Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 22, 2014
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 2914 23263 23383
Osprey 0 35 118
Bald Eagle 9 27 85
Northern Harrier 25 222 615
Sharp-shinned Hawk 583 3830 8406
Cooper's Hawk 44 166 236
Northern Goshawk 2 6 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 85 155 155
Broad-winged Hawk 13 155 70719
Red-tailed Hawk 398 1132 1158
Rough-legged Hawk 1 2 2
Golden Eagle 7 13 13
American Kestrel 15 690 2435
Merlin 2 32 74
Peregrine Falcon 1 117 162
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: 4099 29845 107569
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Dave Brown
Observers: Cary Graham, Don Taylor, Eric Jeffery, Jim Dunn,
Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan, Paul Brown, Phil Waggett,
Ronnie Goodhand, Tom Thomas
Visitors:
Lots of visitors today...got a few names including Michael & Frankie (TO),
Jim & Anne (St. George) and Anita and Hans (London)...and an entire bus
load of school kids from London who got to enjoy some great views of
kettles of birds! A big thanks to Al Hurst for giving a presentation for
the school group and to all those who helped with spotting the birds and
the many volunteer observers today, Judy, Eric J., Paul B., Tom T., Phil
W., Jim, Keith, Mary, Ronnie, Don T., Cary G., Robin B.,
Weather:
An absolutely perfect day for hawk watching...bright blue skies without a
cloud for the first 3 hours...then eventually cloud built in and the sky
was great for the rest of the day. The temp was warmer to a high of 13C.
The humidity started lower this morning in the 70s which helped get the
flight going early.
Raptor Observations:
An awesome flight today! A total of 4,099 birds with every species tallied
except Osprey. If you take out the TVs (2,914) there were still nearly
1,200 other raptors counted today including a large Sharpie movement (583)
and a decent Cooper's Hawk count (44) and even a couple of Northern
Goshawks, lots of Redtails (398) and Red-shoulders (85) along with several
Broadwings (13). We also had an early Roughleg (light morph) that was
spotted very high and cruising westward.
There were falcons also seen today though in smaller numbers...Kestrels
(15), Merlin (2) and a single Peregrine first thing in the morning along
the cliff.
Finally, the "big" highlights today were the eagles. There were several
Bald Eagles (9) of various ages and at one point 2 immatures were spotted
interacting with each other and spinning around in the sky putting on a
good show for everyone. We were all hoping for Golden Eagles today and
were rewarded with 9. Most of these birds looked like younger or perhaps
immature / sub-adult birds and one that crossed VERY HIGH may have been an
adult. However, as mentioned in previous posts it is impossible with any
certainty to age these eagles in flight.
Non-raptor Observations:
Some nice non-raptor sightings today as well with multiple flocks of
Sandhill Cranes (15, 20, 30 and a lone pair), a single flock of Tundra
Swans (12) that flew eastward along the cliff, a couple of flocks of
Eastern Bluebirds, a few Pine Siskins and Cedar Waxwings and here and there
some Blue Jays. Large numbers of Am Crows were also noted today. A lone
Pileated Woodpecker was spotted flying westward right along the cliff while
a Downy and Red-bellied were being noisy behind us. Other species included
WB Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, 3 Tree Swallows and a Brown Thrasher.
Also had a single Monarch today and Cabbage White....along with a
Meadowhawk sp. and Common Green Darner.
Predictions:
After seeing how good today's flight was and that tomorrow's winds are even
more favourable...moderate from the NW...I'd be down at the hawkwatch first
thing in the morning to catch what should be an excellent flight. I'm
pretty sure there'll be several more Golden Eagles on the move tomorrow.
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Report submitted by Dave Brown (thebro...@ezlink.on.ca)
Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm
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