Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 03, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Turkey Vulture 154 430 50283 Osprey 0 0 82 Bald Eagle 0 2 173 Northern Harrier 13 32 698 Sharp-shinned Hawk 24 54 8148 Cooper's Hawk 1 3 186 Northern Goshawk 0 0 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 31 42 274 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 16636 Red-tailed Hawk 42 152 945 Rough-legged Hawk 2 2 2 Golden Eagle 1 7 27 American Kestrel 0 1 1517 Merlin 0 0 58 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 45 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 16 Unknown Buteo 0 0 82 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Raptor 0 0 23 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 1 Total: 268 726 79200 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Jenna McDermott Observers: Bob Hall-Brooks, Jim McCoy, Michael Williamson Visitors: A school group with ERCA enjoyed the view from the tower, along with John and David from Waterloo, and Neil, Mike and Colleen. Weather: Light winds came from the S and SE, allowing for unseasonal warmth again today. Humidity was high throughout the day and a thick haze obscured distant birds. Cloud cover was nonexistent. Raptor Observations: What excitement! Our first two Rough-legged Hawks of the season finally arrived this afternoon, and it was glorious. They were with the rest of the birds along the north side of the marsh, but still had the distinct long-winged, loping flight, and perfect dark squares in the carpals. They arrived just after noon, in the same hour as our one Golden Eagle, making for a great hour, and also marking the peak of our count numbers after a slow morning. One adult male Northern Harrier took a very unusual flight path for our location; cutting to the SW across the marsh and just powering on straight across the lake. Typically they go straight west and cross at the Detroit River like the majority of the raptors. Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks were looking gorgeous in the sunlight, every once in a while treating us to a close look down the lakeshore. Sharpies, Coops, and harriers were more sporadic. Non-raptor Observations: A very impressive group of over 200 Rusty Blackbirds suddenly dropped into a tree just east of the tower this morning, and then proceeded to jump around, feeding in the pond. Ducks in the marsh were quite active, flying to and fro. American Crows and Red-winged Blackbirds migrated in the thousands, while Blue Jays, Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins, European Starlings, American Pipits, Cedar Waxwings, Common Grackles, Purple and House Finches, and American Goldfinches all migrated in more moderate numbers. 2 Monarchs. See today's eBird list http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S25694355 Predictions: Another warm, south wind day, this time with some clouds. ======================================================================== 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
