Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 2480 43462 44917 Osprey 0 12 79 Bald Eagle 6 55 159 Northern Harrier 18 293 615 Sharp-shinned Hawk 77 3138 7982 Cooper's Hawk 9 115 169 Northern Goshawk 0 1 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 66 176 179 Broad-winged Hawk 0 152 16636 Red-tailed Hawk 142 409 512 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 1 6 6 American Kestrel 1 421 1515 Merlin 0 20 57 Peregrine Falcon 0 24 42 Unknown Accipiter 1 6 13 Unknown Buteo 28 48 74 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 10 22 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 2829 48348 72981 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Jeremy Hatt, Urban Lundburg Visitors: 9 people came out to see the migration today. Weather: Winds began from the NE, changing to the SE and E, starting to veer a little bit more to the north at the very end of the count. It was a cool morning at 6C, but it peaked at 15C, which was quite comfortable, especially when the breeze died off. Cloud cover was variable, starting off with an almost empty sky, and turning into a great spotting sky with large and wispy clouds. These eventually conglomerated into 100% cloud. Raptor Observations: The birds made us work for our fun today, flying high overhead, but mostly staying close to the shore of Lake Erie, which was certainly a blessing to our eyes. Turkey Vultures streamed past, bringing with them a good number of Red-tailed Hawks and Red-shouldered Hawks. Most of the Sharpies arrived in the first few hours before raptors got so high, along with a few Cooper's Hawks. Northern Harriers and Bald Eagles came by singly, with no particular timing. The only falcon for the day was one American Kestrel that also happened to be the lowest-flying bird; it fluttered past the tower in the afternoon. And we mustn't forget the celebrity of the day, an immature Golden Eagle that slowly spiralled its way closer and closer to the tower, flashing its fantastic wing and tail patches. Non-raptor Observations: What a day for American Crows! Huge numbers (over 11,000) streamed across the marsh for a few hours straight in the morning, petering off a bit as the day wore on. Blue Jays, starlings, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and American Goldfinches also arrived in good numbers. Cedar Waxwings, Horned Larks, Tree Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins, Purple Finches, and Pine Siskins were also present but in smaller numbers. Around the tower there were kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, and an Eastern Phoebe. A big surprise at the end of the day was a Sora that popped out of the bushes and started feeding in the pond to the SE of the tower! 3 brave Monarchs were seen on migration. Many thanks to Jeremy for his painstaking and thorough inventory of the marsh; numbers of which you can see in today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25519924 Predictions: A rainy day with winds from the south. ======================================================================== 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
