Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 07, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 3620 4131 Osprey 1 4 121 Bald Eagle 0 14 72 Northern Harrier 3 147 591 Sharp-shinned Hawk 25 697 5132 Cooper's Hawk 0 10 74 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 8 10 Broad-winged Hawk 0 49 12989 Red-tailed Hawk 0 47 108 Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 108 1713 Merlin 2 11 66 Peregrine Falcon 0 4 48 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: 36 4720 25056 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Bill Read, Clive Hodder, Keith Sealy, Steve Birch Visitors: Visitors were Jacques from Waterloo, Carmen Braund and Don Beatty. Weather: It was a beautiful fall day at Hawk Cliff, but need I say it for raptor migration, not. Temps rose to 20 degrees Celsius by afternoon and for a while, until the early afternoon shadows settled on the knoll, it was actually hot! The wind was mainly from the West, although for a few promising minutes between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM, there was a WNW flow, and then back to W. Raptor Observations: We tallied 36 migratory raptors today and no obviously migrating Turkey Vultures (much like late summer / very early fall). Migrants included 5 species, which were Osprey (1), Northern Harrier (3), Sharp-shinned Hawk (25), American Kestrel (5) and Merlin (2). Local Bald Eagles also put on quite a display from late morning to afternoon. Thanks to Clive, Keith, Jim, Jacques, Steve and Bill R. for their help on the knoll today. Non-raptor Observations: Many thanks to visitors and regulars for todays non-raptor species which totaled 40, despite the lack of variety in warbler species (only 2, which were Yellow-rumped and Common Yellowthroat). The Blue Jays have thinned out considerably since the weekend, with only about 2000 tallied by 10:00 AM. Their flight stopped mid-morning; later, however, a few flocks of about 10 birds each headed west, but mostly the Jays were hanging around the woods and other local tree lots. We had 5 species of Woodpecker today including Downy, Red-bellied and Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The Northern Flicker population seemed to be smaller today, with a lot fewer sightings of Flickers zooming back and forth across the field, and less calling as well, while the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sightings were up, with a couple of juveniles spotted near the mound, a couple in the woods, other individuals close to the cliff, but no reports of adult Sapsuckers today. Eastern Phoebes are still highly visible; most are being spotted near the cliff, especially in the shrubs around the bean field west of the parking area. Predictions: The forecast for tomorrow is for NE winds very early in the morning, shifting to E, then S and SE for the rest of the day. 40% chance of rain on Friday. Unless Fridays forecast improves, it looks like another couple of low count days. ======================================================================== 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
