Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 1 35 39 Bald Eagle 0 3 3 Northern Harrier 4 41 46 Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 54 62 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 44 371 380 Merlin 1 9 9 Peregrine Falcon 0 13 13 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: 61 526 552 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 8.5 hours Official Counter: Jim Dunn, Mary Carnahan Observers: Clive Hodder, Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan Visitors: We had 1 viaitor today -- Don, from London. As well, thanks for their assistance to Rose Welch and Clive Hodder). Weather: Another hot, muggy day at Hawk Cliff brought morning winds that shifted from NNE to SSE, to ESE and finally to SW, settling there for the afternoon. Wind speed started out at around 8 km / hr, then dropped to less than 6 km / hr, then shifted back up and continued to rise each hour finally reaching 16 km / hr by 3:00 PM -- but only if you were sitting along the edge of the cliff. On the knoll, it was hot, hot, hot! There was haze towards the SE (i.e., over the lake) until about 1:30 in the afternoon, making it difficult to perceive most of the birds, the majority flying across near the lake. Visibility that started out okay dwindled as the day progressed reaching its worst between 10 and 11 oclock. Raptor Observations: Todays conditions were too hot for humans and may simply have been too hot for raptors, as we tallied a slim total of 61 birds. Another factor working against the raptor flow today was that thunder storms were in the area (some observers and visitors drove through a local thunder storm on their way to the cliff) so birds may not have been able to travel to our location today. We tallied 5 species of raptor today including mainly American Kestrels (44). As well, we tallied 1 Osprey, 4 Northern Harriers, 11 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 1 Merlin. Local Bald Eagles cruised the cliff from about 9:00 AM until noon, flying east and west, so low that if you were standing at the edge it was as if you could almost reach out and touch them at eye level and really close. Between 1:00 and 3:30 PM, the only birds we saw were not raptors but local (at least temporarily) Turkey Vultures, far to the north end of the field. We had a high count of 7 but they were just flying back and forth, much like the Eagles had done in the morning. Non-raptor Observations: Observers tallied 44 species today of which the following are highlights. Jim spotted 3 Wood Ducks from the observation knoll this morning and in the afternoon, observers on the knoll reported many Ring-billed Gulls, while a trip to the cliffs edge yielded a good view of only `1 Herring Gull. After the noon hour, we had a few Barn Swallows (fewer than 10) cross the field very high up. We also tallied 6 Woodpecker species today including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flicker. As well, we tallied 4 Flycatcher species including Great-crested and Least Flycatchers, Eastern Wood-pewee and Eastern Kingbird. We did well in the Thrush department as well today with 3 Swainsons Thrushes in the woods, a Gray-cheeked Thrush, Robins and 8 Eastern Bluebirds sunning on the wires along Fairview Rd on the way to Hawk Cliff very early this morning. Observers only reported 6 Warbler species today, but there were multiple of most species: the list includes Magnolia (1), Black-throated Blue (2), Am. Redstart (3), Tennessee (1), Ovenbird (4)!!, and Wilsons (2). As well, there was 1 Warbling Vireo reported and Red-eyed Vireos were all over the place across from the knoll, along the roadside and in the woods across from Sharpie Alley. Butterfly species noted today included Monarch, Viceroy, Black Swallowtail, Summer Azure, Cabbage White, Orange & Clouded Sulphur, Eastern Tailed Blue, and thanks to Rose for spotting a Milberts Tortoiseshell. Predictions: A cold front is expected to pass through overnight and into tomorrow morning, bringing more comfortable temperatures and Northerly winds. Rain is expected in the wee hours of the morning, possibly lasting till noon. Depending on the wind speed and the total amount of rainfall we receive, there could be a good flight Wednesday afternoon. Thursday will bring Easterly winds at a velocity favourable to raptor migration, but the birds will be high and difficult to see. ======================================================================== 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
