Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch
Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2015
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 18 18
Osprey 1 105 109
Bald Eagle 0 42 42
Northern Harrier 5 320 325
Sharp-shinned Hawk 313 3383 3391
Cooper's Hawk 3 38 38
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 1
Broad-winged Hawk 6 12891 12891
Red-tailed Hawk 2 33 33
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 13 1407 1416
Merlin 3 44 44
Peregrine Falcon 0 24 24
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: 346 18306 18332
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Jim Dunn
Observers: Ernie Gribble, Keith Sealy, Mary Carnahan, Tom Stewart,
Tom Thomas
Visitors:
We had lots of visitors again today including Joanne & Jim Smoker from
Reading, Pennsylvania, Bob and Linda Kline from London, Claude LaFrance,
plus Tom Thomas and Sandy Darling who spent the entire watch on the mound.
Thanks to Tom and Sandy, Tom Stewart, Keith, Mary, and Ernie for their
contribution to todays raptor and non-raptor counts.
Weather:
As observers approached Hawk Cliff early this morning we could see dark,
heavy cloud looming ahead and for almost the first two hours, the gloom
persisted, finally clearing by 9:00 AM, although we did have some
intermittent cloud through the morning hours. Winds were from the ESE most
of the day, finally swinging around to E around 1:00 PM.
Raptor Observations:
As predicted in yesterday's notes, it was a very fine day for a walk at
Hawk Cliff, and the hawks must have thought so as well, because we tallied
346 raptors by the end of the watch.
Although it was a fairly slow start, with only 3 birds in the first hour
and 4 in the second, the Sharp-shinned Hawks really started to move through
around 9:00 AM, with 30 in the 3rd hour and 121 in the 4th. By the end of
the watch we had counted a total of 313 Sharp-shins which made up the
majority of our final tally for the day which was 346 raptors. The days
total included 8 species as follows: other than Sharpies we had Osprey (1),
Northern Harrier (5), Coopers Hawk (2), Broad-winged Hawk (6), Red-tailed
Hawk (2), American Kestrel (13) and Merlin (3).
In addition to the 2 Red-tails that we did count, a local Red-tail was seen
fairly high up in the north end of the field, being harassed by a Crow.
Eventually the Crow gave up and the Red-tail went back to circling above
the field, likely hunting. The last Merlin of the day was also being
harassed outright attached, actually by 2 Kestrels, only one of which
crossed the field during the watch, the other apparently hunting for a late
lunch or early dinner. We had comparatively few Bald Eagle sightings
today, and had at least two sightings of the same bird, probably a
second-year bird, flying low along the cliff, both east and west.
With the easterly wind today, most birds were pretty high in the sky and
most (being Sharpies) crossed the field at Sharpie Alley or even farther
north.
Non-raptor Observations:
Many thanks to regulars and visitors alike for their contributions to
todays lengthy dickie bird list, totalling 44 passerine species plus 7
butterfly species and 4 dragonfly species. First, the dickie bird
highlights included 7 (SEVEN!!) species of Woodpecker including our first
and probably only Red-headed Woodpecker of this season, spotted by one of
our London visitors, Claude LaFrance....along with the usual species of
Red-bellied, Downy, Northern Flicker and the unusual species that live
there but that we dont see every day...Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hairy and
Pileated Woodpecker.
Observers and visitors saw 11 Warbler species which were Magnolia,
Chestnut-sided (several), Blackburnian, Black-throated Green, Bay-breasted,
a Blackpoll which flew up from the field and perched on a low branch
directly above observers on the mound), Am. Redstart (3), Nashville,
Canada, Common Yellowthroat and New for this season, 1 Orange-crowned
Warbler. As well, both Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos were seen.
A highlight from the woods that is fairly common but that we dont see
every day was Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Also from the woods, at the bend in
the Hawk Cliff Woods path were 3 species of Thrush including Swainsons,
Wood and Gray-cheeked. Other highlights were Ruby-crowned Kinglet, many
White-throated Sparrows (rapidly becoming usuals and 4 Eastern Bluebirds
seen sunbathing on the wires along Dexter Ln.
The 7 butterfly species were Monarch, Cabbage White, Orange & Clouded
Sulphur, Red Admiral, Eastern Tailed Blue and Great Spangled Fritillary.
For dragonflies we had lots of Black Saddlebags and Green Darners, plus a
couple of 12-spotted Skimmers and 1 Shadow Darner.
Special thanks to Bruce Parker for his Monarch Butterfly total which was
246 for today and 241 for yesterday. If you are interested in seeing the
Monarch migration at Hawk Cliff, we have noticed that their numbers really
pick up after about 1:30 PM.
Predictions:
Tomorrow and Thursday could be interesting. For Wednesday, winds will be
light but from the NE for much of the day, and on Thursday, ENE still
fairly light but reaching 10 + km / hr. Temperatures are supposed to range
from about 13 in the morning to 24 in the afternoon.
========================================================================
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
