Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 25, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4 506 24870 Osprey 0 1 124 Bald Eagle 0 23 173 Northern Harrier 1 48 1015 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 42 8386 Cooper's Hawk 0 10 219 Northern Goshawk 0 0 7 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 33 334 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 13000 Red-tailed Hawk 10 879 2679 Rough-legged Hawk 2 9 11 Golden Eagle 0 20 78 American Kestrel 1 3 1937 Merlin 0 4 93 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 76 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 21 1578 53002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Don Campbell, Keith Sealy Visitors: Ken Wootten. Weather: It was breezy but beautiful this morning at Hawk Cliff and at the B&B, with all-day sunshine and hardly a cloud in the sky. The temperature had already reached 5 C when we started at 9:00 AM and rose to 11 by 2:00 this afternoon. Amazing for November 25th! Winds were ESE going round to SSE by the end of the watch. Raptor Observations: Many thanks to Don, Keith and Ken for their assistance with both raptor and non-raptor observations. We actually made double digits with a total of 21 migrants, including 4 Turkey Vultures and six species of migratory raptor. Of these, Red-tailed Hawks were the most numerous at 10, the rest comprised of Rough-legged Hawk (2) and Sharp-shinned Hawk (2) with singles of Northern Harrier (1), Red-shouldered Hawk (1) and American Kestrel (1). Most birds were quite high. Things were slow to start but picked up momentum between noon and about 1:30 PM, then back down to a trickle for the last half hour. Local birds complicated the count in the morning hours, as 4 TVs and 2 RTs kept gliding back and forth across the road just north of the B&B. Were they going west and just trying to combat the wind by tacking or were they just fooling around? Turned out they were most likely investigating a dead animal on the road about 200 m north of our position at the B&B. Eventually, they moved off and were replaced by a gorgeous young Harrier that spent some time going over every inch of the field at the B&B. Of the birds we counted, all came straight down the pipe from the Ridge, however, one of the Rough-legs stopped just short of crossing the road and began to hover, just to the north of us. We cheered him on, and whether or not that was his incentive to move on doesnt really matter, as move on he did. Non-raptor Observations: Most of the species that have been hanging around Hawk Cliff Woods and along Hawk Cliff Rd seemed to be tucked in out of the wind this morning. Nonetheless a single White-crowned Sparrow was found, as were a few Goldfinches, BC Chickadees, DE Juncos, and a small flock of Bluebirds. One Red-bellied Woodpecker was spotted near the alley, Starlings, Crows and Blue Jays were at both of our locations and flocks of Horned Larks and Am. Pipits were again seen flying westward. In other species there were many Ring-billed Gulls, a few Herring Gulls, Canada Geese, Mallards and a small flock of Tundra Swans. Predictions: Overnight conditions will remain mild with lows expected to be around 5 7 C, reaching a high Thursday of 11 C. However, cloud will dominate on Thursday and Friday. Rain is possible Thursday (maybe 1 mm) and a 90% probability for Friday with around 10 mm expected, so probably a no-count day. At present, the forecast is calling for 25 kph NE winds for Saturday and lots of sunshine, similar for Sunday but with lighter NE winds. Thats the best hawk watching forecast we have seen in a while!! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Mary Carnahan ([email protected]) Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch information may be found at: http://www.ezlink.on.ca/~thebrowns/HawkCliff/index.htm _______________________________________________ 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
