Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 5772 34559 36014 Osprey 0 11 78 Bald Eagle 3 45 149 Northern Harrier 15 211 533 Sharp-shinned Hawk 255 2778 7622 Cooper's Hawk 1 91 145 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 9 77 80 Broad-winged Hawk 0 152 16636 Red-tailed Hawk 60 223 326 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 1 2 2 American Kestrel 11 400 1494 Merlin 0 14 51 Peregrine Falcon 2 19 37 Unknown Accipiter 2 4 11 Unknown Buteo 2 9 35 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 6 18 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 6133 38602 63235 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 06:45:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9.25 hours Official Counter: Jeremy Hatt Observers: Adele Leroux, Guy Leroux, Ian Woodfield, Paul Gosselin Visitors: The nice weather brought many people to the tower today, especially in the late afternoon when everyone enjoyed large numbers of Turkey Vultures forming huge nearby kettles. Many thanks to those who helped spot hawks while Turkey Vultures streamed by in the hundreds. Weather: Winds were out of the northwest all day and very light (many times less than 5km/h). The day started off chilly but after the sun came out in the late morning, it ended up being quite comfortable on the tower. Temperatures ranged from 4.3C in the morning to 15.6C in the mid-afternoon. Pressure stayed around 30.44 for most of the day. Cloud cover was 90% in the morning and by late afternoon, 30% or less. Raptor Observations: Turkey Vultures soared over in large number once again today w/ 5,772 birds total. 3-4pm saw the largest kettles; 1,845 birds were counted in this hour alone. At times, vultures were streaming to the far north, over the marsh, and south of the tower at varying altitudes making counting quite challenging! Red-shouldered Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk numbers are growing w/ 9 and 60 individuals seen, respectively. Many of these were identifiable only by scope as they appeared as specks in the blue to the naked eye. In the morning, an immature Peregrine Falcon was observed trying to catch an American Coot in the marsh, only to be harassed by a group of Ring-billed Gulls. It flew within feet of the tower then dived at a flock of Blue Jays but was unsuccessful. The highlight though came shortly after 11am when one Turkey Vulture in a stream of birds didn't quite look right...it was a juvenile Golden Eagle! Great looks as it flew directly over the tower. Non-raptor Observations: The marsh continues to have a good diversity of duck species as well as high numbers of American Coots and some Pied-billed Grebes. Two shorebird species flew by the tower today: Greater Yellowlegs (3) and Pectoral Sandpiper. Blue Jay numbers were similar to yesterday at 2,040 birds. American Crow numbers are starting to grow w/ 790 counted today. Tree Swallows continue to migrate past the tower. 39 were seen. American Pipits flew over in flocks of 10s totaling 48 birds. Red-winged Blackbirds were in good number w/ 4,130 birds flying east to west, mostly in the morning hours. Finally, a good diversity of finches continues w/ House Finch, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, and Pine Siskin all seen and heard. Predictions: Temperatures are predicted to start in the 40s and reach 60C by the mid-late afternoon w/ 30-35km/h south winds. No precipitation is expected. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jeremy Hatt (hattjer...@hotmail.com) 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 birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
