Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 03, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 2 6 10 Bald Eagle 0 1 1 Northern Harrier 3 5 10 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 4 12 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 15 26 35 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: 22 42 68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 4.5 hours Official Counter: 1Counter Observers: Jim Dunn, Mary Carnahan Visitors: Visitors today were Sue Southon and Cary Graham. Weather: We had very light winds from the N / NE, picking up very lightly towards noon, with temperature at 22 C for an 8:30 start, rising to 28 by the end of the watch, feeling more like 34. Sky was hazy again, and although there actually was very little cloud cover, visibility was only 6 to 10 km. Raptor Observations: Despite weather conditions definitely not conducive to raptor flight, we counted a total of 22 birds today from 4 species: Osprey (2), Northern Harrier (3). Sharp-shinned Hawk (2) and American Kestrel (15). Local raptor species seen today included the usual Bald Eagles (3), a lone Turkey Vulture and another Osprey which was fishing along the cliff and out over the lake during the last hour. Non-raptor Observations: Thanks to visitors and regulars for their contributions to todays non-raptor list. Todays highlights were 3 New Species for this season which were Belted Kingfisher, Carolina Wren, and Northern Waterthrush. Other Warbler species seen were Yellow, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, Black & White, Am. Redstart, Tennessee, Nashville, and Wilsons for a total of 10 species. In addition, we had 3 Vireo species today including Warbling, Red-eyed and Philadelphia. A couple of other highlights were an Orchard Oriole spotted across from the knoll by Jim, Wood Thrush and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds which are now being seen zipping across the field as well as in flower patches, in the woods, etc. These are only highlights out of our total of 45 passerine species today. One American Snout was still present in front of the knoll; other butterfly highlights were Tiger and Black Swallowtails and the Monarchs, a daily highlight. Lots of Black Saddlebags, Green Darners and 12-spotted Skimmers (dragonflies) are being seen daily in the field. Predictions: With probable thunderstorms moving through tonight, the wind will shift to NE and then E by tomorrow, around 15 km / hr. This is a slightly better forecast for raptor migration as northerly flow is needed to push raptors towards the lake, but the temperatures will remain very high with high humidex values throughout tomorrow and the weekend. ======================================================================== 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
