Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 28, 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 509 24873 Osprey 0 1 124 Bald Eagle 2 25 175 Northern Harrier 8 56 1023 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 43 8387 Cooper's Hawk 4 14 223 Northern Goshawk 0 0 7 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 35 336 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 13000 Red-tailed Hawk 79 960 2760 Rough-legged Hawk 0 9 11 Golden Eagle 1 21 79 American Kestrel 0 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: 98 1680 53104 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 5 hours Official Counter: Mary Carnahan Observers: Clive Hodder, Ernie Gribble, Jim Dunn, Keith Sealy Visitors: No visitors. Weather: Today was totally cloudy although the sun did try to make an appearance in the late morning. This was a bit of a disappointment given yesterdays forecast of at least partial sun and cloud but on the other hand, we did have the Northerly winds which after a slow start brought us a variety of species and a double-digit count. Raptor Observations: It took a couple of hours for raptors to get going this morning, the exceptions being an early Harrier and an early Turkey Vulture that made their way across the road at the B&B just after 9:00 AM. The we had nothing for over an hour; eventually a second Harrier was seen flying very high above Sharpie Alley, then more nothing until a few minutes into the 11:00 hour when things really started to happen. After 5 hours we ended just shy of the 100 mark with a total of 98 migrants -- and only the 1 Turkey Vulture! The day's total included 7 species of migratory raptor, the bulk of which were Red-tailed Hawks (79), followed by Northern Harriers (8). The remaining species were Bald Eagle (2), Sharp-shinned Hawk (1), Coopers Hawk (4), Red-shouldered Hawk (2) and Golden Eagle (1). Non-raptor Observations: While waiting for the raptors to get moving this morning, observers noted a variety of passerine species -- hard to miss as they were very busy foraging, cavorting and singing along Hawk Cliff Rd, notably Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Cedar Waxwing, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Am. Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, Am. Goldfinch, White-breasted Nuthatch, 4 species of Sparrow (Song, White-crowned, White-throated & Am. Tree), Downy, Hairy & Red-bellied Woodpeckers plus Northern Flicker. Am. Pipits, Red-winged Blackbirds and Eastern Bluebirds were seen flying low over the corn field, while farther out were flocks of Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, Mallards, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds and Am. Robins. As well, singles of Common Loon and DC Cormorant were spotted flying towards the lake. Predictions: The forecast calls for lots of sunshine with moderate NE winds for Sunday but chilly with a meagre high of 4 C. in the afternoon and feeling cooler. Monday, the last official day of the hawk watch season, will bring more sunshine and brisk Easterly winds. Thats good hawk migration weather, but birds will likely fly high and the temperature (for people) will certainly feel very cold with an expected high of only 3 C and winds that blow right at you when youre searching the eastern sky for those last few raptors. ======================================================================== 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
