Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 24, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 0 Northern Harrier 0 2 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 3 3 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 2 3 3 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 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 Total: 4 8 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Keith Sealy Visitors: No visitors today. Weather: The weather was interesting today, fairly cool at 18 - 20 C, with variable cloud cover and rising wind speed throughout the watch. The wind was mainly from the west, although it shifted from WSW to WNW for a short period of time, then back to WSW, and finally straight and strong fromt he West. Raptor Observations: We had the usual passes from local Bald Eagles today, observed 2 individuals in particlar, one an immature bird with a lot of white under the wings, the other, an adult with obvious molt showing in the right wing. An Osprey was also seen above the field west of the parking area during the last hour and although it was on a mainly westward flight path, was judged to be looking for a meal. The bird kept veering out over the lake and seemed to be lingering, rather than travelling. A local Red-tailed Hawk also put in an appearance, kiting along the edge of the cliff for a few minutes during the last hour. The birds counted today (2 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 2 American Kestrels) flew directly westward, low over the field, although the AK seen in the last hour had to struggle against the wind, veering back behind the line of willows opposite the observation knoll several times before successfully making its way across the field. Non-raptor Observations: Only 2 Warbler species were seen today (Blackburnian and Am. Redstart) out of a total of more than 30 non-raptor species. However, the consolation prize was findng 2 new species for the season, Philadelphia Vireo and among the scores of Barn Swallows that passed by today, a Tree Swallow was spotted. Other songbirds noted today included many Gray Catbirds and Baltiore Orioles, 9 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and 2 Caspian Terns. A few Monarch Butterflies were seen flying across the field today, despite the strong winds. As well, the following butterflies were noted: Re-spotted Purple, Cabbage White (many), Tiger Swallowtail, Northern Crescent, Summer Azure, Eastern-tailed Blue. Green Darners continue to dominate the large and daily growing dragonfly population, but a walk along the edge of the field west of the parking area revealed that there area also growing numbers of Black Saddlebags, only in today's strong winds, most were hunkered down in the tall weeds along the edge of the field. Also seen today were 2 Common Whitetails and 1 unidentified Mosaic Darner. Predictions: Variable clouds with westerly / northwesterly winds over the next few 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
