Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 09, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 2 37 41 Bald Eagle 0 3 3 Northern Harrier 15 56 61 Sharp-shinned Hawk 120 174 182 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 5 5 5 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 101 472 481 Merlin 0 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: 243 769 795 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 10:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 5.5 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Carol Parafenko, Jim Dunn Visitors: Today's visitors were Larry, Heidi and Kelly from Guelph and Bob & Beth Spicer plus Michael Butler (Michael was here all the way from Halifax). Thanks also to Carol Parafenko for her assistance today. Weather: We got off to a late start this morning due to rain. The day was mainly cloudy, but variable with periodic bouts of heavy clouds. At times, it looked like the sky would clear up, but then, the cloud would thicken once again. Winds were northerly and fairly steady from 22 km / hr to 24 km / hr. The temperature was much more comfortable for most of today topping out at 24 degrees Celsius. Raptor Observations: It was a late start and then a slow start for the birds with only a Sharpie and an AK in the first hour, but things picked up a little during the 11:00 hour, then dropped off again during the noon hour. But oh boy! did things pick up in the afternoon! By the time things wound down at 3:30, we had a total of 243 birds of 5 different species. The majority of the birds were Sharp-shinned Hawks (120), followed in second place, American Kestrels (101). As well we had 2 Ospreys, 15 Northern Harriers and species # 5 today was Broad-winged Hawk (5). >From about 10:30 through the noon hour, the local Bald Eagles and possibly some of their friends from Port Bruce and / or Sparta put on quite a show for visitors, circling above the parking area, calling to each other and flying in tandem along the cliff, but with one bird very high and the other very low. No Eagles flew or acted in a manner that indicated they were actively migrating today; instead, it was more like a social gathering or an Eagle convention. Non-raptor Observations: Many thanks to visitors and regulars today for their considerable contributions to our non-raptor list. The tally for today was 40 species including some New Species and some interesting trends. The following are highlights only. Flocks of Tree Swallows and American Goldfinch were seen flying west. Most passerine species listed today were found along the roadside, without having to venture into the woods or fields, including the following New species for this season: Wild Turkey, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Palm Warbler. Observers found 7 other Warbler species which were Yellow, magnolia, Black & White, Am. Redstart, Tennessee, Nashville and Common Yellowthroat. Other species of note were Pileated Woodpecker (2) Great-crested and Least Flycatchers and Blue-gray Gnatchatcher. Predictions: The forecast looks like Easterly winds tomorrow around 15 km / hr which means that we should have a good flight, but the birds will be high. The outlook for Friday is for a more northerly flow at 20 km / hr with the possibility of some rain but those N winds should bring some more Broadwings as well as the other species we have been seeing this week. ======================================================================== 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
