted moderate NE winds and lots of sunshine. The only drawback will be picking up the birds in the bright blue sky so we'll have to hope for some cloud to build up atop thermals. Looking ahead, the next 3 or 4 days could prove to be interesting with continued sunshine and generally northerly winds. ======================================================================== 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
