Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 2560 23965 25420 Osprey 0 10 77 Bald Eagle 2 39 143 Northern Harrier 13 183 505 Sharp-shinned Hawk 278 2075 6919 Cooper's Hawk 7 86 140 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 67 70 Broad-winged Hawk 0 152 16636 Red-tailed Hawk 15 146 249 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 1 1 American Kestrel 30 371 1465 Merlin 0 14 51 Peregrine Falcon 0 16 34 Unknown Accipiter 0 2 9 Unknown Buteo 0 7 33 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 6 18 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 2905 27141 51774 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 9.5 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Andy Parsons, Bob Pettit Visitors: Guy, Adèle, Renee, and Niel Weather: Another day with just about everything: ability-to-see-your-breath cold in the morning with no clouds, warming once the sun got higher in the sky, feeling cooler again as the wind picked up and clouds darkened the sky, in turn with calm, bright sunny patches. We even got a bit of cold drizzle in the afternoon! Winds were from the W until the last two hours when they turned more NW. Raptor Observations: Slow and steady wins the race, they say. Well, the Turkey Vultures took this to heart today and trundled through the skies basically non-stop after 10am. We had a few more Red-tails mixed in amongst them which added some variety to that portion of today's show. Sharpies put in another good flight, almost making it to 300, with many in the afternoon diving down by the tower again. Kestrels were less numerous, but interspersed themselves carefully between the Sharp-shins, making sure we stayed alert and didn't just call "Sharpie" every time a smaller raptor appeared above the trees. A few harriers, Bald Eagles, and Cooper's Hawks also joined the flight. Non-raptor Observations: Two Red-bellied Woodpeckers perched in a tree by the tower, joining the chickadees, kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and sparrows in the area. 311 American Crows came by pretending to be Turkey Vultures, and Blue Jays still are holding their own with over 3000. Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Chimney Swifts, Pine Siskins, and American Goldfinches also were migrating. 13 Bonaparte's Gulls appeared over the marsh, and shorebirds for the day were 5 Greater Yellowlegs and 1 Killdeer. Ducks in and above the marsh were Wood Ducks, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Shovelers, Pintails, Redheads and Ring-necks. See today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25440893 Predictions: It will be a cool day tomorrow with NW winds all day so raptors should be flying! Be sure to visit the hawk tower, and dress warm! ======================================================================== 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
