Holiday Beach Conservation Area
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 10, 2015
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Turkey Vulture 2477 13016 14471
Osprey 1 6 73
Bald Eagle 2 27 131
Northern Harrier 18 143 465
Sharp-shinned Hawk 100 1333 6177
Cooper's Hawk 2 52 106
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 61 64
Broad-winged Hawk 0 152 16636
Red-tailed Hawk 4 107 210
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 1
American Kestrel 5 199 1293
Merlin 0 6 43
Peregrine Falcon 2 11 29
Unknown Accipiter 0 2 9
Unknown Buteo 0 6 32
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 2
Unknown Raptor 0 4 16
Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1
Total: 2611 15127 39760
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Observation start time: 06:30:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Jeremy Hatt
Observers: Anne Bell, Carol Pitts, Donny Moore, Ed Pitts,
Jerry DeMarco, Jim McCoy, Kory Renaud, Michael Williamson,
Urban Lundburg
Visitors:
The warm weather brought many visitors to the tower today including a great
group of veteran hawk watchers who frequently visit the tower. Many thanks
to everyone who helped w/ distant Turkey Vultures and the Blue Jay clicker
counts!
Weather:
A warm October day w/ very little cloud cover and temperatures up to 2OC.
Winds were light all day (<5km/hr) starting from the northwest and shifting
to the south by the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey Vultures were in high number again today w/ 2,477 individuals flying
by. This proved to be quite a challenge to count as many vultures were far
to the north and visible only by scope view! Some of the kettles they
formed were quite impressive. Sharp-shinned Hawk was the next highest count
after TV's w/ 100 individuals. Two Peregrine Falcons flew close by the
tower giving nice looks. Four Red-tailed Hawks flew by, the only buteos of
the day. Northern Harriers put on a show w/ 18 individuals flying fairly
close to the tower, a welcome sight compared to most other raptors, which
were hardly visible w/ the naked eye.
Non-raptor Observations:
The highlight of today's count was a large movement of Blue Jays constantly
streaming by in the hundreds. Our final total was 35,690 birds. American
Goldfinches were also migrating in large numbers w/ a final count of 744
birds. Other notable counts: Chimney Swift: 13, Tree Swallow: 116,
Red-winged Blackbird: 1541. Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, House
Finch, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin flew by in low numbers. A singing
Yellow-throated Vireo next to the tower was a pleasant surprise.
See today's eBird list
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25369063
Predictions:
Another warm day w/ temperatures reaching the high 60's. Southwest winds
25-30km/hr all day and low cloud cover.
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Report submitted by Jeremy Hatt ([email protected])
Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at:
http://hbmo.ca/
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