Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 639 8320 9775 Osprey 0 4 71 Bald Eagle 2 19 123 Northern Harrier 7 111 433 Sharp-shinned Hawk 82 873 5717 Cooper's Hawk 4 28 82 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 4 56 59 Broad-winged Hawk 1 152 16636 Red-tailed Hawk 2 101 204 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 1 161 1255 Merlin 0 4 41 Peregrine Falcon 2 4 22 Unknown Accipiter 0 1 8 Unknown Buteo 1 5 31 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 3 15 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 745 9844 34477 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:30:00 Observation end time: 16:15:00 Total observation time: 9.75 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Chris Craft, Cindy Cartwright Weather: Heavy fog in the morning burned off after just over an hour, leaving a beautiful day behind. Temperatures were back up to 20C and cloud cover fluctuated through the count, ranging from full cloud to none. Winds started from the north and swivelled clockwise on the compass all the way to the SW. Raptor Observations: If there had been no Turkey Vultures today, numbers would be quite low. As it was, over 700 individuals streamed past, appearing much like specks in the sky in the afternoon. The morning was dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks and a small smattering of Bald Eagles, harriers, Cooper's Hawks, Red-shoulders, a Broadwing, Red-tails, and a kestrel that straggled by after a mid-day lull. The excitement for the day: two Peregrine Falcons that each went on a epic chase across the marsh; one relentlessly hunting down a lone Blue Jay, and the other stooping suddenly on an unsuspecting larger-than-Blue Jay bird; both being successful in their hunt. Non-raptor Observations: The morning brought a mess of birds around the base of the tower, including sparrows, kinglets, and warblers. The skies were filled with Blue Jays, Tree Swallows, starlings, Red-winged Blackbirds, and almost 300 American Goldfinches bouncing by. The middle of the day brought your typical lull in activity and then Blue Jays started up again, streaming by in huge flocks that stretched as far as you could see from the shore to the north side of the marsh. By the end of the day, 34,720 Blue Jays were counted and they were still coming. 1 Monarch, 1 Common Green Darner. See today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25313626 Predictions: A pretty calm day with winds in the morning from the NE, then E and S mid-morning. Numbers may not be great but the way things have been going there should be at least a fair amount of variety. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jenna McDermott ([email protected]) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/ _______________________________________________ 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
